Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act

Subjects: Transportation and Public Works


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2367 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2367

To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a competitive grant 
  program for projects for commercial motor vehicle parking, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2023

Mr. Bost (for himself, Ms. Craig, Mr. Meuser, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Swalwell, 
 Ms. Mace, Mr. Stauber, and Mr. Babin) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a competitive grant 
  program for projects for commercial motor vehicle parking, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Truck Parking Safety Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that it should be a national priority 
to address the shortage of parking for commercial motor vehicles on the 
Federal-aid highway system to improve highway safety.

SEC. 3. PARKING FOR COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 180. Parking for commercial motor vehicles
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Commercial motor vehicle.--The term `commercial motor 
        vehicle' has the meaning given the term in section 31132 of 
        title 49.
            ``(2) Safety rest area.--The term `safety rest area' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 120(c)(1).
    ``(b) Grant Authority.--Subject to the availability of funds, the 
Secretary shall make grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 
entities for projects to provide public parking for commercial motor 
vehicles and improve the safety of commercial motor vehicle drivers.
    ``(c) Eligible Entities.--
            ``(1) In general.--An entity eligible to receive a grant 
        under this section is any of the following:
                    ``(A) A State.
                    ``(B) A metropolitan planning organization.
                    ``(C) A unit of local government.
                    ``(D) A political subdivision of a State or local 
                government carrying out responsibilities relating to 
                commercial motor vehicle parking.
                    ``(E) A Tribal government or a consortium of Tribal 
                governments.
                    ``(F) A multistate or multijurisdictional group of 
                entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (E).
            ``(2) Private sector participation.--An eligible entity 
        that receives a grant under this section may partner with a 
        private entity to carry out an eligible project under this 
        section.
    ``(d) Eligible Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--An entity may use a grant provided under 
        this section for a project described in paragraph (2) that is 
        on--
                    ``(A) a Federal-aid highway; or
                    ``(B) a facility with reasonable access (as 
                described in section 658.19 of title 23, Code of 
                Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)) to--
                            ``(i) a Federal-aid highway; or
                            ``(ii) a freight facility.
            ``(2) Projects described.--A project referred to in 
        paragraph (1) is a project--
                    ``(A) to construct a safety rest area that includes 
                parking for commercial motor vehicles;
                    ``(B) to construct additional commercial motor 
                vehicle parking capacity--
                            ``(i) adjacent to a private commercial 
                        truck stop or travel plaza;
                            ``(ii) within the boundaries of, or 
                        adjacent to, a publicly owned freight facility, 
                        including a port terminal operated by a public 
                        authority;
                            ``(iii) at an existing facility, including 
                        an inspection or weigh station and a park-and-
                        ride location; or
                            ``(iv) at another suitable facility, as 
                        determined by the eligible entity, in 
                        concurrence with the Secretary;
                    ``(C) to reopen an existing weigh station, safety 
                rest area, park-and-ride facility, or other government-
                owned facility, that is not in use, for commercial 
                motor vehicle parking;
                    ``(D) to construct or make capital improvements to 
                an existing public commercial motor vehicle parking 
                facility to expand parking use and availability, 
                including at a seasonal facility;
                    ``(E) to identify, promote, and manage the 
                availability of publicly and privately provided 
                commercial motor vehicle parking, such as through the 
                use of intelligent transportation systems;
                    ``(F) to improve the personal safety of commercial 
                motor vehicle drivers at a parking facility as part of 
                a project described in subparagraphs (A) through (D); 
                or
                    ``(G) to improve a parking facility, including 
                through truck stop electrification systems, as part of 
                a project described in subparagraphs (A) through (D).
    ``(e) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, including--
            ``(1) a description of the proposed project; and
            ``(2) any other information that the Secretary determines 
        to be necessary.
    ``(f) Selection Criteria.--The Secretary may select a project to 
receive a grant under this section only if the Secretary determines 
that--
            ``(1) there is a shortage of commercial motor vehicle 
        parking capacity in the corridor in which the project is 
        located;
            ``(2) the eligible entity has consulted with motor 
        carriers, commercial motor vehicle drivers, public safety 
        officials, and private providers of commercial motor vehicle 
        parking regarding the project;
            ``(3) the project will likely--
                    ``(A) increase the availability or utilization of 
                commercial motor vehicle parking;
                    ``(B) facilitate the efficient movement of freight; 
                or
                    ``(C) improve highway safety, traffic congestion, 
                and air quality; and
            ``(4) the eligible entity demonstrates the ability to 
        provide for the maintenance and operation of the facility.
    ``(g) Additional Consideration.--To the maximum extent practicable, 
the Secretary shall select projects to receive grants under the program 
in a manner that maximizes the geographic dispersion of new commercial 
motor vehicle parking capacity across the United States.
    ``(h) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible entity may use a grant under 
        this section for--
                    ``(A) development phase activities, including 
                planning, feasibility analysis, benefit-cost analysis, 
                environmental review, preliminary engineering and 
                design work, and other preconstruction activities 
                necessary to advance a project under this section; and
                    ``(B) construction and operational improvements.
            ``(2) Limitations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An eligible entity may use not 
                more than 25 percent of the amount of a grant under 
                this section for activities described in paragraph 
                (1)(A).
                    ``(B) Existing facilities.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), not more than 10 percent of the 
                        amounts made available for each fiscal year for 
                        grants under this section may be used for 
                        projects described in subsection (d)(2)(E) that 
                        solely identify, promote, and manage the 
                        availability of existing commercial motor 
                        vehicle parking.
                            ``(ii) Exception.--Clause (i) shall not 
                        apply to a project described in subsection 
                        (d)(2)(E) that is part of a project to expand 
                        commercial motor vehicle parking capacity.
            ``(3) Prohibition.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Amounts made available to carry 
                out this section shall not be used for the 
                construction, or development phase activities that 
                would enable the construction, of charging or fueling 
                infrastructure for the propulsion of a vehicle, 
                including a commercial motor vehicle.
                    ``(B) Savings provision.--Nothing in this paragraph 
                limits the use of funds other than funds made available 
                to carry out this section.
    ``(i) Requirements.--
            ``(1) Publicly accessible parking.--Commercial motor 
        vehicle parking constructed, opened, or improved with funds 
        from a grant under this section shall be open and accessible to 
        all commercial motor vehicle drivers.
            ``(2) Prohibition on charging fees.--
                    ``(A) In general.--No fee may be charged by an 
                eligible entity to a commercial motor vehicle driver to 
                gain access to parking constructed, opened, maintained, 
                or improved with a grant under this section.
    ``(j) Treatment of Projects.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, a project carried out under this section shall be treated as a 
project on a Federal-aid highway under this chapter.
    ``(k) Period of Availability of Funds.--Amounts made available for 
projects under this section shall remain available for a period of 3 
years after the last day of the fiscal year in which the amounts are 
made available.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``180. Parking for commercial motor vehicles.''.

SEC. 4. SURVEY AND COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of 
Transportation, in consultation with appropriate State motor carrier 
safety personnel, motor carriers, State departments of transportation, 
and private providers of commercial motor vehicle parking, shall submit 
to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives a report that--
            (1) evaluates the availability of adequate parking and rest 
        facilities, taking into account both private and public 
        facilities, for commercial motor vehicles engaged in interstate 
        transportation;
            (2) evaluates the effectiveness of the projects funded 
        under section 180 of title 23, United States Code, in improving 
        access to commercial motor vehicle parking;
            (3) evaluates the ability of eligible entities that 
        received a grant under section 180 of title 23, United States 
        Code, to sustain the operation of parking facilities 
        constructed with funds provided under that section; and
            (4) reports on the progress being made to provide adequate 
        commercial motor vehicle parking facilities.
    (b) Results.--The Secretary of Transportation shall make the 
reports under subsection (a) available to the public on the website of 
the Department of Transportation.
    (c) Alignment of Reports.--In carrying out this section, the 
Secretary of Transportation shall--
            (1) consider the results of the commercial motor vehicle 
        parking facilities assessments of States under subsection (f) 
        of section 70202 of title 49, United States Code; and
            (2) seek to align the contents of the reports under 
        subsection (a) and the submission and publication of those 
        reports with the State freight plans developed and updated 
        under that section.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Transportation for projects for commercial motor vehicle parking under 
section 180 of title 23, United States Code--
            (1) $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (2) $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
            (3) $320,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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