49 U.S.C. § 5505 (TRANSPORTATION)
§ 5505. University transportation centers program
(a) University Transportation Centers Program.—
(1) Establishment and operation.—
The Secretary shall make grants under this section to eligible nonprofit institutions of higher education to establish and operate university transportation centers.
(2) Role of centers.—
The role of each university transportation center referred to in paragraph (1) shall be—
(A) to advance transportation expertise and technology in the varied disciplines that comprise the field of transportation through education, research, and technology transfer activities;
(B) to provide for a critical transportation knowledge base outside of the Department of Transportation; and
(C) to address critical workforce needs and educate the next generation of transportation leaders.
(b) Competitive Selection Process.—
(1) Applications.—
To receive a grant under this section, a nonprofit institution of higher education shall submit to the Secretary an application that is in such form and contains such information as the Secretary may require.
(2) Restriction.—
A nonprofit institution of higher education or the lead institution of a consortium of nonprofit institutions of higher education, as applicable, that receives a grant for a national transportation center or a regional transportation center in a fiscal year shall not be eligible to receive as a lead institution or member of a consortium an additional grant in that fiscal year for a national transportation center or a regional transportation center.
(3) Coordination.—
The Secretary shall solicit grant applications for national transportation centers, regional transportation centers, and Tier 1 university transportation centers with identical advertisement schedules and deadlines.
(4) General selection criteria.—
(A) In general.—
Except as otherwise provided by this section, the Secretary shall award grants under this section in nonexclusive candidate topic areas established by the Secretary that address the research priorities identified in section 503 of title 23.
(B) Criteria.—
The Secretary, in consultation as appropriate with the Administrators of the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, shall select each recipient of a grant under this section through a competitive process based on the assessment of the Secretary relating to—
(i) the demonstrated ability of the recipient to address each specific topic area described in the research and strategic plans of the recipient;
(ii) the demonstrated research, technology transfer, and education resources available to the recipient to carry out this section;
(iii) the ability of the recipient to provide leadership in solving immediate and long-range national and regional transportation problems;
(iv) the ability of the recipient to carry out research, education, and technology transfer activities that are multimodal and multidisciplinary in scope;
(v) the demonstrated commitment of the recipient to carry out transportation workforce development programs through—
(I) degree-granting programs; and
(II) outreach activities to attract new entrants into the transportation field;
(vi) the demonstrated ability of the recipient to disseminate results and spur the implementation of transportation research and education programs through national or statewide continuing education programs;
(vii) the demonstrated commitment of the recipient to the use of peer review principles and other research best practices in the selection, management, and dissemination of research projects;
(viii) the strategic plan submitted by the recipient describing the proposed research to be carried out by the recipient and the performance metrics to be used in assessing the performance of the recipient in meeting the stated research, technology transfer, education, and outreach goals; and
(ix) the ability of the recipient to implement the proposed program in a cost-efficient manner, such as through cost sharing and overall reduced overhead, facilities, and administrative costs.
(5) Transparency.—
(A) In general.—
The Secretary shall provide to each applicant, upon request, any materials, including copies of reviews (with any information that would identify a reviewer redacted), used in the evaluation process of the proposal of the applicant.
(B) Reports.—
The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report describing the overall review process under paragraph (3) that includes—
(i) specific criteria of evaluation used in the review;
(ii) descriptions of the review process; and
(iii) explanations of the selected awards.
(6) Outside stakeholders.—
The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, consult external stakeholders such as the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate and competitively review all proposals.
(c) Grants.—
(1) In general.—
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Act of 2012, the Secretary, in consultation as appropriate with the Administrators of the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, shall select grant recipients under subsection (b) and make grant amounts available to the selected recipients.
(2) National transportation centers.—
(A) In general.—
Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall provide grants to 5 recipients that the Secretary determines best meet the criteria described in subsection (b)(3).
(B) Restrictions.—
(i) In general.—
For each fiscal year, a grant made available under this paragraph shall be $3,000,000 per recipient.
(ii) Focused research.—
The grant recipients under this paragraph shall focus research on national transportation issues, as determined by the Secretary.
(C) Matching requirement.—
(i) In general.—
As a condition of receiving a grant under this paragraph, a grant recipient shall match 100 percent of the amounts made available under the grant.
(ii) Sources.—
The matching amounts referred to in clause (i) may include amounts made available to the recipient under section 504(b) or 505 of title 23.
(3) Regional university transportation centers.—
(A) Location of regional centers.—
One regional university transportation center shall be located in each of the 10 Federal regions that comprise the Standard Federal Regions established by the Office of Management and Budget in the document entitled “Standard Federal Regions” and dated April, 1974 (circular A-105).
(B) Selection criteria.—
In conducting a competition under subsection (b), the Secretary shall provide grants to 10 recipients on the basis of—
(i) the criteria described in subsection (b)(3);
(ii) the location of the center within the Federal region to be served; and
(iii) whether the institution (or, in the case of consortium 1 of institutions, the lead institution) demonstrates that the institution has a well-established, nationally recognized program in transportation research and education, as evidenced by—
(I) recent expenditures by the institution in highway or public transportation research;
(II) a historical track record of awarding graduate degrees in professional fields closely related to highways and public transportation; and
(III) an experienced faculty who specialize in professional fields closely related to highways and public transportation.
(C) Restrictions.—
For each fiscal year, a grant made available under this paragraph shall be $2,750,000 for each recipient.
(D) Matching requirements.—
(i) In general.—
As a condition of receiving a grant under this paragraph, a grant recipient shall match 100 percent of the amounts made available under the grant.
(ii) Sources.—
The matching amounts referred to in the clause (i) may include amounts made available to the recipient under section 504(b) or 505 of title 23.
(E) Focused research.—
The Secretary shall make a grant to 1 of the 10 regional university transportation centers established under this paragraph for the purpose of furthering the objectives described in subsection (a)(2) in the field of comprehensive transportation safety.
(4) Tier 1 university transportation centers.—
(A) In general.—
The Secretary shall provide grants of $1,500,000 each to not more than 20 recipients to carry out this paragraph.
(B) Restriction.—
A lead institution of a consortium that receives a grant under paragraph (2) or (3) shall not be eligible to receive a grant under this paragraph.
(C) Matching requirement.—
(i) In general.—
Subject to clause (iii), as a condition of receiving a grant under this paragraph, a grant recipient shall match 50 percent of the amounts made available under the grant.
(ii) Sources.—
The matching amounts referred to in clause (i) may include amounts made available to the recipient under section 504(b) or 505 of title 23.
(iii) Exemption.—
This subparagraph shall not apply on a demonstration of financial hardship by the applicant institution.
(D) Focused research.—
In awarding grants under this paragraph, consideration shall be given to minority institutions, as defined by section 365 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067k), or consortia that include such institutions that have demonstrated an ability in transportation-related research.
(d) Program Coordination.—
(1) In general.—
The Secretary shall—
(A) coordinate the research, education, and technology transfer activities carried out by grant recipients under this section; and
(B) disseminate the results of that research through the establishment and operation of an information clearinghouse.
(2) Annual review and evaluation.—
Not less frequently than annually, and consistent with the plan developed under section 508 of title 23, the Secretary shall—
(A) review and evaluate the programs carried out under this section by grant recipients; and
(B) submit to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report describing that review and evaluation.
(3) Program evaluation and oversight.—
For each of fiscal years 2013 and 2014, the Secretary shall expend not more than 1 ½ percent of the amounts made available to the Secretary to carry out this section for any coordination, evaluation, and oversight activities of the Secretary under this section.
(e) Limitation on Availability of Amounts.—
Amounts made available to the Secretary to carry out this section shall remain available for obligation by the Secretary for a period of 3 years after the last day of the fiscal year for which the amounts are appropriated.
(f) Information Collection.—
Any survey, questionnaire, or interview that the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out reporting requirements relating to any program assessment or evaluation activity under this section, including customer satisfaction assessments, shall not be subject to chapter 35 of title 44.
(Added and amended Pub. L. 105–178, title V, § 5110(a), (d), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 441; Pub. L. 105–206, title IX, § 9011(d), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 863; Pub. L. 109–59, title V, § 5401(a), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1814; Pub. L. 112–141, div. E, title II, § 52009(a), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 882.)
heading: References in Text
text: The date of enactment of the Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Act of 2012, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is the date of enactment of div. E of Pub. L. 112–141, which was approved July 6, 2012.
heading: Amendments
text: 2012—Pub. L. 112–141 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to national university transportation centers.
2005—Pub. L. 109–59 amended section catchline and text generally, substituting provisions relating to national university transportation centers for provisions relating to university transportation research.
1998—Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 105–178, § 5110(d)(1), as added by Pub. L. 105–206, substituted “section 508 of title 23, United States Code,” for “section 5506,”.
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 105–178, § 5110(d)(2), as added by Pub. L. 105–206, inserted “Subject to section 5338(e):” before par. (1) and substituted “institutions or groups of institutions” for “institutions” wherever appearing.
Subsec. (j)(4)(B). Pub. L. 105–178, § 5110(d)(3), as added by Pub. L. 105–206, substituted “on behalf of a consortium which may also include West Virginia University Institute of Technology, the College of West Virginia, and Bluefield State College” for “on behalf of a consortium of West Virginia colleges and universities”.
heading: Effective Date of 2012 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 112–141 effective Oct. 1, 2012, see section 3(a) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment note under section 101 of Title 23, Highways.
heading: Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
text: Title IX of Pub. L. 105–206 effective simultaneously with enactment of Pub. L. 105–178 and to be treated as included in Pub. L. 105–178 at time of enactment, and provisions of Pub. L. 105–178, as in effect on day before July 22, 1998, that are amended by title IX of Pub. L. 105–206 to be treated as not enacted, see section 9016 of Pub. L. 105–206, set out as a note under section 101 of Title 23, Highways.