II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2761 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to permit the consolidation of 

metropolitan planning organizations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2014 

Mr. BOOKER 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 permit the consolidation of metropolitan planning organizations, 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 ‘‘Local Empowerment 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONSOLIDATED AND HIGH PERFORMING METRO7 POLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS. 

8 (a) HIGHWAYS.— 

9 (1) APPORTIONMENT.—Section 104(d)(2)(A) of 

10 title 23, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

2 inserting a semicolon; 

3 (B) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause 

4 (iii); and 

5 (C) by inserting after clause (i) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(ii) prioritizes the needs of high per8 forming metropolitan planning organiza9 tions (as designated by the Secretary 

10 under section 134(r) or section 5303(r) of 

11 title 49); and’’. 

12 (2) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM.— 

13 Section 133 of title 23, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (A) in subsection (d), by striking para16 graph (1) and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) CALCULATION.—Of the funds apportioned 

18 to a State under section 104(b)(2)— 

19 ‘‘(A) 50 percent for a fiscal year shall be 

20 obligated under this section, in proportion to 

21 their relative shares of the population of the 

22 State— 

23 ‘‘(i) in urbanized areas of the State 

24 with an urbanized area population of more 

25 than 200,000; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in urban areas of the State with 

2 an urban area population of not fewer than 

3 5,000 and not more than 200,000; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) in areas of the State with an 

5 area population of fewer than 5,000; 

6 ‘‘(B) 25 percent for a fiscal year may be 

7 obligated under this section in any area of the 

8 State; 

9 ‘‘(C)(i) 25 percent for a fiscal year shall be 

10 obligated under this section, in proportion to 

11 their relative shares of the population of the 

12 State, in urbanized areas described in subpara13 graph (A)(i) that have a high performing met14 ropolitan planning organization (as designated 

15 by the Secretary under section 134(r) or section 

16 5303(r) of title 49); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the funds obligated to 

18 each urbanized area described in clause (i) 

19 shall— 

20 ‘‘(I) be equal to 50 percent of the 

21 amount of the funds obligated to the ur22 banized area under subparagraph (A)(i); 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) be in addition to the funds obli2 gated to the urbanized area under sub3 paragraph (A)(i); and 

4 ‘‘(D) any funds not obligated under sub5 paragraph (C) for a fiscal year shall be obli6 gated under this section, in proportion to the 

7 relative shares of the population of the State, in 

8 any area of the State under subparagraph 

9 (B).’’; 

10 (B) in subsection (f)— 

11 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (I) by striking ‘‘A State’’ and in13 serting ‘‘Except as provided in para14 graph (2), a State’’; 

15 (II) by striking ‘‘section 

16 104(b)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

17 104(b)(2)’’; and 

18 (III) by striking ‘‘2011 through 

19 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘2015 through 

20 2018’’; 

21 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

22 paragraph (3); 

23 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) HIGH PERFORMING METROPOLITAN PLAN2 NING ORGANIZATIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State that is re4 quired to obligate in an urbanized area under 

5 subsections (d)(1)(A)(i) and (d)(1)(C) funds ap6 portioned to the State under section 104(b)(2) 

7 shall make available to the urbanized area for 

8 each fiscal year during the period described in 

9 paragraph (1) an amount of obligation author10 ity distributed to the State for Federal-aid 

11 highways and highway safety construction pro12 grams for use in the area that is equal to the 

13 amount obtained by multiplying— 

14 ‘‘(i) the amount of funds that the 

15 State is required to obligate in the area 

16 under subsections (d)(1)(A)(i) and 

17 (d)(1)(C); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the ratio described in paragraph 

19 (1)(B). 

20 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—The obligation au21 thority described in subparagraph (A) shall re22 main available for a period of 4 fiscal years.’’; 

23 and 


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1 (iv) in paragraph (3) (as so redesig2 nated), by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’; and 

4 (C) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘of 

5 fiscal years 2013 through 2014’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘fiscal year’’. 

7 (3) METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN8 NING.—Section 134 of title 23, United States Code, 

9 is amended— 

10 (A) in subsection (b)— 

11 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

12 through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), 

13 respectively; and 

14 (ii) by inserting before paragraph (2) 

15 (as so redesignated) the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) CONSOLIDATED METROPOLITAN PLANNING

17 ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘consolidated metropoli18 tan planning organization’ means a sole metropoli19 tan planning organization that serves a metropolitan 

20 statistical area.’’; 

21 (B) in subsection (d), by striking para22 graph (6) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(6) CONSOLIDATION OF METROPOLITAN PLAN24 NING ORGANIZATIONS IN URBANIZED AREAS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION ON NEW METROPOLITAN

2 PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS.—A metropolitan 

3 planning organization shall not be designated— 

4 ‘‘(i) within a metropolitan statistical 

5 area if another metropolitan planning or6 ganization already exists within the bound7 aries of the metropolitan statistical area; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(ii) outside the boundaries of a met10 ropolitan statistical area. 

11 ‘‘(B) MULTIPLE EXISTING METROPOLITAN

12 PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS.—If more than 1 

13 existing metropolitan planning organizations 

14 are designated within a metropolitan statistical 

15 area— 

16 ‘‘(i) each metropolitan planning orga17 nization may— 

18 ‘‘(I) retain the designation as a 

19 metropolitan planning organization; or 

20 ‘‘(II) agree to be consolidated 

21 with the other metropolitan planning 

22 organizations; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the existing metropolitan plan24 ning organizations and the applicable Gov25 ernors may— 


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1 ‘‘(I) beginning on January 1, 

2 2022, and once every 10 years there3 after, revisit the agreement described 

4 in clause (i)(I); and 

5 ‘‘(II) submit to the Secretary a 

6 justification of the continued necessity 

7 of that agreement; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) each metropolitan planning or9 ganization shall cooperate with every other 

10 metropolitan planning organization to— 

11 ‘‘(I) develop a single transpor12 tation improvement plan and a single 

13 long-range plan to be used by each 

14 metropolitan planning organization 

15 when developing individual plans of 

16 the metropolitan planning organiza17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(II) establish a single set of per19 formance targets that address the per20 formance measures described in sec21 tion 150(c) to be used in developing 

22 individual performance targets of the 

23 metropolitan planning organization in 

24 accordance with subsection 

25 (h)(2)(B).’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(r) HIGH PERFORMING METROPOLITAN PLANNING

3 ORGANIZATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A metropolitan planning 

5 organization designated for an urbanized area with 

6 a population of more than 200,000 individuals may 

7 request that the Secretary designate the metropoli8 tan planning organization as a high performing met9 ropolitan planning organization. 

10 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—In making a designation 

11 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider— 

12 ‘‘(A) the extent to which the metropolitan 

13 planning organization has an equitable and re14 gional approach to decisionmaking; 

15 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the metropolitan 

16 planning organization has incorporated the per17 formance targets established pursuant to sec18 tion 150 and sections 5303(h)(2), 5326(c) and 

19 5329(d) of title 49 into the planning process; 

20 ‘‘(C) whether the metropolitan planning or21 ganization is a consolidated metropolitan plan22 ning organization; 

23 ‘‘(D) if the metropolitan planning organi24 zation is not a consolidated metropolitan plan25 ning organization, the extent to which the metVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:12 Aug 13, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2761.IS S2761

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1 ropolitan planning organization is coordinating 

2 with all other metropolitan planning organiza3 tions designated for the same metropolitan sta4 tistical area; 

5 ‘‘(E) the technical capacity of the metro6 politan planning organization; and 

7 ‘‘(F) any other guidance established by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—A designation under paragraph 

10 (1) shall be effective for the period beginning on the 

11 date on which the designation is made and ending 

12 on the date that is 10 years after the date on which 

13 the designation is made.’’. 

14 (4) TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES.—Section 

15 213(c) of title 23, United States Code, is amended 

16 by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(1) CALCULATION.—Of the funds reserved in 

19 a State under this section— 

20 ‘‘(A) 50 percent for a fiscal year shall be 

21 obligated under this section to any eligible enti22 ty in proportion to their relative shares of the 

23 population of the State— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in urbanized areas of the State 

2 with an urbanized area population of more 

3 than 200,000; 

4 ‘‘(ii) in urban areas of the State with 

5 an urban area population of not fewer than 

6 5,000 and not more than 200,000; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) in areas of the State with an 

8 area population of fewer than 5,000; 

9 ‘‘(B) 25 percent for a fiscal year may be 

10 obligated under this section in any area of the 

11 State; 

12 ‘‘(C)(i) 25 percent for a fiscal year shall be 

13 obligated under this section in urbanized areas 

14 described in subparagraph (A)(i) that have a 

15 high performing metropolitan planning organi16 zation (as designated by the Secretary under 

17 section 134(r) or section 5303(r) of title 49); 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the funds obligated to 

20 each urbanized area described in clause (i) 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(I) be equal to 50 percent of the 

23 amount of the funds obligated to the ur24 banized area under subparagraph (A)(i); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) be in addition to the funds obli2 gated to the urbanized area under sub3 paragraph (A)(i); and 

4 ‘‘(D) any funds not obligated under sub5 paragraph (C) for a fiscal year shall be obli6 gated under this section in any area of the 

7 State under subparagraph (B).’’. 

8 (b) TRANSPORTATION.—Section 5303 of title 49, 

9 United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

12 through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), re13 spectively; and 

14 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 

15 so redesignated) the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) CONSOLIDATED METROPOLITAN PLANNING

17 ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘consolidated metropoli18 tan planning organization’ means a single metropoli19 tan planning organization that serves a metropolitan 

20 statistical area.’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (6) 

22 and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(6) CONSOLIDATION OF METROPOLITAN PLAN24 NING ORGANIZATIONS IN URBANIZED AREAS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION ON NEW METROPOLITAN

2 PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS.—A metropolitan 

3 planning organization shall not be designated— 

4 ‘‘(i) within a metropolitan statistical 

5 area if another metropolitan planning or6 ganization already exists within the bound7 aries of the metropolitan statistical area; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(ii) outside the boundaries of a met10 ropolitan statistical area. 

11 ‘‘(B) MULTIPLE EXISTING METROPOLITAN

12 PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS.—If more than 1 

13 existing metropolitan planning organizations 

14 are designated within a metropolitan statistical 

15 area— 

16 ‘‘(i) each metropolitan planning orga17 nization may— 

18 ‘‘(I) retain the designation as a 

19 metropolitan planning organization; or 

20 ‘‘(II) agree to be consolidated 

21 with the other metropolitan planning 

22 organizations; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the existing metropolitan plan24 ning organizations and the applicable Gov25 ernors may— 


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1 ‘‘(I) beginning on January 1, 

2 2022, and once every 10 years there3 after, revisit the agreement described 

4 in clause (i)(II); and 

5 ‘‘(II) submit to the Secretary a 

6 justification of the continued necessity 

7 of that agreement; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) each metropolitan planning or9 ganization shall cooperate with every other 

10 metropolitan planning organization to— 

11 ‘‘(I) develop a single transpor12 tation improvement plan and a single 

13 long-range plan to be used by each 

14 metropolitan planning organization 

15 when developing individual plans of 

16 the metropolitan planning organiza17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(II) establish a single set of per19 formance targets that address the per20 formance measures described in sec21 tion 150(c) of title 23 to be used in 

22 developing individual performance tar23 gets of the metropolitan planning or24 ganization in accordance with subVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:12 Aug 13, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2761.IS S2761

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1 section (h)(2)(B) and sections 

2 5326(c)(2) and 5329(d).’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(r) HIGH PERFORMING METROPOLITAN PLANNING

5 ORGANIZATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A metropolitan planning 

7 organization designated for an urbanized area with 

8 a population of more than 200,000 individuals may 

9 request that the Secretary designate the metropoli10 tan planning organization as a high performing met11 ropolitan planning organization. 

12 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—In making a designation 

13 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider— 

14 ‘‘(A) the extent to which the metropolitan 

15 planning organization has an equitable and re16 gional approach to decisionmaking; 

17 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the metropolitan 

18 planning organization has incorporated the per19 formance targets established pursuant to sec20 tion 150 of title 23 and sections 5303(h)(2), 

21 5326(c) and 5329(d) into the planning process; 

22 ‘‘(C) whether the metropolitan planning or23 ganization is a consolidated metropolitan plan24 ning organization; 


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1 ‘‘(D) if the metropolitan planning organi2 zation is not a consolidated metropolitan plan3 ning organization, the extent to which the met4 ropolitan planning organization is coordinating 

5 with all other metropolitan planning organiza6 tions designated for the same metropolitan sta7 tistical area; 

8 ‘‘(E) the technical capacity of the metro9 politan planning organization; and 

10 ‘‘(F) any other guidance established by the 

11 Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—A designation under paragraph 

13 (1) shall be effective for the period beginning on the 

14 date on which the designation is made and ending 

15 on the date that is 10 years after the date on which 

16 the designation is made.’’. 

Æ 


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