II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1477

To reduce traffic congestion, promote economic development, and improve

the quality of life in the metropolitan Washington region.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 3, 1999

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

the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To reduce traffic congestion, promote economic development,

and improve the quality of life in the metropolitan Washington region.

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 ‘‘Metropolitan Wash5 ington Regional Transportation Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) congestion is a serious problem in the met9 ropolitan Washington region, as evidenced by recent

10 studies that have found that only the city of Los An-
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1 geles is more congested and that congestion costs

2 each man, woman, and child in the region more than

3 $1000 per year in lost time, wasted fuel, and envi4 ronmental damage;

5 (2) in the past, regional leaders have success6 fully worked together to address important transpor7 tation needs, through such institutions as the Metro8 politan Washington Airports Authority, the Wash9 ington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and the

10 National Capital Region Transportation Planning

11 Board at the Metropolitan Washington Council of

12 Governments;

13 (3) even greater regional cooperation is needed

14 to prevent congestion in the metropolitan Wash15 ington region from worsening, in light of predictions

16 that, for the period of 1990 through 2020, there will

17 be a 43 percent increase in population, a 43 percent

18 increase in employment, and a 79 percent increase

19 in vehicle miles traveled, in the region;

20 (4) while transportation needs will grow signifi21 cantly over the next decades, spending is expected to

22 fall short of transportation needs by more than

23 $500,000,000 per year, even with expected increases

24 in Federal and State spending;
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1 (5) none of the existing metropolitan-wide

2 transportation agencies within the metropolitan

3 Washington region has the necessary powers, au4 thorities, and resources to meet the current and fu5 ture transportation needs of the region;

6 (6) the failure to meet the transportation needs

7 of the metropolitan Washington region will under8 mine the quality of life of the residents of the region,

9 degrade the natural environment, and adversely af10 fect the ability of Federal agencies and private sec11 tor businesses to operate effectively and efficiently;

12 (7) the transportation challenges faced by the

13 metropolitan Washington region are unique and de14 serve the attention of Congress because of the pres15 ence of the Federal Government within the region

16 and because of the intersection of 3 jurisdictions,

17 consisting of 2 States and the District of Columbia,

18 within a single metropolitan area;

19 (8) the National Capital Region Transportation

20 Planning Board at the Metropolitan Washington

21 Council of Governments, the designated metropolitan

22 planning organization for planning and program23 ming Federal transit and highway funds provided to

24 the metropolitan Washington region, is updating the
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1 long-range plan for the region to meet transpor2 tation needs in the coming decades; and

3 (9) with Federal assistance, the Board can

4 more effectively promote regional agreement on how

5 to finance and implement its long-range plan to

6 meet the transportation needs of the metropolitan

7 Washington region.

8 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

9 The purposes of this Act are—

10 (1) to provide a new option to help the metro11 politan Washington region more effectively address

12 its transportation needs;

13 (2) to empower the National Capital Region

14 Transportation Planning Board to consult with the

15 metropolitan Washington region jurisdictions and

16 the public to achieve consensus on a list of critical

17 transportation projects and a funding mechanism

18 that are needed to address the growing congestion

19 crisis in the region but cannot be funded within the

20 current and forecasted Federal, State, and local

21 funding levels for such projects;

22 (3) to establish a Corporation with the power to

23 accept revenue and issue debt to provide funding for

24 projects that have been agreed to by the region;
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1 (4) to grant consent to the metropolitan Wash2 ington region jurisdictions to enter into an interstate

3 compact or agreement that would help meet the re4 gion’s long-term transportation needs; and

5 (5) to provide Federal matching grants to the

6 region to promote consensus on a regional funding

7 mechanism.

8 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

9 In this Act:

10 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na11 tional Capital Region Transportation Planning

12 Board at the Metropolitan Washington Council of

13 Governments.

14 (2) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’

15 means the Metropolitan Washington Regional

16 Transportation Corporation established by section

17 6(a).

18 (3) METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGION; RE19 GION.—The term ‘‘metropolitan Washington region’’

20 or ‘‘region’’ means the area that is—

21 (A) located in the area including and sur22 rounding Washington, District of Columbia;

23 and

24 (B) under the jurisdiction of the members

25 of the Board.
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1 (4) METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGION JU2 RISDICTION.—The term ‘‘metropolitan Washington

3 region jurisdiction’’ means a jurisdiction represented

4 by a member of the Board.

5 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means any

6 effort to reduce traffic congestion or improve travel

7 options in the metropolitan Washington region,

8 including—

9 (A) the design, construction, and mainte10 nance of facilities or services;

11 (B) the operation of such facilities;

12 (C) the provision of services;

13 (D) the deployment of demand reduction

14 and traffic management measures; and

15 (E) any effort to improve coordination of

16 transportation planning and land use planning.

17 (6) SIGNATORY.—The term ‘‘signatory’’ means

18 a metropolitan Washington region jurisdiction that

19 enters into an interstate compact or agreement

20 under section 5(d).

21 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE BOARD.

22 (a) DUTIES.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall—

24 (A)(i) propose a list of priority transpor25 tation projects that—
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1 (I) are needed to address the growing

2 congestion crisis in the metropolitan Wash3 ington region; and

4 (II) cannot be funded with Federal,

5 State, and local transportation funds that

6 are projected to be made available for the

7 metropolitan Washington region;

8 (ii) propose a regional funding mechanism

9 to fund the needed projects; and

10 (iii) manage the Corporation to provide

11 funding for regional transportation projects;

12 (B) provide notice and opportunity for

13 comment on its efforts under this Act by metro14 politan Washington region jurisdictions and the

15 public;

16 (C) conduct outreach and education activi17 ties to promote public participation;

18 (D) promote cooperative action by metro19 politan Washington region jurisdictions on re20 gional transportation issues; and

21 (E) if necessary, assist metropolitan Wash22 ington region jurisdictions in developing an

23 interstate compact or agreement to better meet

24 regional transportation needs.
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1 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Board shall not have

2 the power to—

3 (A) impose a tax; or

4 (B) preempt any Federal, State, or local

5 law (including a regulation).

6 (b) BOARD SUPPORT.—The Board shall use staff of

7 the Board and may employ such additional personnel and

8 agents as are necessary to carry out this Act, including

9 public outreach staff to meet the public participation re10 quirements of titles 23 and 49, United States Code.

11 (c) TIMETABLE.—The Board shall—

12 (1) develop and publish a first draft proposal

13 listing regional projects and regional funding mecha14 nisms not later than 210 days after the date of en15 actment of this Act;

16 (2) provide an opportunity for public comment

17 on the first draft proposal during the period begin18 ning on the date of publication of the first draft pro19 posal and ending not earlier than 90 days after that

20 date; and

21 (3) not later than 2 years after the date of en22 actment of this Act, develop and publish a final pro23 posal; and

24 (4) prior to implementation of any regional

25 project or regional funding mechanism included in
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1 the final proposal, obtain approval of the final pro2 posal from—

3 (A) the Governor of the State of Virginia;

4 (B) the Governor of the State of Maryland;

5 and

6 (C) the Mayor of the District of Columbia.

7 (d) INTERSTATE COMPACT OR AGREEMENT.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

9 Congress grants consent to 1 or more of the metro10 politan Washington region jurisdictions to enter into

11 an interstate compact or agreement to finance and

12 implement 1 or more of the priority projects from

13 the long-range plan of the Board, if consent is

14 granted by—

15 (A) the Governor of each State that enters

16 into the compact or agreement; and

17 (B) if the District of Columbia enters into

18 the compact or agreement, the Mayor of the

19 District of Columbia.

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The interstate compact

21 or agreement shall—

22 (A) include a list of regional transportation

23 projects and a regional funding mechanism to

24 fund the projects; and
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1 (B) include a time limit of not more than

2 2 years for approval by the metropolitan Wash3 ington region jurisdictions.

4 (e) PLANNING PROCESS.—In carrying out this Act,

5 the Board shall—

6 (1) comply with the planning requirements of

7 titles 23 and 49, United States Code; and

8 (2)(A) ensure that the public has a full oppor9 tunity to participate in the planning process; and

10 (B) work with citizen advisory committees rep11 resenting all points of view, including business, envi12 ronmental, transportation, senior citizens, youth,

13 disabled, and neighborhood associations.

14 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF LONG-RANGE PLAN FOR THE

15 METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGION.

16 (a) METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGIONAL TRANS17 PORTATION CORPORATION.—

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

19 Metropolitan Washington Regional Transportation

20 Corporation.

21 (2) GENERAL POWERS.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall

23 be a body corporate and politic, and an instru24 mentality of the Board, having the powers and

25 jurisdiction described in this Act and such addi-
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1 tional powers as are conferred on the Corpora2 tion by the Board, to the extent that the addi3 tional powers are consistent with this Act.

4 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—The Corporation

5 shall be governed in accordance with this Act

6 and shall be subject to such other provisions as

7 the Board determines to be appropriate.

8 (3) GENERAL LIMITATIONS.—The Corporation

9 shall not have the power to—

10 (A) impose a tax; or

11 (B) preempt any Federal, State, or local

12 law (including a regulation).

13 (4) DUTIES.—The Corporation shall assist in

14 the management of any initial funding and imple15 mentation plan agreed to by the signatories.

16 (5) PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY.—

17 (A) PUBLIC NOTICE AND PARTICIPA18 TION.—The Corporation shall be subject to the

19 requirements of chapter 5 of title 5, United

20 States Code, concerning public notice of, and

21 participation at, all meetings of the Corpora22 tion.

23 (B) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—

24 The Corporation shall be considered to be an

25 agency for the purpose of compliance with re-
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1 quests under section 552 of title 5, United

2 States Code.

3 (C) COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS GOVERNING

4 TRANSPORTATION.—Projects funded by the

5 Corporation shall be considered to be federally

6 funded projects subject to—

7 (i) the National Historic Preservation

8 Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.);

9 (ii) the National Environmental Policy

10 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);

11 (iii) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

12 7401 et seq.); and

13 (iv) section 303 of title 49, United

14 States Code.

15 (6) EFFECTIVE ANALYSIS.—In assessing the

16 impact of projects under consideration for funding,

17 the Corporation shall use analytical tools consistent

18 with state-of-the-art practices, in accordance with

19 applicable Federal regulations and guidance.

20 (7) POWERS.—The Corporation shall have the

21 power—

22 (A) to acquire personal and real property

23 (including land lying under water and riparian

24 rights), or any easement or other interest in
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1 real property, by purchase, lease, gift, transfer,

2 or exchange;

3 (B) to apply for and accept any property,

4 material, service, payment, appropriation,

5 grant, gift, loan, advance, or other fund that is

6 transferred or made available to the Corpora7 tion by the Federal Government or by any other

8 public or private entity or individual;

9 (C) to borrow money on a short-term basis

10 and issue notes of the Corporation for the bor11 rowing payable on such terms and conditions as

12 the Corporation considers advisable, and to

13 issue long-term or short-term tax-exempt bonds

14 in the discretion of the Corporation for any

15 purpose consistent with this Act, which notes

16 and bonds—

17 (i) shall not constitute—

18 (I) a debt of the United States

19 (or any political subdivision of the

20 United States); or

21 (II) a general obligation of a

22 metropolitan Washington region juris23 diction (or any political subdivision of

24 a metropolitan Washington region ju25 risdiction), unless consented to by the
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1 jurisdiction (or political subdivision);

2 and

3 (ii) may be secured solely by the gen4 eral revenues of the Corporation or by

5 other revenues in the discretion of the Cor6 poration;

7 (D) to permit single-occupancy vehicles to

8 travel on high-occupancy lanes in the region,

9 if—

10 (i) the affected signatory or signato11 ries consent to charge tolls to single-occu12 pancy vehicles given access to high-occu13 pancy lanes;

14 (ii) the toll can be implemented in a

15 way that does not reduce the level of serv16 ice; and

17 (iii) the affected signatory or signato18 ries consent to use the toll revenues for re19 gional transportation projects;

20 (E) to enter into any contract or agree21 ment appropriate to the performance of the du22 ties of the Corporation;

23 (F) to enter into partnerships or grant

24 concessions between the public and private sec25 tors for the purpose of—
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1 (i) financing, constructing, maintain2 ing, improving, or operating regional trans3 portation facilities in the metropolitan

4 Washington region; or

5 (ii) fostering development of a new

6 transportation technology;

7 (G) to obtain any necessary Federal au8 thorization, permit, or approval for the con9 struction, repair, maintenance, or operation of

10 regional transportation facilities in the metro11 politan Washington region;

12 (H) to adopt an official seal and alter the

13 seal, as the Corporation considers to be appro14 priate;

15 (I) to appoint 1 or more advisory commit16 tees;

17 (J) to sue and be sued in the name of the

18 Corporation;

19 (K) to contract with State or local govern20 ments, or other entities, to carry out such

21 maintenance of traffic activities during con22 struction of regional transportation facilities in

23 the metropolitan Washington region as are con24 sidered to be necessary by the Corporation to
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1 properly manage traffic and minimize conges2 tion, such as—

3 (i) public information campaigns;

4 (ii) improvements designed to encour5 age appropriate use of alternative routes;

6 (iii) use of high occupancy vehicles

7 and transit services; and

8 (iv) deployment and operation of intel9 ligent transportation system technologies;

10 (L) to carry out any activity appropriate to

11 the exercise of the powers or performance of the

12 duties of the Corporation under this Act and

13 under any interstate compact or agreement re14 lating to the Corporation that is consistent with

15 this Act, if the activity is coordinated and con16 sistent with the transportation planning process

17 implemented by the metropolitan planning orga18 nization for the metropolitan Washington re19 gion under section 134 of title 23, United

20 States Code, and section 5303 of title 49,

21 United States Code; and

22 (M) to work with the metropolitan Wash23 ington region jurisdictions to improve coordina24 tion of transportation planning and land use

25 planning.
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1 (b) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to the

2 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Sen3 ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc4 ture of the House of Representatives—

5 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of en6 actment of this Act, an interim report on the

7 progress of the Board in developing cooperative

8 transportation plans and regional funding mecha9 nisms to meet transportation needs in the metropoli10 tan Washington region; and

11 (2) not later than 3 years after the date of en12 actment of this Act, a final report on the results of

13 the actions of the Board in developing cooperative

14 transportation plans and regional funding mecha15 nisms to meet transportation needs in the metropoli16 tan Washington region.

17 SEC. 7. MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING AND EFFORT.

18 The funding provided under any regional transpor19 tation program developed under this Act shall supplement

20 (and not supplant) other Federal, State, and local trans21 portation funding for the metropolitan Washington region

22 jurisdictions. In using funds provided under this Act, a

23 metropolitan Washington region jurisdiction shall main24 tain the expenditures of the jurisdiction for transportation

25 in the metropolitan Washington region, at a level that is
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1 not less than the level of the expenditures maintained by

2 the jurisdiction for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year

3 for which the funds are received.

4 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—There is authorized to

6 be appropriated to carry out this Act $300,000 for each

7 of fiscal years 2000 through 2002, of which not less

8 than—

9 (1) $100,000 shall be used by the Board for

10 salaries and administrative expenses of experts in fi11 nancing and developing interstate compacts or

12 agreements; and

13 (2) $200,000 shall be used by the Board to

14 support a collaborative planning process, to dissemi15 nate information to the public, and to pay the sala16 ries and administrative expenses of public outreach

17 staff.

18 (b) INCENTIVE GRANTS.—There is authorized to be

19 appropriated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002

20 through 2004 to provide up to 25 percent of the cost of

21 regional projects agreed to by the signatories under sec22 tion 5(d).

Æ