II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3624 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require States and metropolitan 

planning organizations to develop transportation greenhouse gas reduction plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation 

sector, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 26 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Mr. CARPER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require States 

and metropolitan planning organizations to develop 

transportation greenhouse gas reduction plans to reduce 

greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean, Low-Emission, 

5 Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle III of title 49, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘CHAPTER 63—TRANSPORTATION 

6 ALTERNATIVES 

7 ‘‘§ 6301. Definitions 

8 ‘‘In this chapter: 

9 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis10 trator’ means Administrator of the Environmental 

11 Protection Agency. 

12 ‘‘(2) CHARRETTE.—The term ‘charrette’ means 

13 a open, collaborative design session held over the 

14 course of 2 or more days— 

15 ‘‘(A) that includes participation by stake16 holders and the public; 

17 ‘‘(B) that involves a collaborative process 

18 with a series of short feedback loops; and 

19 ‘‘(C) the purpose of which is to produce 2 

20 or more feasible Plans. 

21 ‘‘(3) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Low 

22 Greenhouse Gas Transportation Fund established by 

23 section 6302(a)(1). 

24 ‘‘(4) INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘intercity 

26 passenger rail service’ has the meaning given 


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1 the term ‘intercity rail passenger transpor2 tation’ in section 24102. 

3 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘intercity pas4 senger rail service’ includes high-speed rail serv5 ice. 

6 ‘‘(5) MPO.—The term ‘MPO’ means a metro7 politan planning organization designated under sec8 tion 134(b) of title 23 that, as of the most recent 

9 decennial census, represents more than 200,000 in10 dividuals. 

11 ‘‘(6) PLAN.—The term ‘Plan’ means a trans12 portation greenhouse gas reduction plan covering a 

13 period of at least 10 years developed under section 

14 6304(a). 

15 ‘‘(7) SCENARIO ANALYSIS.—The term ‘scenario 

16 analysis’ means an analysis that is conducted by 

17 identifying different trends and making projections 

18 based on those trends to develop a range of sce19 narios and estimates of how each scenario could im20 prove mobility and affect rates of— 

21 ‘‘(A) vehicle miles traveled; 

22 ‘‘(B) use of petroleum-derived transpor23 tation fuel; and 

24 ‘‘(C) greenhouse gas emissions from the 

25 transportation sector. 


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1 ‘‘(8) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means— 

2 ‘‘(A) a State; 

3 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; and 

4 ‘‘(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

5 ‘‘§ 6302. Fund 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

7 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 

8 ‘Low Greenhouse Gas Transportation Fund’, consisting of 

9 such amounts as are deposited in the Fund under section 

10 6303(c). 

11 ‘‘(b) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 6303(c), 

13 on request by the Secretary, the Secretary of the 

14 Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Sec15 retary such amounts as the Secretary determines are 

16 necessary to provide assistance for use in imple17 menting projects under Plans developed under sec18 tion 6308(b). 

19 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An amount 

20 not exceeding 10 percent of the amounts in the 

21 Fund shall be available for each fiscal year to pay 

22 the administrative expenses necessary to carry out 

23 this Act. 

24 ‘‘(c) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts required to 

2 be transferred to the Fund under this section shall 

3 be transferred at least monthly from the general 

4 fund of the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of es5 timates made by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

6 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjustment shall 

7 be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the 

8 extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than 

9 the amounts required to be transferred. 

10 ‘‘§ 6303. Auctioning 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For each of calendar years 2012 

12 through 2050, the Administrator shall auction 10 percent 

13 of the emission allowances established for each of those 

14 calendar years under any program in effect providing for 

15 the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and the auc16 tioning of emission allowances that is administered by the 

17 Administrator. 

18 ‘‘(b) TIMING.—The auctions required for each cal19 endar year specified in paragraph (1) shall be conducted 

20 over the course of at least 4 sessions, spaced evenly over 

21 a period beginning 330 days before, and ending 60 days 

22 after, the beginning of each such calendar year. 

23 ‘‘(c) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—The Administrator 

24 shall deposit in the Fund the proceeds from each auction 

25 conducted under this section. 


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1 ‘‘§ 6304. Plans 

2 ‘‘(a) GOAL.—Each State and MPO shall establish the 

3 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the trans4 portation sector during the 10 years following the date of 

5 enactment of this chapter through— 

6 ‘‘(1) the increase in mobility options; 

7 ‘‘(2) the reduction of vehicle miles traveled; and 

8 ‘‘(3) the use of petroleum-derived transpor9 tation fuel. 

10 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF PLANS.—Each State and 

11 MPO shall develop a transportation greenhouse gas reduc12 tion plan, and a prioritized list of projects the support the 

13 plan, that are integrated into the long-range transpor14 tation and transportation improvement plans of the State 

15 or MPO to work toward achieving the goal established by 

16 the State or MPO under subsection (a) through invest17 ment in— 

18 ‘‘(1) new transit projects eligible for assistance 

19 under chapter 53 (or the expansion of operations or 

20 frequency of existing transit service); 

21 ‘‘(2) an intercity passenger rail project for— 

22 ‘‘(A)(i) the acquisition, construction, im23 provement, or inspection of equipment, track 

24 and track structures, or a facility for use in or 

25 for the primary benefit of intercity passenger 

26 rail service; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) expenses incidental to that acquisition 

2 or construction (including expenses for design3 ing, engineering, location surveying, mapping, 

4 environmental studies, and acquisition of rights5 of-way); 

6 ‘‘(iii) payments for the capital portions of 

7 rail trackage rights agreements; 

8 ‘‘(iv) highway-rail grade crossing improve9 ments relating to intercity passenger rail serv10 ice; 

11 ‘‘(v) security; 

12 ‘‘(vi) mitigation of environmental impacts; 

13 ‘‘(vii) communication and signalization im14 provements; 

15 ‘‘(viii) relocation assistance; 

16 ‘‘(ix) acquisition of replacement housing 

17 sites; and 

18 ‘‘(x) acquisition, construction, relocation, 

19 and rehabilitation of replacement housing; 

20 ‘‘(B) rehabilitating, remanufacturing, or 

21 overhauling rail rolling stock and facilities used 

22 primarily in intercity passenger rail service; and 

23 ‘‘(C) costs associated with developing State 

24 rail plans; 


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1 ‘‘(3) sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle paths, green2 ways, pedestrian signals, pavement marking, traffic 

3 calming techniques, modification of public sidewalks 

4 (including projects to achieve compliance with the 

5 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

6 12101 et seq.)), and other strategies to encourage 

7 pedestrian and bike travel; 

8 ‘‘(4) additional freight rail capacity, particularly 

9 if the capacity— 

10 ‘‘(A) relieves a freight bottleneck des11 ignated by the Secretary as causing poor on12 time performance for intercity rail passenger 

13 trains; or 

14 ‘‘(B) expands intercity or commuter rail 

15 capacity; 

16 ‘‘(5) carpool, vanpool, or car-share projects; 

17 ‘‘(6) updates to zoning and other land use regu18 lations and plans— 

19 ‘‘(A) to coordinate with local, regional, and 

20 State plans; or 

21 ‘‘(B) to support infill, transit-oriented de22 velopment, or mixed-use development; 

23 ‘‘(7) improvements in— 

24 ‘‘(A) travel and land-use data collection; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) travel models to better measure 

2 greenhouse gas emissions and emission reduc3 tions; or 

4 ‘‘(8) the transportation control measures de5 scribed in clauses (i) through (xv) of section 

6 108(f)(1)(A), or section 211, of the Clean Air Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 7408(f)(1)(A), 7545). 

8 ‘‘(c) SUBMISSION AND UPDATING.—Each Plan shall 

9 be— 

10 ‘‘(1) submitted to the Secretary not later than 

11 2 years after the date of enactment of this chapter; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(2) updated every 4 years thereafter, including 

14 with analysis regarding achievement of the goals of 

15 the Plan. 

16 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 6306(b), 

18 not later than 180 days after the date of submission 

19 of a Plan under subsection (c)(1), the Secretary, in 

20 consultation with the Administrator, shall determine 

21 and certify whether— 

22 ‘‘(A) the Plan is likely to achieve the goal 

23 established by the State or MPO, as the case 

24 may be, under subsection (a); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the development of the plan has com2 plied with subsection (e). 

3 ‘‘(2) PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED PLANS.—If a 

4 State or MPO develops a plan to reduce greenhouse 

5 gas emissions from the transportation sector before 

6 the date of enactment of this chapter, the State or 

7 MPO shall not be eligible to receive a distribution of 

8 funds under section 6308 unless the Secretary, in 

9 consultation with the Administrator, first determines 

10 and certifies that the plan meets the requirements of 

11 this chapter. 

12 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT, COORDINATION, AND

13 CONSULTATION.—Each Plan shall be developed— 

14 ‘‘(1) using transportation and economic devel15 opment scenario analysis and strong public and 

16 stakeholder involvement, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) public comment periods; 

18 ‘‘(B) scenario planning; 

19 ‘‘(C) the most recent models; and 

20 ‘‘(D) public charrettes; 

21 ‘‘(2) with strong regional coordination, includ22 ing between each MPO and the State in which the 

23 MPO is located and with other MPOs located within 

24 that State; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) in consultation with State and local hous2 ing, economic development, land use, environmental, 

3 and transportation agencies. 

4 ‘‘(f) INCORPORATION OF MPO PLANS.—Each State 

5 shall incorporate, without modification, into the Plan of 

6 the State the final Plans of MPOs located within the 

7 State. 

8 ‘‘§ 6305. Study 

9 ‘‘To maximize greenhouse gas emission reductions 

10 from the transportation sector, the Secretary and the Ad11 ministrator shall enter into an arrangement with the 

12 Transportation Research Board of the National Academy 

13 of Sciences under which that Board shall submit to the 

14 Administrator and the Secretary, not later than 1 year 

15 after the date of enactment of this chapter, a report con16 taining recommendations— 

17 ‘‘(1) for use in improving research and tools to 

18 assess the effect of transportation plans and land 

19 use plans on motor vehicle use rates and transpor20 tation sector greenhouse gas emissions; 

21 ‘‘(2) for use in improving Federal Government 

22 data sources that are necessary to assess greenhouse 

23 gas emission data from the transportation sector for 

24 use in developing Plans; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) regarding policies to effectively reduce 

2 greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation 

3 sector. 

4 ‘‘§ 6306. Technical standards 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

6 date of enactment of this chapter, based on any rec7 ommendations contained in the reports submitted under 

8 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 6305, and every 5 years 

9 thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Admin10 istrator, shall establish or update, as appropriate, stand11 ards for transportation data collection, monitoring, plan12 ning, and modeling. 

13 ‘‘(b) EFFECT ON CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary 

14 shall not certify any Plan under section 6304(d) until such 

15 time as standards for transportation data collection, moni16 toring, planning, and modeling are established under sub17 section (a). 

18 ‘‘§ 6307. Report 

19 ‘‘Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

20 of this chapter, and every 5 years thereafter, the Adminis21 trator shall submit to the committees of the Senate and 

22 the House of Representatives having jurisdiction over 

23 transportation and climate change a report that de24 scribes— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the aggregate reduction in greenhouse gas 

2 emissions from the transportation sector expected as 

3 a result of the development and implementation of 

4 the Plans; 

5 ‘‘(2) the impact of other Federal policies and 

6 programs on this chapter; 

7 ‘‘(3) changes to Federal law that could improve 

8 the performance of the Plans; and 

9 ‘‘(4) regulatory changes planned to improve the 

10 performance of the Plans. 

11 ‘‘§ 6308. Funding 

12 ‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT AND UPDATING OF PLANS.— 

13 The Secretary shall use 5 percent of the funds deposited 

14 in the Fund for each fiscal year to support the develop15 ment and updating of Plans under section 6304. 

16 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use 10 

18 percent of the funds deposited in the Fund for each 

19 fiscal year— 

20 ‘‘(A) to support the implementation of 

21 Plans; and 

22 ‘‘(B) to fund the projects described in 

23 Plans as being necessary to meet the goals es24 tablished by the States or MPOs submitting the 

25 Plans. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FORMULA.—The Secretary, in coordina2 tion with the Administrator, shall establish and reg3 ularly update a formula for the distribution of funds 

4 in accordance with paragraph (1) that— 

5 ‘‘(A) reflects the expected per capita reduc6 tion in greenhouse gas emissions expected as a 

7 result of implementation of each Plan certified 

8 under section 6304(d); 

9 ‘‘(B) ensures that at least 50 percent of 

10 the funds are used to implement Plans certified 

11 under section 6304(d) that are developed by 

12 MPOs; 

13 ‘‘(C) emphasizes Plans that increase trans14 portation options and mobility, particularly for 

15 low-income individuals, minorities, the elderly, 

16 zero-car households, and the disabled; and 

17 ‘‘(D) during the first 5 years after the date 

18 of enactment of this chapter, takes into consid19 eration reductions in greenhouse gas emissions 

20 achieved by States and MPOs under Plans cer21 tified under section 6304(d). 

22 ‘‘(3) COST-SHARING.—The Federal share of a 

23 project described in paragraph (1)(B) that is carried 

24 out using funds made available under this section 

25 shall be 80 percent.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

2 subtitle III of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to chapter 61 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘CHAPTER 63—TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘6301. Definitions. 

‘‘6302. Fund. 

‘‘6303. Auctioning. 

‘‘6304. Plans. 

‘‘6305. Study. 

‘‘6306. Technical standards. 

‘‘6307. Report. 

‘‘6308. Funding.’’. 

Æ 


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