I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4726 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish an innovation in surface transportation program, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2014 

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Ms. TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish an innovation in 

surface transportation program, 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 ‘‘Innovation in Surface 

5 Transportation Act of 2014’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. INNOVATION IN SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 

4 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 104 the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘§ 105. Innovation in surface transportation program 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 

8 with State transportation departments, shall establish an 

9 innovation in surface transportation program in accord10 ance with the requirements of this section. 

11 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program shall 

12 be— 

13 ‘‘(1) to increase the return on investment in the 

14 Nation’s surface transportation system; 

15 ‘‘(2) to make the Nation’s surface transpor16 tation system more reliable, safe, and efficient by 

17 advancing innovative projects selected through State 

18 competitions; 

19 ‘‘(3) to increase input from local government 

20 and stakeholders on projects receiving funding; and 

21 ‘‘(4) to leverage Federal highway dollars further 

22 through in-State competitions. 

23 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall make grants 

25 under this section to eligible entities for eligible 

26 projects to be carried out in the State using funds 

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1 reserved by the State for a fiscal year under sub2 section (e)(1). 

3 ‘‘(2) STATE COMPETITIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of 

5 making grants under this section, a State shall 

6 conduct a competition each fiscal year under 

7 which the State will accept grant applications 

8 submitted by eligible entities. 

9 ‘‘(B) COMPETITION DATES.—A State shall 

10 conduct a competition under subparagraph 

11 (A)— 

12 ‘‘(i) not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of enactment of this section; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) not later than 30 days after the 

15 first day of each fiscal year beginning after 

16 such date of enactment. 

17 ‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECTION CRI19 TERIA.—The State selection panel of each State 

20 shall establish and make available to the public 

21 the project selection criteria that will be used by 

22 the State in conducting competitions under 

23 paragraph (2). 

24 ‘‘(B) FACTORS.—The project selection cri25 teria of a State may provide for the approval of 

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1 project applications based on the extent to 

2 which the projects— 

3 ‘‘(i) improve safety for all users of the 

4 transportation network; 

5 ‘‘(ii) strengthen the contribution of a 

6 national freight network to the Nation’s 

7 economic competitiveness; 

8 ‘‘(iii) promote multimodal 

9 connectivity; 

10 ‘‘(iv) strengthen return on investment, 

11 particularly the impact on local economic 

12 development; 

13 ‘‘(v) improve access to jobs, sources of 

14 labor, schools, and opportunity; 

15 ‘‘(vi) optimize, through better design 

16 and operation, the usage and efficiency of 

17 existing transportation facilities; 

18 ‘‘(vii) improve the reliability of the 

19 transportation system of the United 

20 States; 

21 ‘‘(viii) encourage innovation and the 

22 use of technology; or 

23 ‘‘(ix) further the purposes described in 

24 subsection (b). 

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1 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF CER2 TAIN FACTORS.—In addition to the factors 

3 specified in subparagraph (B), the project selec4 tion criteria of a State may— 

5 ‘‘(i) provide that special consideration 

6 in the approval of project applications is 

7 given to eligible projects that— 

8 ‘‘(I) maximize the amount of pro9 posed project costs that can be borne 

10 by the applicant from non-Federal 

11 sources; or 

12 ‘‘(II) have prior significant Fed13 eral or non-Federal investment; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) give equal consideration to dif15 ferences in the fiscal capacity of public eli16 gible entities. 

17 ‘‘(D) FUNDING DISTRIBUTION.—The 

18 project selection criteria of a State shall take 

19 into consideration the equitable distribution of 

20 funds by geography and population. 

21 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR PRIVATE TRANSPOR22 TATION PROVIDERS.—An eligible entity that is a pri23 vate transportation provider may submit a project 

24 application in a State competition conducted under 

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1 paragraph (2) only if the application is sponsored by 

2 a public entity. 

3 ‘‘(d) INNOVATION IN SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SE4 LECTION PANEL.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State, in coordination 

6 with local transportation stakeholders, shall establish 

7 an innovation in surface transportation selection 

8 panel in accordance with this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—A State selection panel shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) review project applications submitted 

11 to the State during a competition conducted 

12 under subsection (c)(2); and 

13 ‘‘(B) approve and disapprove the project 

14 applications based on the criteria set forth in 

15 subsection (c)(3). 

16 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—A State selection panel 

17 shall be composed of the following members to be 

18 appointed by the State— 

19 ‘‘(A) not fewer than 3 individuals rep20 resenting the State’s transportation depart21 ment; 

22 ‘‘(B) not fewer than 3 individuals rep23 resenting local governments in the State, with 

24 at least 1 representative from each of— 

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1 ‘‘(i) a jurisdiction with a population of 

2 50,000 individuals or fewer; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a jurisdiction with a population 

4 of more than 50,000 individuals and not 

5 more than 1,000,000 individuals; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) a jurisdiction with a population 

7 of more than 1,000,000 individuals, if ap8 plicable; and 

9 ‘‘(C) not fewer than 3 individuals rep10 resenting metropolitan planning organizations, 

11 councils of governments, and rural planning or12 ganizations. 

13 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—In addition to 

14 the members appointed under paragraph (3), a 

15 State selection panel shall be composed of 9 mem16 bers to be appointed by the State, in coordination 

17 with local transportation stakeholders, from among 

18 individuals representing— 

19 ‘‘(A) local chambers of commerce; 

20 ‘‘(B) transportation management organiza21 tions, travel and tourism boards, economic de22 velopment organizations, and other coalitions of 

23 employers and commerce; 

24 ‘‘(C) local air quality boards or local orga25 nizations supporting improved air quality; 

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1 ‘‘(D) State safety boards or local organiza2 tions supporting safety; 

3 ‘‘(E) transit agencies; 

4 ‘‘(F) port authorities, if applicable; 

5 ‘‘(G) active transportation organizations; 

6 ‘‘(H) public interest organizations; and 

7 ‘‘(I) labor unions. 

8 ‘‘(5) DISTRIBUTION OF REPRESENTATIVES.—A 

9 State shall appoint members to the State’s selection 

10 panel in a manner such that— 

11 ‘‘(A) the number of members appointed 

12 under each of paragraphs (3)(A), (3)(B), and 

13 (3)(C) is equal; and 

14 ‘‘(B) at least 1 member is appointed under 

15 paragraph (4) from each of the entities de16 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of 

17 paragraph (4), if applicable. 

18 ‘‘(6) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—The members 

19 of a State selection panel shall be geographically di20 verse, to the extent practicable. 

21 ‘‘(7) REPRESENTATION LIMITATION.—Except 

22 for the representatives described in paragraphs 

23 (3)(A) and (3)(B)(iii), no entity may be represented 

24 on a State selection panel for more than 2 consecumstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tive years if a comparable entity can also be rep2 resented on the panel. 

3 ‘‘(8) CONTINUITY.—A State shall appoint mem4 bers to the State’s selection panel using a 2-tiered 

5 rotation process that ensures continuity of the panel 

6 by rotating the membership of the panel on a stag7 gered basis. 

8 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 

9 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—On October 1 

10 of each fiscal year, a State shall make the following 

11 reservations of funds: 

12 ‘‘(A) NATIONAL HIGHWAY PERFORMANCE

13 PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve 10 percent 

14 of the amount apportioned to the State for the 

15 fiscal year under section 104(b)(1)— 

16 ‘‘(i) for carrying out State competi17 tions under this section; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) for making grants under this sec19 tion for eligible projects. 

20 ‘‘(B) HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT

21 PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve not less 

22 than 33 percent of the amount apportioned to 

23 the State for the fiscal year under section 

24 104(b)(3) for making grants under this section 

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1 for eligible projects that are projects described 

2 in section 148. 

3 ‘‘(C) CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR

4 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(i) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The 

6 State shall reserve not less than 33 percent 

7 of the amount apportioned to the State for 

8 the fiscal year under section 104(b)(4) and 

9 unobligated balances for section 104(b)(4) 

10 from the prior fiscal year for making 

11 grants under this section for eligible 

12 projects that are projects described in sec13 tion 149(b). 

14 ‘‘(ii) USE OF RESERVED FUNDS.—If 

15 the State has one or more nonattainment 

16 areas (as defined in section 171(2) of the 

17 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7501(2))), the 

18 State shall use amounts reserved under 

19 this subparagraph for making grants 

20 under this section for eligible projects de21 scribed in section 149(b) in such areas. 

22 ‘‘(D) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PRO23 GRAM.—The State shall reserve not less than 

24 33 percent of the amount allocated to the State 

25 for the fiscal year under section 133(d)(1)(B) 

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1 for making grants under this section for eligible 

2 projects. 

3 ‘‘(E) TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES

4 PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve 33 percent 

5 of the amount reserved by the State for the fis6 cal year under section 213(c)(1)(B) for making 

7 grants under this section for eligible projects 

8 that are projects described in section 213(b). 

9 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—Any funds that a State 

10 directly suballocates to metropolitan areas or direct 

11 recipients of funds under section 5307 of title 49 or 

12 awards through an open statewide competition to eli13 gible entities shall be excluded from the funds from 

14 which reservations are to be made under paragraph 

15 (1). 

16 ‘‘(3) NON-AWARDED FUNDS.—For each fiscal 

17 year, a State shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) determine— 

19 ‘‘(i) the total amount of funds, if any, 

20 that have been reserved by the State for 

21 the fiscal year under paragraph (1) but 

22 have not been awarded by the State in 

23 grants under this section on or before the 

24 last day of the fiscal year; and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) the total amount of funds, if any, 

2 that have been awarded in grants by the 

3 State under this section but remain unobli4 gated by the grant recipient after the last 

5 day of the 5-year period beginning on the 

6 date on which the grant was awarded; and 

7 ‘‘(B) distribute or redistribute such funds, 

8 as appropriate, using the process under sub9 section (c)(2). 

10 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

11 definitions apply: 

12 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en13 tity’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a local government; 

15 ‘‘(B) a regional transportation authority; 

16 ‘‘(C) a transit agency; 

17 ‘‘(D) a tribal government; 

18 ‘‘(E) a private provider of public transpor19 tation; 

20 ‘‘(F) a nonprofit transportation organiza21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(G) a port authority; 

23 ‘‘(H) a joint power authority; or 

24 ‘‘(I) a local rail authority. 

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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘eligible 

2 project’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a project eligible under— 

4 ‘‘(i) section 133(b), relating to the 

5 surface transportation program; 

6 ‘‘(ii) section 148, relating to the high7 way safety improvement program; 

8 ‘‘(iii) section 149(b), relating to the 

9 congestion mitigation and air quality im10 provement program; or 

11 ‘‘(iv) section 213(b), relating to the 

12 transportation alternatives program; or 

13 ‘‘(B) a surface transportation project that 

14 will improve the movement of goods along a pri15 mary freight network, including multimodal fa16 cilities near a primary freight route. 

17 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’, except as 

18 otherwise specifically provided, means the innovation 

19 in surface transportation program established under 

20 this section. 

21 ‘‘(4) STATE SELECTION PANEL.—The term 

22 ‘State selection panel’ means an innovation in sur23 face transportation selection panel established by a 

24 State under subsection (d). 

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1 ‘‘(g) TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 30 days after 

2 a State has selected projects for a fiscal year to receive 

3 funding under this section, the State shall make available, 

4 in a publically accessible medium that is easy to navi5 gate— 

6 ‘‘(1) the criteria and methodology used to select 

7 the projects; 

8 ‘‘(2) a list of all the projects for which funding 

9 was requested, including, for each such project— 

10 ‘‘(A) the total estimated project cost; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the amount of funding requested; 

12 ‘‘(3) a list of projects that were selected to re13 ceive funding under this section, including, for each 

14 such project— 

15 ‘‘(A) the amount of funding requested; 

16 ‘‘(B) the amount of funding granted; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the source of the non-Federal share 

18 of cost of the project; and 

19 ‘‘(4) the ranking and scoring of all projects for 

20 which funding was requested. 

21 ‘‘(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) STATE REPORTS.—Not later than 180 

23 days after the last day of each fiscal year, a State 

24 shall submit to the Secretary a report that de25 scribes— 

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1 ‘‘(A) the information required under sub2 section (g); 

3 ‘‘(B) the organizations that were rep4 resented on the State’s selection panel; 

5 ‘‘(C) the portion of the funds available to 

6 the State for the program that have been obli7 gated; and 

8 ‘‘(D) the percentage of the funds available 

9 to the State for the program that were used for 

10 administrative expenses. 

11 ‘‘(2) BIENNIAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not 

12 later than September 30, 2016, and biennially there13 after, the Secretary shall submit a consolidated re14 port on the program, including a review of the State 

15 reports submitted pursuant to paragraph (1), to— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

17 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

18 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Commerce, 

19 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

20 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Environment and 

21 Public Works of the Senate; and 

22 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Transportation 

23 and Infrastructure of the House of Representa24 tives. 

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1 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make 

2 the report submitted under paragraph (2) available 

3 on the public Internet Web site of the Department 

4 of Transportation. 

5 ‘‘(i) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH COMPETITIVE

6 AND SUBALLOCATED PROGRAMS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may permit 

8 a State to distribute funding described in subpara9 graphs (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of subsection 

10 (e)(1) through the mechanisms described in para11 graph (2) if the Secretary certifies that the State is 

12 distributing such funding in a manner that fulfills 

13 the purposes of this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION MECHANISMS.—Distribu15 tion mechanisms that qualify under paragraph (1) 

16 include— 

17 ‘‘(A) an open and competitive State pro18 gram that is substantially similar to the re19 quirements of this section; 

20 ‘‘(B) direct suballocation to metropolitan 

21 areas of a majority of all funds— 

22 ‘‘(i) apportioned to the State under 

23 sections 104(b)(1), 104(b)(2), 104(b)(3), 

24 and 104(b)(4); and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) allocated to the State under sec2 tion 213(a)(1); and 

3 ‘‘(C) a competitive State program or direct 

4 suballocation to metropolitan areas or direct re5 cipients of funds under section 5307 of title 49 

6 of more than 95 percent of the funds— 

7 ‘‘(i) apportioned to the State under 

8 section 104(b)(1), 104(b)(2), 104(b)(3), or 

9 104(b)(4); or 

10 ‘‘(ii) allocated to the State under sec11 tion 213(a)(1). 

12 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER.— 

13 Before making a certification under paragraph 

14 (1)(B), the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) publish in the Federal Register the 

16 Secretary’s intent to make the certification; 

17 ‘‘(B) provide the public not fewer than 90 

18 days to comment on the proposed certification; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(C) take into consideration any comments 

21 received during the comment period. 

22 ‘‘(4) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—At least 15 days 

23 before making a certification under paragraph 

24 (1)(B), the Secretary shall submit a notice to the 

25 congressional committees referred to in subsection 

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1 (h)(2) and the members of the State’s congressional 

2 delegation that includes— 

3 ‘‘(A) a notification of the Secretary’s in4 tent to make the certification; and 

5 ‘‘(B) a justification for the proposed cer6 tification.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap8 ter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by insert9 ing after the item relating to section 104 the following: 

‘‘105. Innovation in surface transportation program.’’. 

Æ 

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