I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1393 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transpor-
tation to establish an innovation in surface transportation program, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2015 
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Ms. TITUS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, 
Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. HARPER, Mr. SCHOCK, and Mr. LIPINSKI) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the Sec-
retary of Transportation to establish an innovation in 
surface transportation program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Innovation in Surface 
Transportation Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. INNOVATION IN SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 104 the 
following: 
‘‘§ 105. Innovation in surface transportation program 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 
with State transportation departments, shall establish an 
innovation in surface transportation program in accord-
ance with the requirements of this section. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program shall 
be— 
‘‘(1) to increase the return on investment in the 
Nation’s surface transportation system; 
‘‘(2) to make the Nation’s surface transpor-
tation system more reliable, safe, and efficient by 
advancing innovative projects selected through State 
competitions; 
‘‘(3) to increase input from local government 
and stakeholders on projects receiving funding; and 
‘‘(4) to leverage Federal highway dollars further 
through in-State competitions. 
‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall make grants 
under this section to eligible entities for eligible 
projects to be carried out in the State using funds 
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reserved by the State for a fiscal year under sub-
section (e)(1). 
‘‘(2) STATE COMPETITIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of 
making grants under this section, a State shall 
conduct a competition each fiscal year under 
which the State will accept grant applications 
submitted by eligible entities. 
‘‘(B) COMPETITION DATES.—A State shall 
conduct a competition under subparagraph 
(A)— 
‘‘(i) not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this section; and 
‘‘(ii) not later than 30 days after the 
first day of each fiscal year beginning after 
such date of enactment. 
‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECTION CRI-
TERIA.—The State selection panel of each State 
shall establish and make available to the public 
the project selection criteria that will be used by 
the State in conducting competitions under 
paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) FACTORS.—The project selection cri-
teria of a State shall provide for the approval 
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of project applications based on the extent to 
which the projects— 
‘‘(i) improve safety for all users of the 
transportation network; 
‘‘(ii) strengthen the contribution of a 
national freight network to the Nation’s 
economic competitiveness; 
‘‘(iii) 
promote 
multimodal 
connectivity; 
‘‘(iv) strengthen return on investment, 
particularly the impact on local economic 
development; 
‘‘(v) improve access to jobs, sources of 
labor, schools, and opportunity; 
‘‘(vi) optimize, through better design 
and operation, the usage and efficiency of 
existing transportation facilities; 
‘‘(vii) improve the reliability of the 
transportation 
system 
of 
the 
United 
States; 
‘‘(viii) encourage innovation and the 
use of technology; or 
‘‘(ix) further the purposes described in 
subsection (b). 
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‘‘(C) SPECIAL
CONSIDERATION
OF
CER-
TAIN
FACTORS.—In addition to the factors 
specified in subparagraph (B), the project selec-
tion criteria of a State may— 
‘‘(i) provide that special consideration 
in the approval of project applications is 
given to eligible projects that— 
‘‘(I) maximize the amount of pro-
posed project costs that can be borne 
by the applicant from non-Federal 
sources; or 
‘‘(II) have prior significant Fed-
eral or non-Federal investment; and 
‘‘(ii) give equal consideration to dif-
ferences in the fiscal capacity of public eli-
gible entities. 
‘‘(D) 
FUNDING
DISTRIBUTION.—The 
project selection criteria of a State shall take 
into consideration the equitable distribution of 
funds by geography and population. 
‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR PRIVATE TRANSPOR-
TATION PROVIDERS.—An eligible entity that is a pri-
vate transportation provider may submit a project 
application in a State competition conducted under 
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paragraph (2) only if the application is sponsored by 
a public entity. 
‘‘(d) INNOVATION IN SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SE-
LECTION PANEL.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A State, in coordination 
with local transportation stakeholders, shall establish 
an innovation in surface transportation selection 
panel in accordance with this subsection. 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—A State selection panel shall— 
‘‘(A) review project applications submitted 
to the State during a competition conducted 
under subsection (c)(2); and 
‘‘(B) approve and disapprove the project 
applications based on the criteria set forth in 
subsection (c)(3). 
‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—A State selection panel 
shall be composed of the following members to be 
appointed by the State— 
‘‘(A) not fewer than 3 individuals rep-
resenting the State’s transportation depart-
ment; 
‘‘(B) not fewer than 3 individuals rep-
resenting local governments in the State, with 
at least 1 representative from each of— 
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‘‘(i) a jurisdiction with a population of 
50,000 individuals or fewer; 
‘‘(ii) a jurisdiction with a population 
of more than 50,000 individuals and not 
more than 1,000,000 individuals; and 
‘‘(iii) a jurisdiction with a population 
of more than 1,000,000 individuals, if ap-
plicable; and 
‘‘(C) not fewer than 3 individuals rep-
resenting metropolitan planning organizations, 
councils of governments, rural planning organi-
zations, and other joint powers authorities in 
the State charged with transportation respon-
sibilities, including Indian tribes and tribal coa-
litions. 
‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL
MEMBERS.—In addition to 
the members appointed under paragraph (3), a 
State selection panel shall be composed of 9 mem-
bers to be appointed by the State, in coordination 
with local transportation stakeholders, from among 
individuals representing— 
‘‘(A) local chambers of commerce; 
‘‘(B) transportation management organiza-
tions, travel and tourism boards, economic de-
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velopment organizations, and other coalitions of 
employers and commerce; 
‘‘(C) local air quality boards or local orga-
nizations supporting improved air quality; 
‘‘(D) State safety boards or local organiza-
tions supporting safety; 
‘‘(E) transit agencies; 
‘‘(F) port authorities, if applicable; 
‘‘(G) active transportation organizations; 
‘‘(H) public interest organizations; and 
‘‘(I) labor unions. 
‘‘(5) DISTRIBUTION OF REPRESENTATIVES.—A 
State shall appoint members to the State’s selection 
panel in a manner such that— 
‘‘(A) the number of members appointed 
under each of paragraphs (3)(A), (3)(B), and 
(3)(C) is equal; and 
‘‘(B) at least 1 member is appointed under 
paragraph (4) from each of the entities de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of 
paragraph (4), if applicable. 
‘‘(6) GEOGRAPHIC
DIVERSITY.—The members 
of a State selection panel shall be geographically di-
verse, to the extent practicable. 
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‘‘(7) REPRESENTATION
LIMITATION.—Except 
for the representatives described in paragraphs 
(3)(A) and (3)(B)(iii), no entity may be represented 
on a State selection panel for more than 2 consecu-
tive years if a comparable entity can also be rep-
resented on the panel. 
‘‘(8) CONTINUITY.—A State shall appoint mem-
bers to the State’s selection panel using a 2-tiered 
rotation process that ensures continuity of the panel 
by rotating the membership of the panel on a stag-
gered basis. 
‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—On October 1 
of each fiscal year, a State shall make the following 
reservations of funds: 
‘‘(A) NATIONAL HIGHWAY PERFORMANCE 
PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve 10 percent 
of the amount apportioned to the State for the 
fiscal year under section 104(b)(1)— 
‘‘(i) for carrying out State competi-
tions under this section; and 
‘‘(ii) for making grants under this sec-
tion for eligible projects. 
‘‘(B) HIGHWAY
SAFETY
IMPROVEMENT 
PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve not less 
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than 33 percent of the amount apportioned to 
the State for the fiscal year under section 
104(b)(3) for making grants under this section 
for eligible projects that are projects described 
in section 148. 
‘‘(C) CONGESTION
MITIGATION
AND
AIR 
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(i) RESERVATION
OF
FUNDS.—The 
State shall reserve not less than 33 percent 
of the amount apportioned to the State for 
the fiscal year under section 104(b)(4) and 
unobligated balances for section 104(b)(4) 
from the prior fiscal year for making 
grants under this section for eligible 
projects that are projects described in sec-
tion 149(b). 
‘‘(ii) USE OF RESERVED FUNDS.—If 
the State has one or more nonattainment 
areas (as defined in section 171(2) of the 
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7501(2))), the 
State shall use amounts reserved under 
this subparagraph for making grants 
under this section for eligible projects de-
scribed in section 149(b) in such areas. 
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‘‘(D) SURFACE
TRANSPORTATION
PRO-
GRAM.—The State shall reserve not less than 
33 percent of the amount allocated to the State 
for the fiscal year under section 133(d)(1)(B) 
for making grants under this section for eligible 
projects. 
‘‘(E) 
TRANSPORTATION
ALTERNATIVES 
PROGRAM.—The State shall reserve 33 percent 
of the amount reserved by the State for the fis-
cal year under section 213(c)(1)(B) for making 
grants under this section for eligible projects 
that are projects described in section 213(b). 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—Any funds that a State 
directly suballocates to metropolitan areas or direct 
recipients of funds under section 5307 of title 49 or 
awards through an open statewide competition to eli-
gible entities shall be excluded from the funds from 
which reservations are to be made under paragraph 
(1). 
‘‘(3) NON-AWARDED FUNDS.—For each fiscal 
year, a State shall— 
‘‘(A) determine— 
‘‘(i) the total amount of funds, if any, 
that have been reserved by the State for 
the fiscal year under paragraph (1) but 
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have not been awarded by the State in 
grants under this section on or before the 
last day of the fiscal year; and 
‘‘(ii) the total amount of funds, if any, 
that have been awarded in grants by the 
State under this section but remain unobli-
gated by the grant recipient after the last 
day of the 5-year period beginning on the 
date on which the grant was awarded; and 
‘‘(B) distribute or redistribute such funds, 
as appropriate, using the process under sub-
section (c)(2). 
‘‘(f) 
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
FOR
CERTAIN 
AREAS.— 
‘‘(1) RURAL ELIGIBILITY.—A State shall sup-
port development of project applications under this 
section if requested by an eligible rural local govern-
ment. 
‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The State may 
reserve not more than 0.25 percent of the funds re-
served for a fiscal year under subsection (e) to meet 
specific requests for support from eligible rural local 
governments. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
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‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a local government; 
‘‘(B) a metropolitan planning organization; 
‘‘(C) a regional transportation authority; 
‘‘(D) a transit agency; 
‘‘(E) a tribal government; 
‘‘(F) a private provider of public transpor-
tation; 
‘‘(G) a nonprofit transportation organiza-
tion; 
‘‘(H) a port authority; 
‘‘(I) a joint power authority; or 
‘‘(J) a local rail authority. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE
PROJECT.—The term ‘eligible 
project’ means— 
‘‘(A) a project eligible under— 
‘‘(i) section 133(b), relating to the 
surface transportation program; 
‘‘(ii) section 148, relating to the high-
way safety improvement program; 
‘‘(iii) section 149(b), relating to the 
congestion mitigation and air quality im-
provement program; or 
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‘‘(iv) section 213(b), relating to the 
transportation alternatives program; or 
‘‘(B) a surface transportation project that 
will improve the movement of goods along a pri-
mary freight network, including multimodal fa-
cilities near a primary freight route. 
‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’, except as 
otherwise specifically provided, means the innovation 
in surface transportation program established under 
this section. 
‘‘(4) RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘rural local government’ means a local government 
for an area that is not an urbanized area (as defined 
by the Census Bureau). 
‘‘(5) STATE
SELECTION
PANEL.—The term 
‘State selection panel’ means an innovation in sur-
face transportation selection panel established by a 
State under subsection (d). 
‘‘(h) TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 30 days after 
a State has selected projects for a fiscal year to receive 
funding under this section, the State shall make available, 
in a publically accessible medium that is easy to navi-
gate— 
‘‘(1) the criteria and methodology used to select 
the projects; 
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‘‘(2) a list of all the projects for which funding 
was requested, including, for each such project— 
‘‘(A) the total estimated project cost; and 
‘‘(B) the amount of funding requested; 
‘‘(3) a list of projects that were selected to re-
ceive funding under this section, including, for each 
such project— 
‘‘(A) the amount of funding requested; 
‘‘(B) the amount of funding granted; and 
‘‘(C) the source of the non-Federal share 
of cost of the project; and 
‘‘(4) the ranking and scoring of all projects for 
which funding was requested. 
‘‘(i) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) STATE
REPORTS.—Not later than 180 
days after the last day of each fiscal year, a State 
shall submit to the Secretary a report that de-
scribes— 
‘‘(A) the information required under sub-
section (h); 
‘‘(B) the organizations that were rep-
resented on the State’s selection panel; 
‘‘(C) the portion of the funds available to 
the State for the program that have been obli-
gated; and 
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‘‘(D) the percentage of the funds available 
to the State for the program that were used for 
administrative expenses. 
‘‘(2) BIENNIAL
REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not 
later than September 30, 2017, and biennially there-
after, the Secretary shall submit a consolidated re-
port on the program, including a review of the State 
reports submitted pursuant to paragraph (1), to— 
‘‘(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 
‘‘(B) 
the 
Committee 
on 
Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 
‘‘(C) the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works of the Senate; and 
‘‘(D) the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representa-
tives. 
‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make 
the report submitted under paragraph (2) available 
on the public Internet Web site of the Department 
of Transportation. 
‘‘(j) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH COMPETITIVE 
AND SUBALLOCATED PROGRAMS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may permit 
a State to distribute funding described in subpara-
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graph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of subsection (e)(1) 
through the mechanisms described in paragraph (2) 
if the Secretary certifies that the State is distrib-
uting such funding in a manner that fulfills the pur-
poses of this section. 
‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION
MECHANISMS.—Distribu-
tion mechanisms that qualify under paragraph (1) 
include— 
‘‘(A) an open and competitive State pro-
gram that is substantially similar to the re-
quirements of this section; 
‘‘(B) direct suballocation to metropolitan 
areas of a majority of all funds— 
‘‘(i) apportioned to the State under 
sections 104(b)(1), 104(b)(2), 104(b)(3), 
and 104(b)(4); and 
‘‘(ii) allocated to the State under sec-
tion 213(a)(1); and 
‘‘(C) a competitive State program or direct 
suballocation to metropolitan areas or direct re-
cipients of funds under section 5307 of title 49 
of more than 95 percent of the funds— 
‘‘(i) apportioned to the State under 
section 104(b)(1), 104(b)(2), 104(b)(3), or 
104(b)(4); or 
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‘‘(ii) allocated to the State under sec-
tion 213(a)(1). 
‘‘(3) PUBLICATION
IN
FEDERAL
REGISTER.— 
Before making a certification under paragraph 
(1)(B), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) publish in the Federal Register the 
Secretary’s intent to make the certification; 
‘‘(B) provide the public not fewer than 90 
days to comment on the proposed certification; 
and 
‘‘(C) take into consideration any comments 
received during the comment period. 
‘‘(4) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—At least 15 days 
before making a certification under paragraph 
(1)(B), the Secretary shall submit a notice to the 
congressional committees referred to in subsection 
(i)(2) and the members of the State’s congressional 
delegation that includes— 
‘‘(A) a notification of the Secretary’s in-
tent to make the certification; and 
‘‘(B) a justification for the proposed cer-
tification.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap-
ter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by insert-
ing after the item relating to section 104 the following: 
‘‘105. Innovation in surface transportation program.’’. 
Æ 
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