COMMUTE Act
Bill: S.1629 | Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy (D-WI)
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Connecting Opportunities through Mobility Metrics and Unlocking Transportation Efficiencies Act or the COMMUTE Act
This bill directs the Department of Transportation to establish an accessibility data pilot program.
The purpose of the pilot program is to develop or procure an accessibility data set and make such data available for states and metropolitan or rural planning organizations to improve their transportation planning by

To require the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a pilot program 
     to develop and provide to States and transportation planning 
     organizations accessibility data sets, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Connecting Opportunities through 
Mobility Metrics and Unlocking Transportation Efficiencies Act'' or the 
``COMMUTE Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCESSIBILITY DATA PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this 
section as the ``Secretary'') shall establish an accessibility data 
pilot program (referred to in this section as the ``pilot program'').
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the pilot program is to develop or 
procure an accessibility data set and make that data set available to 
each eligible entity selected to participate in the pilot program to 
improve the transportation planning of those eligible entities by--
            (1) measuring the level of access by multiple 
        transportation modes to important destinations, which may 
        include--
                    (A) jobs, including areas with a concentration of 
                available jobs;
                    (B) health care facilities;
                    (C) child care services;
                    (D) educational and workforce training facilities;
                    (E) affordable housing;
                    (F) food sources; and
                    (G) connections between modes, including 
                connections to--
                            (i) high-quality transit or rail service;
                            (ii) safe bicycling corridors; and
                            (iii) safe sidewalks that achieve 
                        compliance with applicable requirements of the 
                        Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
                        U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
            (2) disaggregating the level of access by multiple 
        transportation modes by a variety of population categories, 
        which may include--
                    (A) low-income populations;
                    (B) minority populations;
                    (C) age;
                    (D) disability; and
                    (E) geographical location;
            (3) assessing the change in accessibility that would result 
        from new transportation investments; and
            (4) providing data necessary to prioritize transportation 
        investments that will improve access by all modes of travel.
    (c) Eligible Entities.--An entity eligible to participate in the 
pilot program is--
            (1) a State (as defined in section 101(a) of title 23, 
        United States Code);
            (2) a metropolitan planning organization; or
            (3) a rural transportation planning organization.
    (d) Application.--To be eligible to participate in the pilot 
program, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, including information 
relating to--
            (1) previous experience of the eligible entity measuring 
        transportation access, especially in low-income, transit-
        dependent, or other high-needs communities, or other 
        performance management experience;
            (2) the types of important destinations to which the 
        eligible entity intends to measure access;
            (3) the types of data disaggregation the eligible entity 
        intends to pursue;
            (4) a general description of the methodology the eligible 
        entity intends to apply;
            (5) if the applicant does not intend the pilot program to 
        apply to the full area under the jurisdiction of the applicant, 
        a description of the geographic area in which the applicant 
        intends the pilot program to apply; and
            (6) a description of how the eligible entity plans to use 
        the data to improve access to jobs and services by all modes of 
        travel, including for communities of color, low-income 
        communities, people who are transit-dependent, and vulnerable 
        road users.
    (e) Selection.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall seek to achieve 
        diversity of participants in the pilot program by selecting a 
        range of eligible entities that shall include--
                    (A) States;
                    (B) metropolitan planning organizations that serve 
                an area with a population of 200,000 people or fewer;
                    (C) metropolitan planning organizations that serve 
                an area with a population of over 200,000 people; and
                    (D) rural transportation planning organizations.
            (2) Inclusions.--The Secretary shall seek to ensure that, 
        among the eligible entities selected under paragraph (1), there 
        is--
                    (A) a range of capacity and previous experience 
                with measuring transportation access; and
                    (B) a variety of proposed methodologies and focus 
                areas for measuring level of access.
    (f) Duties.--For each eligible entity participating in the pilot 
program, the Secretary shall--
            (1) develop or acquire an accessibility data set described 
        in subsection (b); and
            (2) submit the data set to the eligible entity.
    (g) Methodology.--In calculating the measures for the data set 
under the pilot program, the Secretary shall ensure that methodology is 
open source.
    (h) Availability.--The Secretary shall make an accessibility data 
set under the pilot program available to--
            (1) units of local government within the jurisdiction of 
        the eligible entity participating in the pilot program; and
            (2) researchers.
    (i) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the last date on which 
the Secretary submits data sets to the eligible entity under subsection 
(f), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the results of 
the program, including--
            (1) the feasibility of developing and providing periodic 
        accessibility data sets for all States, regions, and 
        localities; and
            (2) an identification of specific actions the Secretary and 
        eligible entities participating in the pilot program may take 
        to further the use of accessibility data.
    (j) Funding.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot program using 
amounts made available to the Secretary for administrative expenses to 
carry out programs under the authority of the Secretary.
    (k) Sunset.--The pilot program shall terminate on the date that is 
5 years after the date on which the pilot program is implemented.
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