Toll Credit Marketplace Act

To establish a pilot toll credit marketplace program, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Toll Credit Marketplace Act 2. Toll credit marketplace pilot program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Pilot program The term pilot program (2) Secretary The term Secretary (3) State The term State (4) Toll credit The term toll credit (5) Toll credit marketplace The term toll credit marketplace (b) Establishment Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and implement a pilot program to develop a toll credit marketplace for States to buy and sell toll credits. (c) Purposes The purposes of the pilot program are— (1) to identify whether a monetary value can be assigned to toll credits; (2) to identify the discounted rate of toll credits for cash; (3) to determine if the purchase of toll credits by States provides the purchasing State budget flexibility to deal with funding issues, including off-system needs, transit systems with high operating costs, or cash flow issues; and (4) to test the feasibility of expanding the toll credit market to allow all States to participate on a permanent basis. (d) Administration In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary— (1) shall establish procedures for a toll credit marketplace; (2) shall establish an online platform that allows participating States to offer and bid on toll credit purchases; (3) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, shall provide notice to States that the Federal Highway Administration is requesting participants for the pilot program; (4) shall allow to participate in the pilot program— (A) a State that maintains a toll credit balance accumulated before the date of enactment of this Act; (B) a State that does not maintain infrastructure for the collection of toll credits; and (C) a State that has not accumulated a toll credit balance; and (5) shall not allow a State to purchase or sell toll credits in an amount that is less than 10 percent of the value of the toll credit value if applied as a non-Federal share requirement under section 120(i)(1) of title 23, United States Code. (e) Reporting requirements (1) Initial report Not later than 180 days after notice of the pilot program is provided to the States under subsection (d)(3), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report on the progress of the toll credit marketplace. (2) State report Not later than 30 days after a purchase or sale in the toll credit marketplace under the pilot program— (A) a State selling toll credits shall provide to the Secretary information on the transaction, including— (i) the amount of cash received; (ii) the value of toll credits sold; (iii) the intended use of the cash; and (iv) the remaining toll credit balance of the State; and (B) a State purchasing toll credits shall provide to the Secretary information on— (i) the value of toll credits purchased; (ii) the anticipated use of the toll credits; and (iii) plans for maintenance of effort for spending on Federal-aid highway projects. (3) Annual report Not later than 1 year after notice of the pilot program is provided to the States under subsection (d)(3) and each year thereafter that the pilot program is in effect, the Secretary shall— (A) submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report that— (i) evaluates whether a toll credit marketplace is viable; (ii) describes the buying and selling activities of the toll credit marketplace; (iii) determines the monetary value of toll credits; (iv) evaluates whether the pilot program could be expanded to more States or all States; and (v) provides updated information on the toll credit balance accumulated by each State; and (B) makes the report under subparagraph (A) publicly available on the website of the Secretary. (f) Maintenance of effort Except as provided in subsection (i)(2), a State participating in the toll credit marketplace shall be subject to section 120(i)(2) of title 23, United States Code. (g) Use of funds received for the sale (1) In general A State that receives funds from the sale of a toll credit may use the funds only for a project eligible for assistance under chapter 1 chapter 53 (2) Certification Before expending any funds received in exchange for a toll credit, the State shall— (A) provide to the Secretary a certification that the funds will be used as described in paragraph (1); and (B) receive approval from the Secretary under paragraph (3). (3) Approval Not later than 30 days after the receipt of a certification under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall send a notice of decision to the State that— (A) approves the certification; or (B) (i) disapproves the certification; and (ii) includes an explanation of the grounds for disapproval and recommendations for addressing the deficiencies. (4) Appeal If the Secretary disapproves the certification under paragraph (3)(B)— (A) not later than 30 days after a State receives a notice of decision disapproving the certification, the State may ask the Secretary to reconsider the decision; and (B) not later than 60 days after the Secretary receives a request to reconsider under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall review the request and make a determination. (h) Metropolitan planning organization and local government toll credit allocation (1) Purchase of toll credits On request of a metropolitan planning organization or local government in the State, and with a timely payment of the amount of the toll credits, a State may purchase toll credits under this section on behalf of the metropolitan planning organization or local government. (2) Allocation of toll credits On approval of the relevant metropolitan planning organization or local government, a State may allocate toll credits purchased by the State for use by the metropolitan planning organization or local government. (i) Limitation on use of Federal funds for the purchase of toll credits (1) Limitation on Federal funds A State, metropolitan planning organization, or local government may not use Federal funds to purchase toll credits on the toll credit marketplace. (2) Use of toll credits A State may use toll credits purchased under this section to meet not more than 10 percent of the non-Federal share requirement for any funds made available to carry out chapter 1 chapter 53 (j) GAO report After the end of the first year during which the toll credit marketplace is in operation, the Comptroller General of the United States shall— (1) conduct a study on the performance of the toll credit marketplace; and (2) submit to Congress a report that includes— (A) a determination as to whether the pilot program is successful; and (B) any recommendations on how to improve the pilot program. (k) Sunset The pilot program shall terminate on September 30, 2020.

Summary: Toll Credit Marketplace Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation to establish and implement a pilot program to develop a toll credit marketplace for states to buy and sell toll credits. States may use funds from the sale of toll credits to offset the nonfederal share of the cost of any transportation project. The Government Accountability Office shall study and report on the performance of the toll credit marketplace.