I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5621 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a transit accessibility innovation program, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. DUCKWORTH, 

Mr. COHEN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, and Mr. HOLT) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a transit accessibility innovation 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 ‘‘Transit Accessibility 

5 Innovation Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY INNOVATION PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 49, United 

3 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5307 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 5308. Transit accessibility innovation program 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

7 transit accessibility innovation program in accordance 

8 with the requirements of this section to encourage public 

9 transit systems to take actions to address deficiencies in 

10 service for individuals with disabilities. 

11 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORITY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro13 gram, the Secretary shall distribute amounts made 

14 available to carry out this section as competitive dis15 cretionary grants to public transit agencies for eligi16 ble projects. 

17 ‘‘(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

18 shall develop criteria to ensure that projects receiv19 ing funding under the program are innovative and 

20 replicable in other communities, and will result in a 

21 substantive improvement in service for individuals 

22 with disabilities. 

23 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to 

25 receive a grant under the program, a public transit 

26 agency shall submit to the Secretary an application 


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1 at such time, in such form, and containing such in2 formation as the Secretary may require. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application for a grant 

4 under the program shall contain, at a minimum, a 

5 description of— 

6 ‘‘(A) the project for which the applicant is 

7 seeking funding; 

8 ‘‘(B) the anticipated benefits the project 

9 will deliver for the following long-term out10 comes: community integration, safety, accessi11 bility, quality, coordination, and customer serv12 ice; 

13 ‘‘(C) the expected contribution of the 

14 project to the inclusion of individuals with dis15 abilities in the delivery of public transportation 

16 and ADA paratransit service; 

17 ‘‘(D) the ability of the project to facilitate 

18 innovation in providing public transportation to 

19 individuals with disabilities; and 

20 ‘‘(E) the ability of the project to attract 

21 new partnerships and non-Federal funding, in22 cluding State, local, private, and philanthropic 

23 funding. 

24 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY COORDINATION REQUIRE25 MENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION.—To ensure that 

2 projects receiving funding under this section ad3 dress the needs of individuals with disabilities 

4 in a geographic area, an application for a grant 

5 under the program shall contain a certification 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(i) each project for which the appli8 cant is seeking funding is included in a lo9 cally developed, coordinated public transit10 human services transportation plan; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the plan was developed and ap12 proved through a process that included 

13 community participation, including by— 

14 ‘‘(I) seniors; 

15 ‘‘(II) individuals with disabilities; 

16 ‘‘(III) representatives of public, 

17 private, and nonprofit transportation 

18 and human service providers; and 

19 ‘‘(IV) other members of the pub20 lic. 

21 ‘‘(B) USE OF EXISTING PLANS.—A plan 

22 used to coordinate the funding of projects 

23 under section 5310 may be used to satisfy the 

24 requirements of subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—The requirements of 

2 this paragraph shall not apply to the transpor3 tation promotion pilot program established 

4 under this section. 

5 ‘‘(d) FACTORS.—In providing grant funds for 

6 projects under the program, the Secretary shall consider, 

7 at a minimum, the ability of the project to— 

8 ‘‘(1) enhance accessibility to rail and fixed 

9 route bus service; 

10 ‘‘(2) promote paratransit coordination with 

11 other programs and utilize other revenue streams; 

12 ‘‘(3) increase service quality to address cus13 tomer complaints; 

14 ‘‘(4) provide fixed route travel training for pas15 sengers and specialized training for paratransit per16 sonnel; 

17 ‘‘(5) reduce turnover through increased wages 

18 and benefits, and increase monitoring, in the provi19 sion of ADA paratransit; 

20 ‘‘(6) provide ADA complementary paratransit 

21 services in a way that maximizes quality, reliability, 

22 safety, customer satisfaction, and a stable workforce 

23 by determining what factors within contracting 

24 might impact the quality of ADA paratransit serv25 ices; 


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1 ‘‘(7) improve ADA paratransit on-time perform2 ance and interoperability with other transportation 

3 services available to people with disabilities, both 

4 public and private; 

5 ‘‘(8) delay or suspend proposed ADA para6 transit service cuts triggered by the elimination or 

7 cutting of fixed route bus routes; 

8 ‘‘(9) delay or suspend cuts for paratransit serv9 ices that exceed ADA requirements, except that 

10 grant funds may not be issued under this section 

11 more than once for the same route (or a signifi12 cantly similar route); 

13 ‘‘(10) increase opportunities for community in14 tegration and independence of people with disabil15 ities by promoting access to employment and other 

16 resources; and 

17 ‘‘(11) augment passenger safety, without com18 promising passengers’ rights under the ADA. 

19 ‘‘(e) PRACTICES TO PROMOTE SUCCESSFUL OUT20 COMES AND SHARING OF INFORMATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) PRIORITY.—In providing grant funds for 

22 eligible projects under the program, the Secretary 

23 shall give priority to projects that are replicable in 

24 other communities using existing resources. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SET ASIDE FOR ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE

2 SHARING OF BEST PRACTICES.—For each fiscal 

3 year, the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) set aside 2 percent of the funds made 

5 available to carry out this section; and 

6 ‘‘(B) use those amounts to carry out activi7 ties to ensure that innovative practices, pro8 gram models, and new service delivery options 

9 are collected, reviewed, and disseminated to 

10 other public transit agencies, so that the prac11 tices, models, and options can be replicated in 

12 other communities. 

13 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

14 shall provide technical assistance to recipients of 

15 grant funds under the program to ensure that the 

16 projects carried out using the funds are successful. 

17 ‘‘(f) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ADA MINIMUM STANDARDS.—Funds re19 ceived under the program may not be used to meet 

20 the minimum standards of the ADA, including ADA 

21 complementary paratransit service requirements. 

22 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—To ensure that grant 

23 activities are not supplanting existing, budgeted 

24 services and that public transit agencies are uphold25 ing maintenance of effort on existing programs, a 


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1 public transit agency receiving grant funds under 

2 the program shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) certify that the funds will not be used 

4 to pay for existing services; or 

5 ‘‘(B) provide an explanation as to why the 

6 existing services are justified grant activities. 

7 ‘‘(g) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—A grant under this 

8 section shall be subject to the same requirements as a 

9 grant under section 5307, except that any public transit 

10 agency may use grant funds received under the program 

11 for operating expenses. 

12 ‘‘(h) TRANSPORTATION PROMOTION PILOT PRO13 GRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(1) SET ASIDE.—For each fiscal year, the Sec15 retary shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) set aside 1 percent of the funds made 

17 available to carry out this section or $100,000, 

18 whichever amount is greater; and 

19 ‘‘(B) use those amounts to carry out a 

20 transportation promotion pilot program under 

21 this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the transpor23 tation promotion pilot program shall be to ensure 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) public transit agencies fulfill their re2 quirements under the ADA; and 

3 ‘‘(B) individuals with disabilities have ad4 vocates to ensure greater opportunities for inte5 gration and access into transit systems. 

6 ‘‘(3) GRANT AUTHORITY.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

8 transportation promotion pilot program, the 

9 Secretary shall make grants to— 

10 ‘‘(i) agencies implementing a system 

11 established under section 143 of the Devel12 opmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill 

13 of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15043) 

14 that have demonstrated histories of trans15 portation expertise or advocacy; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) nonprofit organizations that have 

17 demonstrated histories of transportation 

18 expertise or advocacy. 

19 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to re20 ceive a grant under this paragraph, an agency 

21 or organization shall demonstrate to the Sec22 retary that the agency or organization— 

23 ‘‘(i) has a mission that includes indi24 vidual or systemic advocacy and moniVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Oct 03, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5621.IH H5621

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1 toring to address the transportation needs 

2 of individuals with disabilities; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) has the support of other organi4 zations in the disability community. 

5 ‘‘(C) USE OF GRANTS.—Grants funds re6 ceived under this paragraph shall be used to 

7 fund individual or systemic advocacy and moni8 toring to address the transportation needs of 

9 people with disabilities. 

10 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

11 Nothing in this section may be construed to affect projects 

12 or activities carried out under section 5310 or the funding 

13 of such projects or activities. 

14 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

15 definitions apply: 

16 ‘‘(1) ADA.—The term ‘ADA’ means the Ameri17 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 

18 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(2) ADA PARATRANSIT.—The term ‘ADA 

20 paratransit’ means the provision of nonfixed route 

21 paratransit transportation services in accordance 

22 with section 223 of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12143). 

23 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 

2 2020.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 

4 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

5 to section 5307 the following: 

‘‘5308. Transit accessibility innovation program.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. RAISING CAPS ON USE OF FORMULA FUNDS FOR 

7 PROVISION OF NONFIXED ROUTE PARA8 TRANSIT TRANSPORTATION SERVICES. 

9 Section 5302(3)(I) of title 49, United States Code, 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘10 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘15 

11 percent’’. 

Æ 


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