II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2891 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. WICKER, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. COCHRAN, and Mr. 

CASEY) 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 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) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

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

9 surface transportation system of the United States; 

10 ‘‘(2) to make the surface transportation system 

11 of the United States more reliable, safe, and effi12 cient by advancing innovative projects selected 

13 through State competitions; 

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

15 and stakeholders on projects receiving funding; and 

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

17 through in-State competitions. 

18 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en20 tity’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) a local government; 

22 ‘‘(B) a metropolitan planning organization; 

23 ‘‘(C) a regional transportation authority; 

24 ‘‘(D) a transit agency; 

25 ‘‘(E) a tribal government; 


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1 ‘‘(F) a private provider of public transpor2 tation; 

3 ‘‘(G) a nonprofit transportation organiza4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(H) a port authority; 

6 ‘‘(I) a joint power authority; 

7 ‘‘(J) a freight rail provider; and 

8 ‘‘(K) a local rail authority. 

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

10 project’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a project eligible under— 

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

13 surface transportation program; 

14 ‘‘(ii) section 148, relating to the high15 way safety improvement program; 

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

17 congestion mitigation and air quality im18 provement program; or 

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

20 transportation alternatives program; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a surface transportation project that 

22 will improve the movement of goods along a pri23 mary freight network, including multimodal fa24 cilities near a primary freight route. 


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

2 otherwise specifically provided, means the ‘innova3 tion in surface transportation program’ established 

4 under this section. 

5 ‘‘(4) RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

6 ‘rural local government’ means a local government 

7 for an area that is not an urbanized area (as defined 

8 by the Census Bureau). 

9 ‘‘(5) STATE SELECTION PANEL.—The term 

10 ‘State selection panel’ means an innovation in sur11 face transportation selection panel established by a 

12 State under subsection (e). 

13 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in coordina14 tion with State transportation departments, shall establish 

15 an innovation in surface transportation program in ac16 cordance with the requirements of this section. 

17 ‘‘(d) GRANTS.— 

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

19 under this section to eligible entities for eligible 

20 projects to be carried out in the State using funds 

21 reserved by the State for a fiscal year under sub22 section (j)(1). 

23 ‘‘(2) STATE COMPETITIONS.— 

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

25 making grants under this section, a State shall 


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1 conduct a competition each fiscal year under 

2 which the State will accept grant applications 

3 submitted by eligible entities. 

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

5 conduct a competition under subparagraph 

6 (A)— 

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

8 date of enactment of the Innovation in 

9 Surface Transportation Act of 2014; and 

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

11 first day of each fiscal year beginning after 

12 the date of enactment of the Innovation in 

13 Surface Transportation Act of 2014. 

14 ‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

15 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The State selec16 tion panel under subsection (e) shall establish 

17 and make available to the public the project se18 lection criteria that will be used by the State in 

19 conducting competitions under paragraph (2). 

20 ‘‘(B) FACTORS.—The project selection cri21 teria of a State shall provide for the approval 

22 of project applications based on the extent to 

23 which the projects— 

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

25 the transportation network; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) strengthen the contribution of a 

2 national multimodal freight network to the 

3 economic competitiveness of the United 

4 States; 

5 ‘‘(iii) promote multimodal 

6 connectivity; 

7 ‘‘(iv) strengthen return on investment, 

8 particularly the impact on local economic 

9 development; 

10 ‘‘(v) improve access to jobs and 

11 sources of labor, schools and opportunity; 

12 ‘‘(vi) optimize the usage and efficiency 

13 through better design and operation of ex14 isting transportation facilities; 

15 ‘‘(vii) improve the reliability of the 

16 transportation system of the United 

17 States; 

18 ‘‘(viii) improve environmental per19 formance of the transportation system; 

20 ‘‘(ix) encourage innovation and the 

21 use of technology; and 

22 ‘‘(x) further the purposes described in 

23 subsection (a). 

24 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF CER25 TAIN FACTORS.—In addition to the factors 


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1 specified in subparagraph (B), the project selec2 tion criteria of a State shall provide that special 

3 consideration be given equally— 

4 ‘‘(i) to projects that— 

5 ‘‘(I) maximize the amount of pro6 posed project costs that can be borne 

7 by the applicant from non-Federal 

8 sources; or 

9 ‘‘(II) have prior significant Fed10 eral or non-Federal investment; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) to projects in public jurisdictions 

12 with high poverty areas (as defined by the 

13 Census Bureau). 

14 ‘‘(D) FUNDING DISTRIBUTION.—The 

15 project selection criteria of a State shall take 

16 into consideration the equitable distribution of 

17 funds by geography and population. 

18 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR PRIVATE TRANSPOR19 TATION PROVIDERS.—An eligible entity that is a pri20 vate transportation provider may submit a project 

21 application in a State competition conducted under 

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

23 a public entity. 

24 ‘‘(e) INNOVATION IN SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SE25 LECTION PANEL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State (including the Gov2 ernor and State Department of Transportation), in 

3 coordination with local transportation stakeholders, 

4 shall establish an innovation in surface transpor5 tation selection panel in accordance with this sub6 section. 

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

8 ‘‘(A) review project applications submitted 

9 to the State during a competition conducted 

10 under subsection (d)(2); and 

11 ‘‘(B) approve and disapprove the project 

12 applications based on the criteria set forth in 

13 subsection (d)(3). 

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

15 shall be composed of the following members to be 

16 appointed by the State: 

17 ‘‘(A) Not fewer than 3 individuals rep18 resenting the transportation department of the 

19 State. 

20 ‘‘(B)(i) Not fewer than 3 individuals rep21 resenting local governments in the State, with 

22 at least 1 representative from each of— 

23 ‘‘(I) a jurisdiction with a population 

24 of 50,000 individuals or fewer; 


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1 ‘‘(II) a jurisdiction with a population 

2 of more than 50,000 individuals and not 

3 more than 1,000,000 individuals; and 

4 ‘‘(III) a jurisdiction with a population 

5 of more than 1,000,000 individuals, if ap6 plicable. 

7 ‘‘(ii) If a State does not have a jurisdiction 

8 that meets the criteria of 1 of the subclauses of 

9 clause (i), the selection panel shall select a rep10 resentative from a jurisdiction eligible under 

11 any of the other subclauses in order to secure 

12 the appropriate number of representatives pur13 suant to this subparagraph. 

14 ‘‘(C) Not fewer than 3 individuals rep15 resenting metropolitan planning organizations, 

16 councils of governments, rural planning organi17 zations, and other joint powers authorities in 

18 the State charged with transportation respon19 sibilities, including Indian tribes and tribal coa20 litions. 

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

22 the members appointed under paragraph (3), a 

23 State selection panel shall be composed of members 

24 to be appointed by the State, in coordination with 


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1 local transportation stakeholders, from among indi2 viduals representing— 

3 ‘‘(A) local chambers of commerce, includ4 ing transportation management organizations, 

5 travel and tourism boards, and other coalitions 

6 of employers and commerce; 

7 ‘‘(B) local air quality boards or organiza8 tions supporting improved air quality; 

9 ‘‘(C) State safety boards or local organiza10 tions supporting safety; 

11 ‘‘(D) transit agencies; 

12 ‘‘(E) port authorities, if applicable; 

13 ‘‘(F) active transportation organizations; 

14 ‘‘(G) public interest organizations; and 

15 ‘‘(H) public health quality boards or local 

16 organizations supporting improving public 

17 health. 

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

19 State shall appoint members to the section panel of 

20 the State in a manner such that— 

21 ‘‘(A) the number of members appointed 

22 under each of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) 

23 of paragraph (3) is equal; and 

24 ‘‘(B) not less than 1 member, and not 

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1 graph (4) shall be described in each of subpara2 graphs (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) if applicable, 

3 (F), (G), and (H) of paragraph (4). 

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

5 of a State selection panel shall be geographically di6 verse, to the extent practicable. 

7 ‘‘(7) REPRESENTATION LIMITATION.—Except 

8 for the representatives described in paragraphs 

9 (3)(A) and (3)(B), no entity may be represented on 

10 a State selection panel for more than 2 consecutive 

11 years if a comparable entity can also be represented 

12 on the panel. 

13 ‘‘(8) CONTINUITY.—A State shall appoint mem14 bers to the selection panel of the State using a 2- 

15 tiered rotation process that ensures continuity of the 

16 panel by rotating the membership of the panel on a 

17 staggered basis. 

18 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN

19 AREAS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) RURAL ELIGIBILITY.—The State shall sup21 port development of project applications under this 

22 section if requested by an eligible rural local govern23 ment. 

24 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The State may 

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1 served for a fiscal year under subsection (j) to meet 

2 specific requests for support from eligible rural local 

3 governments. 

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

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

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

7 in a publically accessible medium that is easy to navi8 gate— 

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

10 the projects; 

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

12 was requested, including, for each such project— 

13 ‘‘(A) the total estimated project cost; 

14 ‘‘(B) the amount of funding requested; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the type of modal project; 

16 ‘‘(3) a list of projects that were selected to re17 ceive funding under this section, including, for each 

18 such project— 

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

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

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

22 of cost of the project; and 

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

24 which funding was requested. 

25 ‘‘(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 


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

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

3 shall submit to the Secretary a report that de4 scribes— 

5 ‘‘(A) the information required under sub6 section (g); 

7 ‘‘(B) the organizations that were rep8 resented on the selection panel of the State; 

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

10 the State for the program that have been obli11 gated; and 

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

13 to the State for the program that were used for 

14 administrative expenses. 

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

16 later than September 30, 2016, and biennially there17 after, the Secretary shall submit a consolidated re18 port on the program, including a review of the State 

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

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

21 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

22 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Commerce, 

23 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

24 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Environment and 

25 Public Works of the Senate; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Transportation 

2 and Infrastructure of the House of Representa3 tives. 

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

5 the report submitted under paragraph (2) available 

6 on the public Internet website of the Department of 

7 Transportation. 

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

9 AND SUBALLOCATED PROGRAMS.— 

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

11 a State to distribute funding described in subpara12 graph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of subsection (j)(1) 

13 through the mechanisms described in paragraph (2) 

14 if the Secretary certifies that the State is distrib15 uting the funding in a manner that fulfills the pur16 poses of this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION MECHANISMS.—Distribu18 tion mechanisms that qualify under paragraph (1) 

19 include— 

20 ‘‘(A) an open and competitive State pro21 gram that is substantially similar to the re22 quirements of this section; 

23 ‘‘(B) direct suballocation to metropolitan 

24 areas of 40 percent of all funds— 


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1 ‘‘(i) apportioned to the State under 

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

3 and 104(b)(4); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) allocated to the State under sec5 tion 213(a)(1); 

6 ‘‘(C) has a competitive State program and 

7 direct suballocation to metropolitan areas or di8 rect recipients of funds under section 5307 of 

9 title 49, of more than 95 percent of the funds— 

10 ‘‘(i) apportioned to the State under 

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

12 and 104(b)(4); or 

13 ‘‘(ii) allocated to the State under sec14 tion 133(d)(1)(B); and 

15 ‘‘(D) a certification by the Secretary that 

16 the State is distributing grant funding in com17 pliance with the requirements of this section or 

18 in a manner that is substantially similar to 

19 such requirements. 

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

21 Before making a certification under paragraph (1), 

22 the Secretary shall— 

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

24 intent of the Secretary to make the certifi25 cation; 


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

2 days to comment on the proposed certification; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(C) take into consideration any comments 

5 received during the comment period. 

6 ‘‘(4) LETTER TO CONGRESS.—At least 15 days 

7 before making a certification under paragraph (1), 

8 the Secretary shall submit a letter to the congres9 sional committees referred to in subsection (h)(2) 

10 and the members of the congressional delegation of 

11 the State that includes— 

12 ‘‘(A) a notification of the Secretary’s in13 tent to make the certification; and 

14 ‘‘(B) a justification for the proposed cer15 tification. 

16 ‘‘(j) FUNDING.— 

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

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

19 reservations of funds: 

20 ‘‘(A) NATIONAL HIGHWAY PERFORMANCE

21 PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve 10 percent 

22 of the amount apportioned to the State for the 

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

24 ‘‘(i) for carrying out State competi25 tions under this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for making grants under this sec2 tion for eligible projects. 

3 ‘‘(B) HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT

4 PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve not less 

5 than 33 percent of the amount apportioned to 

6 the State for the fiscal year under section 

7 104(b)(3) for making grants under this section 

8 for eligible projects that are projects described 

9 in section 148. 

10 ‘‘(C) CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR

11 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall 

13 reserve not less than 33 percent of the 

14 amount apportioned to the State for the 

15 fiscal year under section 104(b)(4), and 

16 unobligated balances for this section from 

17 the prior fiscal year for making grants 

18 under this section for eligible projects that 

19 are projects described in section 149(b). 

20 ‘‘(ii) NONATTAINMENT AREAS.— 

21 States with nonattainment areas (as de22 fined in section 171(2) of the Clean Air 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 7501(2))) shall use 

24 amounts reserved under this paragraph for 

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1 ble projects described in section 149(b) in 

2 those areas. 

3 ‘‘(D) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PRO4 GRAM.—The State shall reserve not less than 

5 33 percent of the amount allocated to the State 

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

7 for making grants under this section for eligible 

8 projects. 

9 ‘‘(E) TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES

10 PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve 33 percent 

11 of the amount reserved by the State for the fis12 cal year under section 213(c)(1)(B) for making 

13 grants under this section for eligible projects 

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

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

16 directly suballocates to metropolitan areas or direct 

17 recipients of funds under section 5307 of title 49 or 

18 awards through an open statewide competition to eli19 gible entities shall be excluded from the funds from 

20 which the reservations under subsection (f)(2) are 

21 made. 

22 ‘‘(3) NONAWARDED FUNDS.— 

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1 section (d)(2) for funds reserved under this 

2 subsection if— 

3 ‘‘(i) any funds reserved by the State 

4 for a fiscal year under paragraph (1) have 

5 not been awarded by the State in grants 

6 under this section on or before the last day 

7 of the fiscal year; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) any funds awarded in grants 

9 under this section remain unobligated by 

10 the grant recipient after the last day of the 

11 3-year period beginning on the date on 

12 which the grant was awarded. 

13 ‘‘(B) REDIRECTION OF FUNDS.—Once a 

14 State has fulfilled the requirements of subpara15 graph (A), a State may redirect funds reserved 

16 under this subsection for sections 104(b)(1), 

17 104(b)(2), 104(b)(3), and 104(b)(4), and 

18 213(a)(1) for funds that remain unobligated for 

19 an additional 3 fiscal years.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap21 ter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by insert22 ing after the item relating to section 104 the following: 

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

Æ 


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