H. R. 3675—29
section, positions shall be counted on a full-time-equivalent
basis.
(2) ENFORCEMENT.—The President, through the Office of
Management and Budget, shall monitor each agency and take
any action necessary to ensure that the requirements of this
subsection are met.
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect October
1, 1996.
SEC. 350. Treatment of Certain Pending Child Custody Cases
in Superior Court of District of Columbia.—
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 9 of title 11, District
of Columbia Code, is amended by adding at the end the following
new section:
‘‘§ 11–925. Rules regarding certain pending child custody
cases.
‘‘(a) In any pending case involving custody over a minor child
or the visitation rights of a parent of a minor child in the Superior
Court which is described in subsection (b)—
‘‘(1) at anytime after the child attains 13 years of age,
the party to the case who is described in subsection (b)(1)
may not have custody over, or visitation rights with, the child
without the child’s consent; and
‘‘(2) if any person had actual or legal custody over the
child or offered safe refuge to the child while the case (or
other actions relating to the case) was pending, the court may
not deprive the person of custody or visitation rights over
the child or otherwise impose sanctions on the person on the
grounds that the person had such custody or offered such
refuge.
‘‘(b) A case described in this subsection is a case in which—
‘‘(1) the child asserts that a party to the case has been
sexually abusive with the child;
‘‘(2) the child has resided outside of the United States
for not less than 24 consecutive months;
‘‘(3) any of the parties to the case has denied custody
or visitation to another party in violation of an order of the
court for not less than 24 consecutive months; and
‘‘(4) any of the parties to the case has lived outside of
the District of Columbia during such period of denial of custody
or visitation.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for subchapter
II of chapter 9 of title 11, D.C. Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new item:
‘‘11–925. Rules regarding certain pending child custody cases.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by this section
shall apply to cases brought in the Superior Court of the
District of Columbia before, on, or after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
(2) CONTINUATION
OF
PROVISIONS
UNTIL
TERMINATION.—
The provisions of section 11–925, District of Columbia Code
(as added by subsection (a)), shall apply to any case described
in paragraph (1) until the termination of the case.
SEC. 351. Not later than December 31, 1997, the Administrator
of the Federal Aviation Administration shall—
H. R. 3675—30
(a) take such action as may be necessary to provide for
an independent assessment of the acquisition management sys-
tem of the Federal Aviation Administration that includes a
review of any efforts of the Administrator in promoting and
encouraging the use of full and open competition as the pre-
ferred method of procurement with respect to any contract
that involves an amount greater than $50,000,000; and
(b) submit to the Congress a report on the findings of
that independent assessment: Provided, That for purposes of
this section, the term ‘‘full and open competition’’ has the
meaning provided that term in section 4(6) of the Office of
Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(6)).
SEC. 352. 49 U.S.C. 31112 is amended by adding the following
new subsection:
‘‘(4) Nebraska may continue to allow to be operated under
paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section, the State of
Nebraska may allow longer combination vehicles that were
not in actual operation on June 1, 1991 to be operated within
its boundaries to transport sugar beets from the field where
such sugar beets are harvested to storage, market, factory
or stockpile or from stockpile to storage, market or factory.
This provision shall expire on September 30, 1997.’’.
SEC. 353. (a) Section 120(c) of title 23, United States Code,
is amended by inserting ‘‘rail-highway crossing closure,’’ after ‘‘car-
pooling and vanpooling,’’.
(b) Section 130 of such title is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(i) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR AT-GRADE CROSSING CLOSURES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section and subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a State
may, from sums available to the State under this section,
make incentive payments to local governments in the State
upon the permanent closure by such governments of public
at-grade railway-highway crossings under the jurisdiction of
such governments.
‘‘(2) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS BY RAILROADS.—A State may not
make an incentive payment under paragraph (1) to a local
government with respect to the closure of a crossing unless
the railroad owning the tracks on which the crossing is located
makes an incentive payment to the government with respect
to the closure.
‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF STATE PAYMENT.—The amount of the incen-
tive payment payable to a local government by a State under
paragraph (1) with respect to a crossing may not exceed the
lesser of—
‘‘(A) the amount of the incentive payment paid to the
government with respect to the crossing by the railroad
concerned under paragraph (2); or
‘‘(B) $7,500.
‘‘(4) USE OF STATE PAYMENTS.—A local government receiv-
ing an incentive payment from a State under paragraph (1)
shall use the amount of the incentive payment for transpor-
tation safety improvements.’’.
SEC. 354. LIMITATION ON FUNDS USED TO ENFORCE REGULA-
TIONS REGARDING ANIMAL FATS AND VEGETABLE OILS.—None of
H. R. 3675—31
the funds made available in this Act may be used by the Coast
Guard to issue, implement, or enforce a regulation or to establish
an interpretation or guideline under the Edible Oil Regulatory
Reform Act (Public Law 104–55) or the amendments made by
that Act that does not recognize and provide for, with respect
to fats, oils, and greases (as described in that Act or the amend-
ments made by that Act) differences in—
(1) physical, chemical, biological, and other relevant
properties; and
(2) environmental effects.
SEC. 355. Of the funds made available to the Federal Railroad
Administration, up to $200,000 may be made available from the
Office of the Administrator to establish and operate the Institute
for Railroad Safety as authorized by the Swift Rail Development
Act of 1994.
SEC. 356. No funds appropriated under this Act shall be used
to levy penalties prior to September 1, 1997, on the States of
Maine or New Hampshire based on non-compliance with Federal
vehicle weight limitations.
TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS HIGHWAY PROVISIONS
SEC. 401. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
semitrailer units operating in a truck tractor-semitrailer combina-
tion whose semitrailer unit is more than forty-eight feet in length
and truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combinations specified in sec-
tion 31111(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, may not operate
on United States Route 15 in Virginia between the Maryland border
and the intersection with United States Route 29.
SEC. 402. Item 30 of the table contained in section 1107(b)
of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
(105 Stat. 2050), relating to Mobile, Alabama, is amended in the
second column by inserting after ‘‘Alabama’’ the following: ‘‘and
for feasibility studies, preliminary engineering, and construction
of a new bridge and approaches over the Mobile River’’.
SEC. 403. Item 94 of the table contained in section 1107(b)
of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
(105 Stat. 2052), relating to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘St. Thomas,’’; and
(2) by inserting after ‘‘the island’’ the following: ‘‘of St.
Thomas and improvements to the VIPA Molasses Dock inter-
modal port facility on the island of St. Croix to make the
facility capable of handling multiple cargo tasks’’.
SEC. 404. The funds authorized to be appropriated for highway-
railroad grade crossing separations in Mineola, New York, under
the head ‘‘Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Safety Demonstration
Project (Highway Trust Fund)’’ in House Report 99–976 and section
302(l) of Public Law 99–591 are hereby also authorized to be appro-
priated for other grade crossing improvements in Nassau and Suf-
folk Counties in New York and shall be available in accordance
with the terms of the original authoriziaton in House Report 99–
976.
SEC. 405. The Secretary of Transportation is hereby authorized
to enter into an agreement modifying the agreement entered into
pursuant to section 336 of the Department of Transportation and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995 (Public Law 103–331)
H. R. 3675—32
and section 356 of the Department of Transportation and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (Public Law 104–50) to provide
an additional line of credit not to exceed $25,000,000, which may
be used to replace otherwise required contingency reserves: Pro-
vided however, That the Secretary may only enter into such modi-
fication if it is supported by the amount of the original appropriation
(provided by section 336 of Public Law 103–331). No additional
appropriation is made by this section. In implementing this section,
the Secretary may enter into an agreement requiring an interest
rate, on both the original line of credit and the additional amount
provided for herein, higher than that currently in force and higher
than that specified in the original appropriation. An agreement
entered into pursuant to this section may not obligate the Secretary
to make any funds available until all remaining contingency re-
serves are exhausted, and in no event shall any funds be made
available before October 1, 1998.
SEC. 406. Public Law 100–202 is amended in the item relating
to ‘‘Traffic Improvement Demonstration Project’’ by inserting after
‘‘project’’ the following: ‘‘or upgrade existing local roads’’.
SEC. 407. The amount appropriated for the Lake Shore Drive
extension study, Whiting, Indiana, under the matter under the
heading ‘‘SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS’’ under the heading
‘‘FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION’’ in title I of the
Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act, 1995 (Public Law 103–331; 108 Stat. 2478), shall be made
available to carry out the congestion relief project for the construc-
tion of a 4-lane road and overpass at Merrillville, Indiana, author-
ized by item 35 of section 1104(b) of the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240; 105
Stat. 2030).
SEC. 
408. 
HIGHWAY
SAFETY
IMPROVEMENT
PROJECT,
MICHIGAN.—Of the amount appropriated for the highway safety
improvement project, Michigan, under the matter under the heading
‘‘SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS’’ under the heading ‘‘FED-
ERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION’’ in title I of the Department
of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995
(Public Law 103–331; 108 Stat. 2478), for the purposes of right-
of-way acquisition for Baldwin Road, and engineering, right-of-way
acquisition, and construction between Walton Boulevard and Dixie
Highway, $2,000,000 shall be made available for construction of
Baldwin Road.
SEC. 409. Transfer of Funds Among Minnesota Highway
Projects.—
(a) IN GENERAL.—Such portions of the amounts appropriated
for the Minnesota highway projects described in subsection (b)
that have not been obligated as of December 31, 1996, shall be
made available to carry out the 34th Street Corridor Project in
Moorhead, Minnesota, authorized by section 149(a)(5)(A)(iii) of the
Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of
1987 (Public Law 100–17; 101 Stat. 181) (as amended by section
340(a) of the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995
(Public Law 104–59; 109 Stat. 607)).
(b) PROJECTS.—The Minnesota highway projects described in
this subsection are—
(1) the project for Saint Louis County authorized by section
149(a)(76) of the Surface Transportation and Uniform Reloca-