I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2542 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to make grants for the operation 

of a clearinghouse to collect, conduct, and fund research on the influences 

of highly automated vehicles on land use, urban design, transportation, 

real estate, and municipal budgets, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2019 

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Ms. BONAMICI, and Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE

of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to make grants 

for the operation of a clearinghouse to collect, conduct, 

and fund research on the influences of highly automated 

vehicles on land use, urban design, transportation, real 

estate, and municipal budgets, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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•HR 2542 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preparing Localities 

3 for an Autonomous and Connected Environment Act’’ or 

4 the ‘‘PLACE Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR THE OPERATION OF A NATIONAL 

6 HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLE CLEARING7 HOUSE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of subtitle VI of title 49, 

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following new chapter: 

11 ‘‘CHAPTER 307—NATIONAL HIGHLY 

12 AUTOMATED VEHICLE CLEARINGHOUSE 

13 ‘‘SEC. 30701. NATIONAL HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLE 

14 CLEARINGHOUSE. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

16 shall make a grant to an institution of higher education 

17 engaged in research on the secondary influences of highly 

18 automated vehicles to— 

19 ‘‘(1) operate a national highly automated vehi20 cle clearinghouse; 

21 ‘‘(2) collect, conduct, and fund research on the 

22 secondary influences of highly automated vehicles; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(3) make such research available on a public 

25 website. 


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•HR 2542 IH

1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 is authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 

3 Fund $2,000,000 for each fiscal year, beginning with fis4 cal year 2019, to carry out this Act. 

5 ‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 23.—Funds author6 ized by subsection (b) shall be available for obligation in 

7 the same manner as if such funds were apportioned under 

8 chapter 1 of title 23 except that the funds shall remain 

9 available until expended. 

10 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLE.—The term 

12 ‘highly automated vehicle’ means a motor vehicle 

13 that is capable of performing the entire task of driv14 ing (including steering, accelerating and decel15 erating, and reacting to external stimulus) without 

16 human intervention. 

17 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

18 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

19 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

20 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

21 ‘‘(3) SECONDARY INFLUENCE.—The term ‘sec22 ondary influence’ means the influence on land use, 

23 urban design, transportation, real estate, municipal 

24 budgets, social equity, and the environment.’’. 


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1 (b) DEADLINE FOR CLEARINGHOUSE.—The Sec2 retary of Transportation shall ensure that the institution 

3 of higher education who receives the grant described in 

4 section 30701(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, as 

5 added by subsection (a), shall establish the national highly 

6 automated vehicle clearinghouse described in such section 

7 not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

8 of this Act. 

9 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

10 The table of sections for part A of subtitle VI, of title 

11 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the 

12 item relating to chapter 305 the following new item: 

‘‘307. National highly automated vehicle clearinghouse.’’. 

Æ 


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