I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3517 

To amend titles 23 and 49, United States Code, to enhance employer involvement in transportation planning and to create and expand commuter 

benefit programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 31, 2009 

Mr. SIRES (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, and Mr. CARNAHAN) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

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

employer involvement in transportation planning and to 

create and expand commuter benefit programs, 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 ‘‘Commute LESS Act 

5 of 2009’’ or the ‘‘Commute-Leveraging Employer Support 

6 and Successes Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ENHANCING EMPLOYER INVOLVEMENT IN METRO2 POLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING. 

3 (a) DESIGNATION OF METROPOLITAN PLANNING OR4 GANIZATIONS.—Section 5303(d)(2) of title 49, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

7 the end; 

8 (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period 

9 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(D) not less than one representative des12 ignated by the applicable employer advisory 

13 council established under subsection (q).’’. 

14 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PLAN.— 

15 (1) TRANSPORTATION PLAN.—Section 

16 5303(i)(2) of such title is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

18 ‘‘(G) EMPLOYER OUTREACH AND COM19 MUTER BENEFIT ACTIVITIES.—Proposed activi20 ties and strategies to provide outreach to em21 ployers in the region to create and expand al22 ternative commuting and commuter benefit pro23 grams (as such term is defined under section 

24 330(l) of title 23).’’. 


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1 (2) PARTICIPATION BY INTERESTED PAR2 TIES.—Section 5303(i)(5)(B) of such title is amend3 ed— 

4 (A) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (B) in clause (ii) by striking the period at 

7 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(iii) shall identify employers and 

10 transportation management organizations 

11 (as such term is defined under section 

12 330(l) of title 23) that are within the 

13 boundaries of the metropolitan planning 

14 organization and shall include strategies 

15 developed to provide outreach to such em16 ployers and organizations and a plan to in17 clude the input of such employers and or18 ganizations in the development of the 

19 transportation plan.’’. 

20 (c) METROPOLITAN TIP.— 

21 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—Section 5303(j)(1) of 

22 such title is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(E) EMPLOYER INVOLVEMENT.—The TIP 

25 shall be developed in coordination with the apVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:40 Aug 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517

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1 plicable employer advisory council established 

2 under subsection (q) and shall include projects 

3 identified by such employer advisory council.’’. 

4 (2) CONTENTS.—Section 5303(j)(2)(A) of such 

5 title is amended by striking the period at the end 

6 and inserting ‘‘, including projects identified by the 

7 commuter trip reduction plan established under sub8 section (q).’’. 

9 (d) EMPLOYER ADVISORY COUNCIL.—Section 5303 

10 of such title is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(q) EMPLOYER ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each metropolitan plan14 ning organization shall establish an employer advi15 sory council consisting of representatives of employ16 ers within the boundaries of the metropolitan plan17 ning organization. 

18 ‘‘(2) TRANSPORTATION PLAN AND TIP RE19 VIEW.—The employer advisory council shall review 

20 how long-range transportation plans and TIPs will 

21 affect commuting habits and shall develop a plan to 

22 reduce trips relating to commuting to and from work 

23 in accordance with paragraph (3). 


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1 ‘‘(3) COMMUTER TRIP REDUCTION PLAN.—The 

2 employer advisory council shall develop a commuter 

3 trip reduction plan that shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) identify commuting patterns; 

5 ‘‘(B) develop regional goals to reduce vehi6 cle miles traveled during peak commuting 

7 hours; 

8 ‘‘(C) develop a series of regional projects 

9 and programs to achieve the goals established 

10 under subparagraph (B); 

11 ‘‘(D) identify existing employer-based com12 muting alternatives programs in the region; and 

13 ‘‘(E) identify proposed employer-based 

14 commuting alternatives programs to be included 

15 in the transportation plan under subsection (i) 

16 and TIP under subsection (j). 

17 ‘‘(4) ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP.—The 

18 employer advisory council shall consist of not less 

19 than 15 representatives of employers within the 

20 boundaries of the metropolitan planning organiza21 tion, which may include representatives of identified 

22 transportation management organizations (as such 

23 term is defined under section 330(l) of title 23) 

24 within such boundaries. Employer advisory council 

25 members shall be selected by the metropolitan planVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:18 Aug 04, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517

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1 ning organization and, to the extent practicable, 

2 shall represent a diverse cross-section of employers 

3 within the boundaries of the metropolitan planning 

4 organization. 

5 ‘‘(5) MPO MEMBERSHIP.—The employer advi6 sory council shall designate one member from the 

7 council to be a member of the metropolitan planning 

8 organization.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. EMPLOYER INVESTMENT IN TRANSPORTATION AND 

10 COMMUTER BENEFIT PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 23, United 

12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘§ 330. Employer investment in transportation and 

15 commuter benefit program 

16 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to— 

17 ‘‘(1) engage employers in providing commuting 

18 alternatives to employees, including carpooling, van19 pooling, use of transit, and teleworking; 

20 ‘‘(2) leverage private investment with respect to 

21 alternative commuting; and 

22 ‘‘(3) reduce fuel consumption and provide en23 ergy independence by providing commuters with op24 tions for commuting to work other than driving in 

25 a vehicle occupied by a single individual. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish and carry out an employer investment in transpor3 tation and commuter benefit program in accordance with 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Before making an apportionment 

6 under section 104(b)(2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary 

7 shall set aside, from amounts made available to carry out 

8 the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement 

9 program under section 149 for such fiscal year, 

10 $300,000,000 to carry out this section. 

11 ‘‘(d) APPORTIONMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appor13 tion amounts made available to carry out this sec14 tion for a fiscal year among the States in the same 

15 manner as amounts are apportioned under section 

16 104(b)(3)(A). 

17 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM APPORTIONMENT.—Notwith18 standing paragraph (1), each State shall receive a 

minimum of 1 19 ⁄2 of 1 percent of the funds appor20 tioned under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(3) SET-ASIDES.—Before making an appor22 tionment under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the 

23 Secretary shall set aside not more than $3,000,000 

24 of amounts made available to carry out this section 


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1 for such fiscal year for the administrative expenses 

2 of the Secretary in carrying out this section. 

3 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS AND PROJECTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts apportioned to a 

5 State under this section shall be used to provide fi6 nancial assistance to State, regional, and local agen7 cies and entities, including employers and transpor8 tation management organizations, to create and ex9 pand commuter benefit programs. 

10 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Amounts apportioned under 

11 this section shall not be used— 

12 ‘‘(A) to replace or discourage existing Fed13 eral, State, local, or private investment in com14 muter benefit programs; or 

15 ‘‘(B) to compete against existing Federal, 

16 State, local, or private commuter benefit pro17 grams. 

18 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION OF AMOUNTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts apportioned to a 

20 State under this section shall be administered by the 

21 State’s transportation department or the designee of 

22 such department. 

23 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—A State transportation 

24 department shall coordinate activities carried out 

25 using amounts apportioned under this section with 


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1 appropriate local and regional planning bodies, 

2 transportation management organizations, and pub3 lic transportation operators. 

4 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—To the extent 

5 practicable, a State transportation department ad6 ministering amounts under this section, in coordina7 tion with appropriate local and regional planning 

8 bodies, transportation management organizations, 

9 and public transportation operators, shall provide 

10 technical assistance to employers and employer orga11 nizations to assist in the creation and expansion of 

12 commuter benefit programs under this section. 

13 ‘‘(g) INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

15 grants to a national nonprofit organization engaged 

16 in efforts relating to commuter benefit programs or 

17 another entity to— 

18 ‘‘(A) establish and operate an information 

19 clearinghouse for the employer investment in 

20 transportation and commuter benefit program; 

21 ‘‘(B) develop an information and edu22 cational program with respect to the employer 

23 investment in transportation and commuter 

24 benefit program; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) provide technical assistance and dis2 seminate techniques and strategies used by suc3 cessful commuter benefit programs. 

4 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall carry out 

5 this subsection with amounts set aside for adminis6 trative expenses under subsection (d)(3). 

7 ‘‘(h) TRANSFERABILITY AND FEDERAL SHARE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) TRANSFERABILITY.—Funds made avail9 able to carry out this section shall not be transfer10 able and shall remain available until expended. 

11 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

13 under subparagraph (B), the Federal share of 

14 the cost of a project or activity under this sec15 tion may not exceed 80 percent. 

16 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If private investment 

17 is used for any portion of the non-Federal share 

18 of the cost of a project or activity under this 

19 section, the Federal share of such cost may not 

20 exceed 90 percent. 

21 ‘‘(i) TREATMENT OF PROJECTS.—Notwithstanding 

22 any other provision of law, projects assisted under this 

23 section shall be treated as projects on a Federal-aid sys24 tem under chapter 1 of title 23. 

25 ‘‘(j) PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) STATEWIDE GOALS.—A State receiving 

2 funds apportioned under this section, in coordination 

3 with metropolitan planning organizations in the 

4 State, shall establish statewide goals for achieving 

5 reductions in vehicle miles traveled through the im6 plementation of activities under this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—Not later than 

8 one year after the date of enactment of this section, 

9 and annually thereafter, a State receiving funds ap10 portioned under this section shall submit to the Sec11 retary a report describing— 

12 ‘‘(A) the goals for reducing vehicle miles 

13 traveled under this section for the following 

14 year; 

15 ‘‘(B) how funds apportioned under this 

16 section were utilized during the preceding year 

17 and the outcome of such utilization; and 

18 ‘‘(C) whether goals for reducing vehicle 

19 miles traveled under this section were met for 

20 the preceding year based on evaluations of ac21 tivities under this section. 

22 ‘‘(k) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than March 

23 30, 2013, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

24 describing— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the commuter benefit programs receiving 

2 assistance under this section; 

3 ‘‘(2) any reduction in vehicle miles traveled that 

4 has been achieved as a result of such programs; and 

5 ‘‘(3) whether States have been able to meet 

6 goals established under subsection (j). 

7 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

8 definitions apply: 

9 ‘‘(1) TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT ORGANI10 ZATION.—The term ‘transportation management or11 ganization’ means a local, regional, or statewide as12 sociation of employers established for the purpose of 

13 providing employees with commuting options. 

14 ‘‘(2) COMMUTER BENEFIT PROGRAM.—The 

15 term ‘commuter benefit program’ means a program 

16 designed to provide employees with alternatives to 

17 driving to and from work in a vehicle occupied by a 

18 single individual, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) carpool programs; 

20 ‘‘(B) vanpool programs; 

21 ‘‘(C) transit benefit programs; 

22 ‘‘(D) parking cash-out programs; 

23 ‘‘(E) shuttle programs; 

24 ‘‘(F) telework programs; and 


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1 ‘‘(G) appropriate employer-based pro2 grams.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 

4 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘330. Employer investment in transportation and commuter benefit program.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. CONGESTION MITIGATION DURING PROJECT CON6 STRUCTION. 

7 Section 106 of title 23, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(j) CONGESTION MITIGATION PLAN.—A recipient of 

10 Federal financial assistance for a project under this title 

11 with an estimated total cost of $100,000,000 or more or 

12 that will reduce traffic flow (as defined by the Secretary) 

13 for more than 120 days shall prepare a congestion mitiga14 tion plan for such project that includes funding for 

15 projects to reduce peak hour vehicle miles traveled along 

16 the impacted corridor. The recipient shall create the plan 

17 in coordination with the appropriate employer advisory 

18 council established under section 5303(q) of title 49 and 

19 the plan shall be made available to the Secretary for re20 view upon the request of the Secretary.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. MAJOR CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS OF 

22 $75,000,000 OR MORE. 

23 Section 5309(d) of title 49, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 

25 (1) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub2 paragraph (J); 

3 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (K) as 

4 subparagraph (L); and 

5 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (J) 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(K) the ability of the grant recipient and 

8 the partners of such recipient to work with em9 ployers to get commuters to utilize the project; 

10 and’’; 

11 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para12 graph (7); and 

13 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(6) EMPLOYER OUTREACH.—The Secretary 

16 shall require that each entity submitting a request 

17 for a grant under this subsection include with the 

18 request a plan for how the entity intends to work 

19 with local employers and transportation management 

20 organizations (as that term is defined in section 

21 330(l) of title 23) to create or expand a commuter 

22 benefit program (as that term is defined in such sec23 tion) with respect to the proposed project.’’. 

Æ 


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