I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4726 
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 
MAY 22, 2014 
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Ms. TITUS) introduced the fol-
lowing 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 2014’’. 
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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 may provide for the approval of 
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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, and rural planning or-
ganizations. 
‘‘(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-
velopment organizations, and other coalitions of 
employers and commerce; 
‘‘(C) local air quality boards or local orga-
nizations supporting improved air quality; 
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