I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2927
To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide grants and technical 
assistance to restore orphan highways. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2003
Mr. BLUMENAUER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide grants 
and technical assistance to restore orphan highways.
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 ‘‘Orphan Highway Res-
toration Act’’. 
SEC. 2. NATIONAL ORPHAN HIGHWAYS PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘§ 165. National orphan highways program 
‘‘(a) GRANTS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 
grants and provide technical assistance to States, 
and units of local government to—
‘‘(A) perform preventive maintenance on or 
carry out projects for resurfacing, restoration, 
reconstruction, and rehabilitation of an orphan 
highway, as defined in subsection (e); and 
‘‘(B) rehabilitate, repair, or construct side-
walks, medians, bike lanes, traffic-calming de-
vices, signaling, or signage to enhance commu-
nity livability on or adjacent to an orphan high-
way. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In making grants, the Sec-
retary shall give priority to projects that—
‘‘(A) include rehabilitation measures that 
focus on pedestrian safety; 
‘‘(B) are coordinated with State and local 
adopted preservation or development plans; 
‘‘(C) promote cost-effective and strategic 
investments in transportation infrastructure 
that minimize adverse impacts on the environ-
ment; 
‘‘(D) promote innovative private sector 
strategies;
‘‘(E) foster public-private partnerships; 
‘‘(F) include a higher percentage of State 
or locally matched funds; 
‘‘(G) have zoning designations that support 
more intensive, mixed-use development along 
part or all of the route; or 
‘‘(H) upon completion, will result in the 
transfer of ongoing management and adminis-
trative responsibilities from the State to the 
local jurisdiction. 
‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 
shall allocate funds made available for this section 
for fiscal years 2004 through 2009 among the grant 
recipients, using 2000 census data as follows: 
‘‘(A) not less than 20 percent to units of 
local government with a population between 
50,000 and 250,000 residents; and 
‘‘(B) not less than 50 percent to units of 
local government with a population of less than 
50,000. 
‘‘(b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The Secretary shall not 
withhold any grant or impose any requirement on a grant 
recipient as a condition of providing a grant or technical 
assistance for any orphan highway unless the requirement 
is consistent with the authority provided in this chapter.
‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 
cost of carrying out a project under this section shall be 
80 percent, except that, in the case of an orphan highway 
that provides access to or within Federal or Indian land, 
the head of a Federal land management agency may use 
funds authorized for such agency for the non-Federal 
share. 
‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT.—A grant recipi-
ent may use not more than 2 percent of funds received 
under this section for administrative costs. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act the fol-
lowing definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) ORPHAN HIGHWAY.—
‘‘(A) is or was formerly a United States 
numbered highway; 
‘‘(B) is located within the boundaries of a 
unit of local government as defined under para-
graph (2); 
‘‘(C) is no longer a principal route for traf-
fic passing through the State after construction 
of a bypass or Interstate; 
‘‘(D) currently functions as a county, par-
ish, or city arterial or collector route, or pro-
vides access to or within Federal or tribal lands; 
and
‘‘(E) because of decreased importance to 
statewide transportation, has received only rou-
tine maintenance but needs significant resur-
facing, restoration, reconstruction, or rehabilita-
tion. 
‘‘(2) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘unit of local government’ means—
‘‘(A) any city, county, township, town, bor-
ough, parish, village, or other general purpose 
political subdivision of a State; 
‘‘(B) any law enforcement district or judi-
cial enforcement district that—
‘‘(i) is established under applicable 
State law; and 
‘‘(ii) has the authority to, in a manner 
independent of other State entities, estab-
lish a budget and impose taxes; 
‘‘(C) an Indian Tribe (as that term is de-
fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina-
tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
450b); or 
‘‘(D) for the purposes of assistance eligi-
bility, any agency of the government of the Dis-
trict of Columbia or the Federal Government
that performs law enforcement functions in and 
for—
‘‘(i) the District of Columbia; or 
‘‘(ii) any Trust Territory of the 
United States.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 164 the following:
‘‘165. National orphan highways program.’’.
Æ