I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3566 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a program to make 

grants for the improvement or construction of regionally or nationally 

significant greenway paths, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 28, 2021 

Ms. BOURDEAUX (for herself, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, 

Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, and Mrs. TORRES of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a 

program to make grants for the improvement or construction of regionally or nationally significant greenway 

paths, 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 ‘‘National and Regional 

5 Greenways Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL AND REGIONAL GREENWAYS PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

3 program to make grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 

4 organizations to improve or construct safe and connected 

5 greenway paths between communities that are designated 

6 as regionally or nationally significant by the Secretary 

7 under subsection (b). 

8 (b) REGIONALLY OR NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT

9 GREENWAY PATHS.—In carrying out the program under 

10 this section, the Secretary shall establish a national green11 way paths network. The national greenway paths network 

12 shall contain regionally or nationally significant greenway 

13 paths designated by the Secretary that— 

14 (1) cross multiple local jurisdictions or State 

15 lines; 

16 (2) reduce congestion and single-occupant vehi17 cle trips, improve safety and access to jobs, and 

18 lower emissions for criteria pollutants (NOx, VOC, 

19 PM) and greenhouse gases; 

20 (3) support community goals and objectives in 

21 areas covered by metropolitan planning organiza22 tions; or 

23 (4) meet any other criteria the Secretary deter24 mines appropriate. 

25 (c) APPLICATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 

2 this section, an eligible organization shall submit to 

3 the Secretary an application in such manner and 

4 containing such information as the Secretary may 

5 require. 

6 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS PARTIALLY ON FED7 ERAL LAND.—With respect to an application for eli8 gible greenway projects that are located in part on 

9 Federal lands, an eligible organization shall enter 

10 into a cooperative agreement with the appropriate 

11 Federal agency with jurisdiction over such land to be 

12 eligible for a grant under this section. 

13 (d) APPLICATION CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a 

14 grant for construction of a greenway path under this sec15 tion, the Secretary shall consider the following: 

16 (1) Whether the proposed eligible greenway 

17 project is likely to provide substantial additional op18 portunities for walking and bicycling, including by— 

19 (A) creating greenway paths connecting 

20 multiple communities, counties, metropolitan re21 gions, or States; 

22 (B) integrating greenway paths with tran23 sit services, where available, to improve access 

24 to public transportation; and 


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1 (C) integrating greenway paths with exist2 ing parks, recreation or scenic areas, adjacent 

3 waterways, or transportation corridors. 

4 (2) Whether the eligible organization proposing 

5 a project demonstrates broad community support 

6 through— 

7 (A) prior public input in the development 

8 of a plan for the proposed project; and 

9 (B) the commitment of any project spon10 sors and community leaders, including elected 

11 officials in the jurisdiction in which such project 

12 is located, partner organization leaders, and 

13 private or nongovernmental organizations in the 

14 area in which such project is located, to the 

15 success and timely implementation of an eligible 

16 greenway project. 

17 (3) The extent to which the eligible organiza18 tion provides evidence of commitment to traffic safe19 ty, regulations, financial incentives, or community 

20 design policies that facilitate significant increases in 

21 walking and bicycling. 

22 (4) The extent to which the eligible organiza23 tion demonstrates commitment of State, local, or eli24 gible Federal matching funds, and land or in-kind 

25 contributions, in addition to the local match required 


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1 under subsection (g)(1), unless the applicant quali2 fies for an exception under subsection (g)(2). 

3 (5) The extent to which the eligible organiza4 tion demonstrates that the grant will address exist5 ing disparities in bicyclist and pedestrian fatality 

6 rates based on race or income level or provide access 

7 to schools, jobs, services, transit, or recreational op8 portunities for low-income communities and commu9 nities of color. 

10 (6) Whether the eligible organization dem11 onstrates how investment in active transportation 

12 will advance safety for pedestrians and cyclists, ac13 cessibility to schools, jobs and transit, accessibility 

14 to national, State, or local parks, economic competi15 tiveness, environmental protection, and quality of 

16 life. 

17 (e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

18 (1) PLANNING AND DESIGN GRANTS.—Each fis19 cal year, the Secretary shall set aside not less than 

20 $3,000,000 from the funds made available to carry 

21 out this section to provide planning grants for eligi22 ble organizations to develop a local or regional 

23 greenways and paths plan. 

24 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Each fiscal year, 

25 the Secretary shall set aside not more than 


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1 $2,000,000 of the funds made available to carry out 

2 this section to cover the costs of administration, re3 search, technical assistance, communications, and 

4 training activities under the program. 

5 (f) GRANT TIMING.— 

6 (1) REQUEST FOR APPLICATION.—Not later 

7 than 30 days after funds are made available to carry 

8 out this section, the Secretary shall publish in the 

9 Federal Register a request for applications for 

10 grants under this section. 

11 (2) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Not 

12 later than 150 days after funds are made available 

13 to carry out this section, the Secretary shall select 

14 grant recipients for grants under this section. 

15 (g) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of a project 

18 under this section shall not exceed 80 percent of the 

19 total project cost. 

20 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

21 (A) DISADVANTAGE COMMUNITIES.—For 

22 projects serving communities with a poverty 

23 rate of over 40 percent based on the majority 

24 of census tracts served by such project, the Sec25 retary may increase the Federal share of the 


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1 cost of a project under this section to 100 per2 cent of the total project cost. 

3 (B) RURAL AREAS.—For projects serving 

4 rural areas, as such term is defined in section 

5 101 of title 23, United States Code, the Federal 

6 share of the cost of a project under this section 

7 shall be 90 percent of the total project cost. 

8 (h) REPORTS.— 

9 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than Sep10 tember 30, 2023, the Secretary shall submit to Con11 gress a report containing the information described 

12 in paragraph (3). 

13 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than September 

14 30, 2025, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

15 report containing the information described in para16 graph (3). 

17 (3) REPORT INFORMATION.—A report sub18 mitted under this subsection shall contain the fol19 lowing: 

20 (A) A list of grants made under this sec21 tion. 

22 (B) Best practices of recipients in imple23 menting projects funded under this section. 


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1 (C) Impediments experienced by recipients 

2 of grants under this section in planning for and 

3 delivering projects under this section. 

4 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 

6 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) 

7 $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 

8 to carry out this section. 

9 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

10 (1) ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘‘ac11 tive transportation’’ means alternative methods of 

12 transportation to motor vehicles, including walking, 

13 bicyling, or utilizing assistive mobility or micro mo14 bility devices. 

15 (2) GREENWAY PATH.—The term ‘‘greenway 

16 path’’ means a hard-surfaced or wheelchair-acces17 sible facility built for active transportation, including 

18 a sidewalk, bikeway, or pedestrian path that con19 nects communities, cities, counties, metropolitan re20 gions, or States. 

21 (3) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘community’’ 

22 means a geographic area that is socioeconomically 

23 interdependent and may include rural, suburban, 

24 and urban jurisdictions. 


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1 (4) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘eligi2 ble organization’’ means— 

3 (A) a local or regional governmental orga4 nization, including a metropolitan planning or5 ganization or regional planning organization or 

6 council; 

7 (B) a multi-county special district; 

8 (C) a State; 

9 (D) a multi-State group of governments; 

10 and 

11 (E) an Indian Tribe. 

12 (5) ELIGIBLE GREENWAY PROJECT.—The term 

13 ‘‘eligible greenway project’’ means an active trans14 portation project, or group of projects— 

15 (A) that is designated as a regionally or 

16 nationally significant greenway path under sub17 section (b); 

18 (B) within or between a community or 

19 group of communities, at least one of which 

20 falls within the jurisdiction of an eligible orga21 nization, which has submitted an application 

22 under this section; 

23 (C) that has— 

24 (i) a total cost of not less than 

25 $15,000,000; or 


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1 (ii) with respect to planning and de2 sign grants, planning and design costs of 

3 not less than $100,000; 

4 (D) that construct path segments that 

5 close local or regional network gaps or are lo6 cated within underserved areas; 

7 (E) that support an accessible public 

8 realm, connect to public transportation, support 

9 opportunities for economic development, or pro10 mote health and safety; and 

11 (F) that connect communities to public 

12 spaces and parks, enhance ecological 

13 connectivity, support land conservation and ac14 cess, or support sites for remediation and res15 toration. 

16 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

17 has the meaning given the term in section 4(e) of 

18 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist19 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)). 

20 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Transportation. 

22 (8) TOTAL PROJECT COST.—The term ‘‘total 

23 project cost’’ means the sum total of all costs in24 curred in the development of a project that are apVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3566.IH H3566

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1 proved by the Secretary as reasonable and nec2 essary, including— 

3 (A) the cost of acquiring real property; 

4 (B) the cost of site preparation, demoli5 tion, and development; 

6 (C) expenses related to the issuance of 

7 bonds or notes; 

8 (D) fees in connection with the planning, 

9 execution, and financing of the project; 

10 (E) the cost of studies, surveys, plans, per11 mits, insurance, interest, financing, tax, and as12 sessment costs; 

13 (F) the cost of construction, rehabilitation, 

14 reconstruction, and equipping the project; 

15 (G) the cost of land improvements; 

16 (H) contractor fees; 

17 (I) the cost of training and education re18 lated to the safety of users of any greenway 

19 path constructed as part of an eligible greenway 

20 project; and 

21 (J) any other cost that the Secretary de22 termines is necessary and reasonable. 

Æ 


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