I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2971 

To amend titles 23, 45, and 49, United States Code, to encourage the 

use of private-public partnerships in transportation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 

Mr. HULTGREN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Ways and Means, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend titles 23, 45, and 49, United States Code, to 

encourage the use of private-public partnerships in transportation. 

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 ‘‘Lincoln Legacy Infra5 structure Development Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the American Association of State Highway 

2 and Transportation Officials estimates current high3 way, bridge, public transit, and freight and pas4 senger rail funding needs are approximately 

5 $225,000,000,000 to $340,000,000,000 per year 

6 through 2055, while current spending is less than 

7 $90,000,000,000 per year; 

8 (2) according to the organization known as 

9 Transportation for America, 69,223 bridges, or 11.5 

10 percent of all highway bridges in the United States, 

11 are considered structurally deficient; 

12 (3) according to the Congressional Research 

13 Service, for fiscal year 2010, the Highway Trust 

14 Fund, the primary funding source for highways and 

15 transit, received approximately $35,000,000,000 in 

16 revenue but spent approximately $50,000,000,000; 

17 (4) Congress transferred $34,500,000,000 in 

18 general revenue to the Highway Trust Fund during 

19 the period of fiscal years 2008 to 2010 to keep the 

20 Highway Trust Fund solvent; 

21 (5) Highway Trust Fund outlays during the pe22 riod of fiscal years 2011 to 2021 are expected to ex23 ceed revenues and interest by approximately 

24 $120,000,000,000; 


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1 (6) the Congressional Budget Office estimates 

2 that the Highway Trust Fund will be unable to meet 

3 obligations of the Highway Trust Fund sometime 

4 during fiscal year 2012; 

5 (7) the United States Chamber of Commerce 

6 estimates that further deterioration of transpor7 tation networks could result in as much as 

8 $336,000,000,000 in lost growth during the 5 years 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act; 

10 (8) private-public partnerships are an important 

11 tool to help address transportation infrastructure 

12 shortfalls; 

13 (9) infrastructure experts estimate that there is 

14 more than $400,000,000,000 available for private15 sector capital infrastructure investment; 

16 (10) according to the Federal Highway Admin17 istration, 29 States and 1 United States territory 

18 have enacted legislation enabling private-public part19 nerships; and 

20 (11) State and local governments are uniquely 

21 positioned to further develop and use innovative fi22 nancing methods for all modes of infrastructure. 

23 SEC. 3. FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS. 

24 (a) VENDING MACHINES.—Section 111(b) of title 23, 

25 United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(2) BLIND VENDING FACILITIES.—Notwith6 standing any other provision of this Act— 

7 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall not impose any 

8 surcharge on a State with respect to any blind 

9 vending facility established pursuant to para10 graph (1); and 

11 ‘‘(B) the priority accorded licensed blind 

12 vendors by paragraph (1) shall not be otherwise 

13 limited or diminished as a result of the imple14 mentation of the Lincoln Legacy Infrastructure 

15 Development Act.’’. 

16 (b) TOLL ROADS, BRIDGES, TUNNELS, AND FER17 RIES.—Section 129(a)(3) of title 23, United States Code, 

18 is amended in the last sentence by striking ‘‘for any pur19 pose for which Federal funds may be obligated by a State 

20 under this title’’ and inserting ‘‘, including revenues re21 ceived as a result of any agreement entered into by the 

22 State for the sale, lease, or concession of a highway, 

23 bridge, or tunnel, only for purposes relating to a highway 

24 or transit transportation project carried out under this 

25 title or title 49’’. 


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1 (c) HOV FACILITIES.—Section 166(a) of title 23, 

2 United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (2) 

3 and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) OCCUPANCY REQUIREMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B) and in other provisions of 

7 this section, not fewer than 2 occupants per ve8 hicle may be required for use of a HOV facility. 

9 ‘‘(B) CONGESTION.—In any case in which 

10 a State determines that a HOV facility is a de11 graded facility (as described in subsection 

12 (d)(2)(B)) or that the average speed of traffic 

13 on a HOV facility slows to less than the min14 imum average operating speed (as defined in 

15 subsection (d)(2)(A)), the State shall require 

16 not fewer than 3 occupants per vehicle for use 

17 of the HOV facility.’’. 

18 (d) INNOVATIVE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION FI19 NANCING METHODS.— 

20 (1) VALUE PRICING PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 

21 1012(b)(1) of the Intermodal Surface Transpor22 tation Efficiency Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 149 note; 

23 105 Stat. 1938) is amended in the second sentence 

24 by striking ‘‘as many as 15 such State or local govVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:28 Sep 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2971.IH H2971

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1 ernments or public authorities’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘States, local governments, and public authorities’’. 

3 (2) INTERSTATE SYSTEM RECONSTRUCTION

4 AND REHABILITATION PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 

5 1216(b)(2) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 

6 21st Century (23 U.S.C. 129 note; 112 Stat. 212) 

7 is amended— 

8 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘3’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘10’’; and 

10 (B) by striking the second sentence. 

11 (e) EXPRESS LANES DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.— 

12 Section 1604(b)(2) of the SAFETEA–LU (23 U.S.C. 129 

13 note; 119 Stat. 1250) is amended in the matter preceding 

14 subparagraph (A)— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘15’’; and 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘2005 through 2009’’ and in17 serting ‘‘2012 through 2017’’. 

18 (f) INTERSTATE SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION TOLL

19 PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 1604(c) of the SAFETEA– 

20 LU (23 U.S.C. 129 note; 119 Stat. 1253) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

22 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (1) as 

23 paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and 

24 (3) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘the date of 

25 enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of 


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1 enactment of the Lincoln Legacy Infrastructure De2 velopment Act’’. 

3 SEC. 4. INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE. 

4 (a) NONSUBORDINATION.— 

5 (1) SECURED LOANS.—Section 603(b) of title 

6 23, United States Code, is amended— 

7 (A) by striking paragraph (6); and 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (7) and 

9 (8) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively. 

10 (2) LINES OF CREDIT.—Section 604(b) of title 

11 23, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (A) by striking paragraph (8); and 

13 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and 

14 (10) as paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively. 

15 (b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 608(a) of title 23, 

16 United States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking 

18 ‘‘$122,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 

19 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘$750,000,000 for each of fis20 cal years 2012 through 2017’’; and 

21 (2) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘$2,200,000 

22 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009’’ and in23 serting ‘‘$7,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

24 through 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. RAILROAD REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT 

2 FINANCING PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Section 822(b)(1) of title 

4 45, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

8 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

10 ‘‘(D) carry out projects and activities that 

11 benefit high-speed rail; or 

12 ‘‘(E) carry out development phase activi13 ties, including planning, feasibility analysis, rev14 enue forecasting, environmental review, permit15 ting, preliminary engineering and design work, 

16 and other preconstruction activities.’’. 

17 (b) CREDIT RISK REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

18 822(h)(2) of title 45, United States Code, is amended by 

19 inserting ‘‘For purposes of making a finding under sub20 section (g)(4), the Secretary, through the Administrator 

21 of the Federal Railroad Administration, shall consider the 

22 net present value of anticipated dedicated revenues or user 

23 fees to be collateral offered by the applicant.’’ after ‘‘the 

24 project.’’. 

25 (c) BIANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months 

26 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 6 


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1 months thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal Rail2 road Administration shall submit a report to Congress 

3 that describes— 

4 (1) the number of loans pending and issued 

5 under section 822 of title 45, United States Code; 

6 and 

7 (2) the time taken to process each of the loans 

8 described in paragraph (1). 

9 SEC. 6. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

11 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ mean the Admin12 istrator of the Federal Transit Administration; 

13 (2) the term ‘‘covered HOT lane facility’’ 

14 means any high occupancy/toll lane facility used by 

15 a bus service operated by a public transportation 

16 agency, without regard to whether the high occu17 pancy/toll lane facility was converted from a high oc18 cupancy vehicle facility; 

19 (3) the term ‘‘eligible project’’ means a project 

20 carried out using funding under section 5307 or 

21 5309 of title 49, United States Code; 

22 (4) the term ‘‘eligible recipient’’ means a recipi23 ent of funding under section 5307 or 5309 of title 

24 49, United States Code; 


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1 (5) the term ‘‘experimental program’’ means 

2 the public-private partnership experimental program 

3 established under subsection (b); and 

4 (6) the term ‘‘fixed guideway miles’’ includes 

5 fixed guideway revenue vehicle-miles, fixed guideway 

6 route miles, and fixed guideway vehicle passenger7 miles. 

8 (b) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP EXPERIMENTAL

9 PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—The Adminis11 trator shall establish a 6-year public-private partner12 ship experimental program to encourage eligible re13 cipients to carry out tests and experimentation in 

14 the project development process that are designed 

15 to— 

16 (A) attract private investment in covered 

17 projects; and 

18 (B) increase project management flexibility 

19 and innovation, improve efficiency, allow for 

20 timely project implementation, and create new 

21 revenue streams. 

22 (2) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM.—The ex23 perimental program shall— 

24 (A) except as provided in paragraph (5), 

25 identify any provisions of chapter 53 of title 49, 


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1 United States Code, and any regulations or 

2 practices thereunder, that impede greater use of 

3 public-private partnerships and private invest4 ment in covered projects; and 

5 (B) develop procedures and approaches 

6 that— 

7 (i) address the impediments described 

8 in subparagraph (A), in a manner similar 

9 to the Special Experimental Project Num10 ber 15 of the Federal Highway Adminis11 tration (commonly referred to as ‘‘SEP– 

12 15’’); and 

13 (ii) protect the public interest and any 

14 public investment in covered projects. 

15 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

17 thereafter until the termination of the experimental 

18 program, the Administrator shall submit to Congress 

19 a report on the status of the experimental program. 

20 (4) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis22 trator shall issue rules to carry out the experimental 

23 program. 


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1 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

2 subsection may be construed to allow the Adminis3 trator to waive any requirement under— 

4 (A) section 5333 of title 49, United States 

5 Code; 

6 (B) the National Environmental Policy Act 

7 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or 

8 (C) any other provision of Federal law not 

9 described in paragraph (2)(A). 

10 (c) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF FIXED GUIDE11 WAY MILES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of appor13 tioning funding under sections 5307 and 5309 of 

14 title 49, United States Code, the Administrator shall 

15 deem covered HOT lane facility miles in an area to 

16 be fixed guideway miles attributable to the area. 

17 (2) AMOUNT APPORTIONED NOT AFFECTED.— 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec19 retary may not apportion an amount for an urban20 ized area under section 5307 or 5309 of title 49, 

21 United States Code, for fiscal year 2012, or any fis22 cal year thereafter, that is less than the amount ap23 portioned for the urbanized area under section 5307 

24 or 5309, respectively, for fiscal year 2011, if the reVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:28 Sep 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2971.IH H2971

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1 duction in amount is solely attributable to the re2 quirement under paragraph (1). 

3 (3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—There shall be 

4 available from the Mass Transit Account of the 

5 Highway Trust fund for fiscal year 2012, and each 

6 fiscal year thereafter, such sums as are necessary to 

7 carry out this subsection. 

8 SEC. 7. REMOVAL OF CAP ON EXEMPT FACILITY BONDS 

9 USED TO FINANCE QUALIFIED HIGHWAY OR 

10 SURFACE FREIGHT TRANSFER FACILITIES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (m) of section 142 of 

12 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

13 (1) by striking paragraph (2), and 

14 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

15 paragraphs (2) and (3). 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to bonds issued after the date of 

18 the enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 8. REDUCTION IN ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS TO PAY 

20 SCHEDULES FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES FOR 

21 FISCAL YEARS 2013 THROUGH 2021. 

22 For each of fiscal years 2013 through 2021, section 

23 5303(a) of title 5, United States Code, shall be applied 

24 by substituting ‘‘1 percentage point’’ for ‘‘one-half of 1 

25 percentage point’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. FUNDING. 

2 Of the Federal funds saved for the period of fiscal 

3 years 2013 through 2021 as a result of the application 

4 of section 9 of this Act and subsections (b) and (c) of 

5 section 147 of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 

6 (Public Law 111–242; 124 Stat. 2607, 124 Stat. 3518)— 

7 (1) such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

8 this Act and any amendments made by this Act shall 

9 be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund; and 

10 (2) the remainder of the funds shall be used for 

11 purposes of deficit reduction. 

Æ 


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