II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 762 

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 

MARCH 17, 2015 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CASEY, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) 

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 2015’’. 


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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 2015; 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 2015. 

14 ‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

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

17 establish and make available to the public the 

18 project selection criteria that will be used by the 

19 State in conducting competitions under para20 graph (2). 

21 ‘‘(B) FACTORS.—The project selection cri22 teria of a State shall provide for the approval 

23 of project applications based on the extent to 

24 which the projects— 


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

2 the transportation network; 

3 ‘‘(ii) strengthen the contribution of a 

4 national multimodal freight network to the 

5 economic competitiveness of the United 

6 States; 

7 ‘‘(iii) promote multimodal 

8 connectivity; 

9 ‘‘(iv) strengthen return on investment, 

10 particularly the impact on local economic 

11 development; 

12 ‘‘(v) improve access to jobs and 

13 sources of labor, schools, and opportunity; 

14 ‘‘(vi) optimize the usage and efficiency 

15 through better design and operation of ex16 isting transportation facilities; 

17 ‘‘(vii) improve the reliability of the 

18 transportation system of the United 

19 States; 

20 ‘‘(viii) improve environmental per21 formance of the transportation system; 

22 ‘‘(ix) encourage innovation and the 

23 use of technology; and 

24 ‘‘(x) further the purposes described in 

25 subsection (a). 


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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 shall provide that special 

5 consideration be given equally— 

6 ‘‘(i) to projects that— 

7 ‘‘(I) maximize the amount of pro8 posed project costs that can be borne 

9 by the applicant from non-Federal 

10 sources; or 

11 ‘‘(II) have prior significant Fed12 eral or non-Federal investment; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) to projects in public jurisdictions 

14 with high poverty areas (as defined by the 

15 Census Bureau). 

16 ‘‘(D) FUNDING DISTRIBUTION.—The 

17 project selection criteria of a State shall take 

18 into consideration the equitable distribution of 

19 funds by geography and population. 

20 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR PRIVATE TRANSPOR21 TATION PROVIDERS.—An eligible entity that is a pri22 vate transportation provider may submit a project 

23 application in a State competition conducted under 

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

25 a public entity. 


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1 ‘‘(e) INNOVATION IN SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SE2 LECTION PANEL.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State (including the Gov4 ernor and State Department of Transportation), in 

5 coordination with local transportation stakeholders, 

6 shall establish an innovation in surface transpor7 tation selection panel in accordance with this sub8 section. 

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 (d)(2); and 

13 ‘‘(B) approve and disapprove the project 

14 applications based on the criteria set forth in 

15 subsection (d)(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 transportation department of the 

21 State. 

22 ‘‘(B)(i) 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 

2 of 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. 

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

10 that meets the criteria of 1 of the subclauses of 

11 clause (i), the selection panel shall select a rep12 resentative from a jurisdiction eligible under 

13 any of the other subclauses in order to secure 

14 the appropriate number of representatives pur15 suant to this subparagraph. 

16 ‘‘(C) Not fewer than 3 individuals rep17 resenting metropolitan planning organizations, 

18 councils of governments, rural planning organi19 zations, and other joint powers authorities in 

20 the State charged with transportation respon21 sibilities, including Indian tribes and tribal coa22 litions. 

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

24 the members appointed under paragraph (3), a 

25 State selection panel shall be composed of members 


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1 to be appointed by the State, in coordination with 

2 local transportation stakeholders, from among indi3 viduals representing— 

4 ‘‘(A) local chambers of commerce, includ5 ing transportation management organizations, 

6 travel and tourism boards, and other coalitions 

7 of employers and commerce; 

8 ‘‘(B) local air quality boards or organiza9 tions supporting improved air quality; 

10 ‘‘(C) State safety boards or local organiza11 tions supporting safety; 

12 ‘‘(D) transit agencies; 

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

14 ‘‘(F) active transportation organizations; 

15 ‘‘(G) public interest organizations; and 

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

17 organizations supporting improving public 

18 health. 

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

20 State shall appoint members to the section panel of 

21 the State in a manner such that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the number of members appointed 

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

24 of paragraph (3) is equal; and 


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

2 more than 9 members, appointed under para3 graph (4) shall be described in each of subpara4 graphs (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) if applicable, 

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

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

7 of a State selection panel shall be geographically di8 verse, to the extent practicable. 

9 ‘‘(7) REPRESENTATION LIMITATION.—Except 

10 for the representatives described in paragraphs 

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

12 a State selection panel for more than 2 consecutive 

13 years if a comparable entity can also be represented 

14 on the panel. 

15 ‘‘(8) CONTINUITY.—A State shall appoint mem16 bers to the selection panel of the State using a 2- 

17 tiered rotation process that ensures continuity of the 

18 panel by rotating the membership of the panel on a 

19 staggered basis. 

20 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN

21 AREAS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) RURAL ELIGIBILITY.—The State shall sup23 port development of project applications under this 

24 section if requested by an eligible rural local govern25 ment. 


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

2 reserve not more than 0.25 percent of the funds re3 served for a fiscal year under subsection (j) to meet 

4 specific requests for support from eligible rural local 

5 governments. 

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

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

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

9 in a publicly accessible medium that is easy to navigate— 

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

11 the projects; 

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

13 was requested, including, for each such project— 

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

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

16 ‘‘(C) the type of modal project; 

17 ‘‘(3) a list of projects that were selected to re18 ceive funding under this section, including, for each 

19 such project— 

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

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

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

23 of cost of the project; and 

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

25 which funding was requested. 


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1 ‘‘(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

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

4 shall submit to the Secretary a report that de5 scribes— 

6 ‘‘(A) the information required under sub7 section (g); 

8 ‘‘(B) the organizations that were rep9 resented on the selection panel of the State; 

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

11 the State for the program that have been obli12 gated; and 

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

14 to the State for the program that were used for 

15 administrative expenses. 

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

17 later than September 30, 2017, and biennially there18 after, the Secretary shall submit a consolidated re19 port on the program, including a review of the State 

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

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

22 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

23 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Environment and 

2 Public Works of the Senate; and 

3 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Transportation 

4 and Infrastructure of the House of Representa5 tives. 

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

7 the report submitted under paragraph (2) available 

8 on the public website of the Department of Trans9 portation. 

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

11 AND SUBALLOCATED PROGRAMS.— 

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

13 a State to distribute funding described in subpara14 graph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of subsection (j)(1) 

15 through the mechanisms described in paragraph (2) 

16 if the Secretary certifies that the State is distrib17 uting the funding in a manner that fulfills the pur18 poses of this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION MECHANISMS.—Distribu20 tion mechanisms that qualify under paragraph (1) 

21 include— 

22 ‘‘(A) an open and competitive State pro23 gram that is substantially similar to the re24 quirements of this section; 


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1 ‘‘(B) direct suballocation to metropolitan 

2 areas of 40 percent of all funds— 

3 ‘‘(i) apportioned to the State under 

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

5 and 104(b)(4); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) allocated to the State under sec7 tion 213(a)(1); 

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

9 direct suballocation to metropolitan areas or di10 rect recipients of funds under section 5307 of 

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

12 ‘‘(i) apportioned to the State under 

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

14 and 104(b)(4); or 

15 ‘‘(ii) allocated to the State under sec16 tion 133(d)(1)(B); and 

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

18 the State is distributing grant funding in com19 pliance with the requirements of this section or 

20 in a manner that is substantially similar to 

21 those requirements. 

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

23 Before making a certification under paragraph (1), 

24 the Secretary shall— 


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

2 intent of the Secretary to make the certifi3 cation; 

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

5 days to comment on the proposed certification; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(C) take into consideration any comments 

8 received during the comment period. 

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

10 before making a certification under paragraph (1), 

11 the Secretary shall submit a letter to the congres12 sional committees referred to in subsection (h)(2) 

13 and the members of the congressional delegation of 

14 the State that includes— 

15 ‘‘(A) a notification of the intent of the Sec16 retary to make the certification; and 

17 ‘‘(B) a justification for the proposed cer18 tification. 

19 ‘‘(j) FUNDING.— 

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

21 of each of fiscal year, a State shall make the fol22 lowing reservations of funds: 

23 ‘‘(A) NATIONAL HIGHWAY PERFORMANCE

24 PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve 10 percent 


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1 of the amount apportioned to the State for the 

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

3 ‘‘(i) for carrying out State competi4 tions under this section; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) for making grants under this sec6 tion for eligible projects. 

7 ‘‘(B) HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT

8 PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve not less 

9 than 33 percent of the amount apportioned to 

10 the State for the fiscal year under section 

11 104(b)(3) for making grants under this section 

12 for eligible projects that are projects described 

13 in section 148. 

14 ‘‘(C) CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR

15 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall 

17 reserve not less than 33 percent of the 

18 amount apportioned to the State for the 

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

20 unobligated balances for this section from 

21 the prior fiscal year for making grants 

22 under this section for eligible projects that 

23 are projects described in section 149(b). 

24 ‘‘(ii) NONATTAINMENT AREAS.— 

25 States with nonattainment areas (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Mar 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S762.IS S762

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1 fined in section 171(2) of the Clean Air 

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

3 amounts reserved under this paragraph for 

4 making grants under this section for eligi5 ble projects described in section 149(b) in 

6 those areas. 

7 ‘‘(D) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PRO8 GRAM.—The State shall reserve not less than 

9 33 percent of the amount allocated to the State 

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

11 for making grants under this section for eligible 

12 projects. 

13 ‘‘(E) TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES

14 PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve 33 percent 

15 of the amount reserved by the State for the fis16 cal year under section 213(c)(1)(B) for making 

17 grants under this section for eligible projects 

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

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

20 directly suballocates to metropolitan areas or direct 

21 recipients of funds under section 5307 of title 49 or 

22 awards through an open statewide competition to eli23 gible entities shall be excluded from the funds from 

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

25 made. 


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1 ‘‘(3) NONAWARDED FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State shall recom3 pete the funds using the process under sub4 section (d)(2) for funds reserved under this 

5 subsection if— 

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

7 for a fiscal year under paragraph (1) have 

8 not been awarded by the State in grants 

9 under this section on or before the last day 

10 of the fiscal year; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) any funds awarded in grants 

12 under this section remain unobligated by 

13 the grant recipient after the last day of the 

14 3-year period beginning on the date on 

15 which the grant was awarded. 

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

17 State has fulfilled the requirements of subpara18 graph (A), a State may redirect funds reserved 

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

20 104(b)(2), 104(b)(3), and 104(b)(4), and 

21 213(a)(1) for funds that remain unobligated for 

22 an additional 3 fiscal years.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap2 ter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by insert3 ing after the item relating to section 104 the following: 

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

Æ 


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