II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 431 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to require transportation planners 

to consider projects and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2021 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 

and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to require transportation planners to consider projects and strategies to 

reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 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 ‘‘Generating Resilient, 

5 Environmentally Exceptional National Streets Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘GREEN Streets Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF PROJECTS AND STRATEGIES 

2 TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. 

3 (a) NATIONAL GOALS AND PERFORMANCE MANAGE4 MENT MEASURES.—Section 150 of title 23, United States 

5 Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraph (7) as 

8 paragraph (8); and 

9 (B) by inserting after paragraph (6) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(7) COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE.—To re12 duce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emis13 sions and improve the resilience of the transpor14 tation system.’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (c)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (i) by striking the paragraph designa18 tion and all that follows through ‘‘Not 

19 later’’ and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) RULEMAKING.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’; and 

22 (ii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall peri25 odically update the rulemaking promulgated 

26 under subparagraph (A) as necessary, including 


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1 to implement the amendments made to this sec2 tion by the GREEN Streets Act.’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (5)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

5 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

6 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

7 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

8 and’’; and 

9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(C) transit accessibility (as defined in sec12 tion 5326(a) of title 49); 

13 ‘‘(D) transit stop distance (as defined in 

14 section 5326(a) of title 49); and 

15 ‘‘(E) transit mode share (as defined in sec16 tion 5326(a) of title 49).’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(7) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ON PUBLIC

19 ROADS.—For the purpose of carrying out section 

20 119(f)(3), the Secretary shall establish— 

21 ‘‘(A) minimum standards for States to use 

22 in decreasing per capita vehicle miles traveled 

23 on public roads, including through— 

24 ‘‘(i) alignment of zoning and land use 

25 policy and planning; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) investment in active and safe 

2 transportation infrastructure, such as side3 walks, trails, and bike lanes; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) public transit; 

5 ‘‘(B) minimum standards for States to use 

6 in improving the resilience of public roads; 

7 ‘‘(C) in consultation with the Adminis8 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 

9 minimum standards for the reduction of green10 house gas emissions on public roads, with the 

11 goal of achieving net-zero emissions; and 

12 ‘‘(D) measures for States to use to as13 sess— 

14 ‘‘(i) carbon dioxide emissions on pub15 lic roads; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) any other greenhouse gas emis17 sions on public roads, as determined to be 

18 appropriate by the Secretary.’’; and 

19 (3) in subsection (d)(1)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (c), each State 

21 shall set’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)(A), 

22 and not later than 1 year after each update of 

23 that rulemaking under subsection (c)(1)(B), 

24 each State shall set or update, as applicable,’’; 

25 and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘and (6)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(6), and (7)’’. 

3 (b) METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.— 

4 (1) FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS.—Section 134(h) 

5 of title 23, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

8 (F) through (J) as subparagraphs (H) 

9 through (L), respectively; and 

10 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

11 (E) the following: 

12 ‘‘(F) reduce carbon dioxide and other 

13 greenhouse gas emissions; 

14 ‘‘(G) decrease per capita vehicle miles trav15 eled;’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) ANALYSIS OF PROJECTS THAT INCREASE

18 TRAFFIC CAPACITY.—In furtherance of the planning 

19 goals described in subparagraphs (F) and (G) of 

20 paragraph (1), a metropolitan planning organization 

21 shall conduct and publish an analysis of the impact 

22 on per capita vehicle miles traveled, mobile source 

23 greenhouse gas emissions, and non-single-occupancy24 vehicle trips, including trips by bicycle, pedestrian 

25 travel, public transportation, and passenger rail, 


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1 prior to approval of each project within the metro2 politan planning area that— 

3 ‘‘(A) uses funds made available under this 

4 title to increase traffic capacity, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) by adding new travel lanes, in6 cluding on an existing road; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) by converting shoulder lanes into 

8 new travel lanes; and 

9 ‘‘(B) is projected to receive not less than 

10 $25,000,000 of Federal funds made available 

11 under this title.’’. 

12 (2) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.—Section 

13 5303(h)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 

16 through (I) as subparagraphs (H) through (K), 

17 respectively; and 

18 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(F) reduce carbon dioxide and other 

21 greenhouse gas emissions; 

22 ‘‘(G) decrease per capita vehicle miles trav23 eled;’’. 

24 (c) STATEWIDE AND NONMETROPOLITAN TRANSPOR25 TATION PLANNING.— 


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1 (1) FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS.—Section 135(d) 

2 of title 23, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

5 (F) through (J) as subparagraphs (H) 

6 through (L), respectively; and 

7 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

8 (E) the following: 

9 ‘‘(F) reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse 

10 gas emissions; 

11 ‘‘(G) decrease per capita vehicle miles trav12 eled;’’; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4) ANALYSIS OF PROJECTS THAT INCREASE

15 TRAFFIC CAPACITY.—In furtherance of the planning 

16 goals described in subparagraphs (F) and (G) of 

17 paragraph (1), a State shall conduct and publish an 

18 analysis of the impact on per capita vehicle miles 

19 traveled, mobile source greenhouse gas emissions, 

20 and non-single-occupancy-vehicle trips, including 

21 trips by bicycle, pedestrian travel, public transpor22 tation, and passenger rail, prior to approval of each 

23 project within the State that— 

24 ‘‘(A) uses funds made available under this 

25 title to increase traffic capacity, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) by adding new travel lanes, in2 cluding on an existing road; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) by converting shoulder lanes into 

4 new travel lanes; and 

5 ‘‘(B) is projected to receive not less than 

6 $25,000,000 of Federal funds made available 

7 under this title.’’. 

8 (2) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.—Section 

9 5304(d)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 

12 through (I) as subparagraphs (H) through (K), 

13 respectively; and 

14 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(F) reduce carbon dioxide and other 

17 greenhouse gas emissions; 

18 ‘‘(G) decrease per capita vehicle miles trav19 eled;’’. 

20 (d) NATIONAL HIGHWAY PERFORMANCE PRO21 GRAM.—Section 119(f) of title 23, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 

24 ‘‘CONDITIONS’’ and inserting ‘‘CONDITIONS; GREEN25 HOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ON PUBLIC ROADS’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(3) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ON PUBLIC

3 ROADS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) PENALTY.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

6 (ii), if a State reports, in a performance 

7 target report under section 150(e), that 

8 the State has not achieved the targets of 

9 the State for performance measures de10 scribed in section 150(d) pertaining to the 

11 minimum standards for public roads estab12 lished by the Secretary under section 

13 150(c)(7), the State shall be required, dur14 ing the following fiscal year— 

15 ‘‘(I) to obligate, from the 

16 amounts apportioned to the State 

17 under section 104(b)(1), an amount 

18 that is not less than the amount of 

19 funds apportioned to the State for fis20 cal year 2009 under the Interstate 

21 maintenance program for the purpose 

22 of achieving the targets through 

23 projects on Federal-aid highways; and 

24 ‘‘(II) to obligate, from the 

25 amounts apportioned to the State 


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1 under section 104(b)(2) (other than 

2 amounts suballocated to metropolitan 

3 areas and other areas of the State 

4 under section 133(d)), an amount 

5 equal to 10 percent of the amount of 

6 funds apportioned to the State for fis7 cal year 2009 under the Interstate 

8 maintenance program for the purpose 

9 of achieving the targets through 

10 projects on Federal-aid highways. 

11 ‘‘(ii) INCREASE.—Each fiscal year 

12 after the date of enactment of this para13 graph, the amount required to be obligated 

14 under clause (i)(I) shall be increased by 2 

15 percent over the amount required to be ob16 ligated in the previous fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(B) RESTORATION.—The obligation re18 quirement in subparagraph (A)(i)(I) for a fiscal 

19 year shall remain in effect for each subsequent 

20 fiscal year until the date on which the Secretary 

21 determines that the State has achieved the tar22 gets of the State for performance measures de23 scribed in section 150(d) pertaining to the min24 imum standards for public roads established by 

25 the Secretary under section 150(c)(7).’’. 


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1 (e) TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY.— 

2 (1) TRANSIT ACCESS.—Section 5326 of title 49, 

3 United States Code, is amended— 

4 (A) in the section heading, by inserting 

5 ‘‘and accessibility’’ after ‘‘manage6 ment’’; 

7 (B) in subsection (a)— 

8 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

9 and (3) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respec10 tively; and 

11 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en14 tity’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) any metropolitan planning area with 

16 a population of not fewer than 250,000 individ17 uals on the date of enactment of the GREEN 

18 Streets Act; and 

19 ‘‘(B) any State in which there exists a 

20 metropolitan planning area with a population of 

21 not fewer than 250,000 individuals on the date 

22 of enactment of the GREEN Streets Act. 

23 ‘‘(3) TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY.—The term ‘tran24 sit accessibility’ means the share of jobs, health care 

25 facilities, grocery stores and other food suppliers, 


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1 schools, and other destinations accessible by public 

2 transportation in any 45-minute period.’’; 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(6) TRANSIT MODE SHARE.—The term ‘transit 

5 mode share’ means the percentage of trips taken by 

6 public transportation for both commuting and non7 commuting trips. 

8 ‘‘(7) TRANSIT STOP DISTANCE.—The term 

9 ‘transit stop distance’ means the average distance by 

10 census block to the nearest transit stop, passenger 

11 station, or terminal providing regularly scheduled 

12 service.’’; 

13 (D) by redesignating subsections (c) and 

14 (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

15 (E) by inserting after subsection (b) the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(c) TRANSIT ACCESS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS AND PERFORMANCE MEAS19 URES.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en20 actment of the GREEN Streets Act, the Secretary 

21 shall establish national transit access standards and 

22 performance measures for— 

23 ‘‘(A) transit accessibility; 

24 ‘‘(B) transit stop distance; and 

25 ‘‘(C) transit mode share. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE TARGETS AND INITIAL RE2 PORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date on 

3 which the Secretary establishes the standards and 

4 performance measures under paragraph (1), the Sec5 retary shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) require each covered entity to— 

7 ‘‘(i) establish targets for the covered 

8 entity relating to each of the standards 

9 and performance measures described in 

10 paragraph (1); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) submit to the Secretary a report 

12 describing— 

13 ‘‘(I) the performance of the cov14 ered entity with respect to each of the 

15 standards and performance measures 

16 described in paragraph (1); and 

17 ‘‘(II) by functional classification, 

18 the share of housing units and road19 ways in the covered entity that have— 

20 ‘‘(aa) sidewalks; 

21 ‘‘(bb) crosswalks; 

22 ‘‘(cc) dedicated bike lanes; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(dd) other forms of dedi25 cated nonmotorized facilities; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance, including 

2 analytical tools, to assist a covered entity in— 

3 ‘‘(i) establishing targets under sub4 paragraph (A)(i); and 

5 ‘‘(ii) reporting on performance under 

6 subparagraph (A)(ii). 

7 ‘‘(3) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) TIMING.—Not later than 180 days 

9 after receipt of the initial report under para10 graph (2)(A)(ii), the Secretary shall establish a 

11 schedule for the submission of subsequent re12 ports by each covered entity. 

13 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each subsequent report 

14 under this paragraph shall describe— 

15 ‘‘(i) the progress of the covered entity 

16 in meeting the targets of the covered entity 

17 relating to the standards and performance 

18 measures described in paragraph (1), in19 cluding any change in performance since 

20 the submission of the previous report; 

21 ‘‘(ii) any revision of existing targets or 

22 establishment of new targets relating to 

23 the standards and performance measures 

24 described in paragraph (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) any proposal for the revision of 

2 existing targets or the establishment of 

3 new targets relating to the standards and 

4 performance measures described in para5 graph (1). 

6 ‘‘(C) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec7 retary shall provide technical assistance, includ8 ing analytical tools, to assist a covered entity 

9 in— 

10 ‘‘(i) reporting on performance under 

11 this paragraph; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) establishing or revising perform13 ance targets relating to the standards and 

14 performance measures described in para15 graph (1).’’. 

16 (2) METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN17 NING.—Section 5303(h)(2)(B)(i)(I) of title 49, 

18 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘title 

19 23,’’ and inserting ‘‘title 23 and section 5326,’’. 

20 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (A) Section 134(h)(2)(B)(ii) of title 23, 

22 United States Code, is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘5326(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘5326(d)’’. 


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1 (B) Section 135(d)(2)(B)(ii) of title 23, 

2 United States Code, is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘5326(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘5326(d)’’. 

4 (C) Section 5303(h)(2)(B)(ii) of title 49, 

5 United States Code, is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘5326(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘5326(d)’’. 

7 (D) Section 5304(d)(2)(B)(ii) of title 49, 

8 United States Code, is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘5326(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘5326(d)’’. 

10 (E) Section 5337(a)(4)(B) of title 49, 

11 United States Code, is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘5326(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘5326(e)’’. 

13 (F) Section 24904(c)(1)(A) of title 49, 

14 United States Code, is amended by inserting 

15 ‘‘subsections (b), (d), and (e) of’’ after ‘‘author16 ized under’’. 

Æ 


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