Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act
Bill: H.R.3744 | Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. (D-GA)
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act
This bill requires the Department of Transportation to establish a grant program to support operating projects for public transportation (e.g., service expansion) and related capital improvements, particularly in underserved communities and areas of persistent poverty.

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a program to 
 provide grants to eligible recipients for eligible operating support 
costs of public transportation and associated capital improvements, 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 ``Stronger Communities through Better 
Transit Act''.

SEC. 2. HIGH QUALITY TRANSIT OPERATING SUPPORT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 5307 the following:
``Sec. 5308. High quality transit operating support program
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
a program under which the Secretary may make grants to eligible 
recipients for eligible operating support costs of public 
transportation and associated capital improvements.
    ``(b) Allocation of Funding.--The Secretary shall allocate funding 
as follows:
            ``(1) 75 percent through the formula under section 5336.
            ``(2) 23.75 percent through the formula under section 
        5311(c)(3).
            ``(3) 1.25 percent to Indian Tribes through the formula 
        under section 5311(j).
    ``(c) Eligible Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--Eligible recipients may use funding 
        provided under this section for eligible operating support 
        costs of public transportation and associated capital 
        improvements that make substantial improvements to transit 
        service as measured by a comparison to the number of revenue 
        hours of service provided by the recipient during the covered 
        period, including--
                    ``(A) operating projects that decrease headways;
                    ``(B) operating projects that expand service area, 
                hours, or days;
                    ``(C) operating projects for new or increased 
                frequent non-fixed guideway service or frequent fixed 
                guideway service;
                    ``(D) service planning, including planning to 
                address changing demographics, changing travel 
                movement, network redesign (including the 
                implementation of a plan that results in a net increase 
                in service hours across a region, subregion, or study 
                area), and accommodating essential service trips 
                (including service trips for employment, healthcare 
                facilities, child care, education and workforce 
                training, food sources, banking and other financial 
                institutions, and other retail shopping 
                establishments);
                    ``(E) measuring access to work and essential 
                services, particularly for non-drivers, including data 
                acquisition and acquiring outside support for 
                conducting the analysis; and
                    ``(F) associated capital improvements related to 
                projects described in subparagraphs (A) through (E).
            ``(2) Covered year for revenue hours.--
                    ``(A) Covered period defined.--In this subsection, 
                the term `covered period' means--
                            ``(i) for the period beginning on the date 
                        of enactment of this section and ending on the 
                        last day of the fiscal year 3 fiscal years 
                        thereafter, fiscal year 2019; and
                            ``(ii) for the period beginning on the 
                        first day of the fourth fiscal year after the 
                        date of enactment of this section and 
                        continuing through the last day of the 
                        following fiscal year, the fiscal year 
                        preceding the fourth fiscal year.
                    ``(B) Exception for emergency.--In any fiscal year, 
                the Secretary may change the comparison year under 
                paragraph (1) in the case of an emergency.
            ``(3) Prioritization.--Recipients of a grant under this 
        section shall balance needs to decrease headways on low-
        frequency routes with needs for increased capacity on high-
        frequency routes when allocating operating costs and public 
        transportation projects described in subparagraphs (A) through 
        (C) of paragraph (1).
            ``(4) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the requirements of 
        paragraph (3) if an eligible recipient certifies that all of 
        the service provided by such recipient meets the baseline 
        frequency and access measurement for access to jobs and 
        essential services (as determined under subsection (k)) that is 
        satisfactory to the Secretary.
    ``(d) Limitation.--
            ``(1) In general.--A recipient of a grant under this 
        section may not use more than 10 percent of such grant for 
        projects described in subparagraphs (D) through (F) of 
        subsection (c)(1).
            ``(2) Increase of limitation.--The Secretary may increase 
        the limitation in paragraph (1) to not more than 20 percent if 
        a recipient can demonstrate that such an increase will result 
        in substantial service improvements in a given fiscal year.
    ``(e) Requirement.--A preponderance of a grant received by a 
recipient under this section in a fiscal year shall be used for 
projects that primarily serve underserved communities or areas of 
persistent poverty.
    ``(f) Federal Share.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Federal share of a project or 
        program carried out using a grant awarded under this section 
        shall be not greater than 50 percent.
            ``(2) Increased federal share for certain areas.--
        Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Federal share of a project 
        or program carried out in an area of persistent poverty or an 
        underserved community using a grant awarded under this section 
        shall be not greater than 80 percent.
            ``(3) Federal share for indian tribes.--Notwithstanding 
        paragraph (1), for Indian Tribes receiving funding allocated 
        under subsection (b)(3), the Federal share of a project or 
        program carried out using a grant awarded under this section 
        shall be 100 percent.
            ``(4) In kind match.--Of the non-Federal share required 
        under this subsection, 25 percent may be derived from amounts 
        (other than amounts received from the Federal Transit 
        Administration) expended for associated capital improvements 
        related to a project or program carried out using a grant 
        awarded under this section.
    ``(g) Period of Availability.--An amount apportioned under this 
section may be obligated by the recipient for 2 years after the fiscal 
year in which the amount is apportioned. Not later than 30 days after 
the end of the 2-year period, an amount that is not obligated at the 
end of that period shall be added to the amount that may be apportioned 
under this section in the following fiscal year.
    ``(h) Conditions.--As a condition of receiving a grant under this 
section, an eligible recipient shall--
            ``(1) in the case of a recipient in an urbanized area--
                    ``(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 
                Administration, for inclusion in the National Transit 
                Database--
                            ``(i) service frequency and revenue vehicle 
                        hours, including revenue vehicle hours and 
                        unlinked passenger trips originating and 
                        terminating in areas of persistent poverty and 
                        underserved communities, together with such 
                        other specific data as the Secretary shall find 
                        necessary and appropriate; and
                            ``(ii) the number of jobs and essential 
                        services accessible by transit, and improvement 
                        in such access, including specific reporting on 
                        access by transit for areas of persistent 
                        poverty and underserved communities; and
                    ``(B) demonstrate that such recipient has surveyed, 
                within the past year and at least every 2 years 
                thereafter, current transit riders as well as non-
                riding residents of areas of persistent poverty and 
                underserved communities regarding transit service 
                improvements, using means designed to maximize 
                participation from both riders and non-riders, and has 
                published the survey in an online format;
            ``(2) in the case of a recipient that is a federally 
        recognized tribe or Alaska Native village--
                    ``(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 
                Administration, for inclusion in the National Transit 
                Database, revenue vehicle hours and unlinked passenger 
                trips, together with such other specific data as the 
                Secretary shall find necessary and appropriate; and
                    ``(B) demonstrate that such recipient has surveyed, 
                within the past year and at least every 2 years 
                thereafter, current transit riders as well as non-
                riding residents of the tribe's or village's service 
                area regarding transit service improvements, using 
                means designed to maximize participation from both 
                riders and non-riders, and has published the survey in 
                an online format; and
            ``(3) in the case of a recipient that is a State or other 
        possession receiving assistance under section 5311--
                    ``(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 
                Administration, for inclusion in the National Transit 
                Database, revenue vehicle hours for each subrecipient 
                receiving assistance under this section, including 
                revenue vehicle hours and unlinked passenger trips 
                originating and terminating in areas of persistent 
                poverty and underserved communities, together with such 
                other specific data as the Secretary shall find 
                necessary and appropriate;
                    ``(B) provide an annually updated report to the 
                Secretary identifying those underserved communities and 
                areas of persistent poverty in the non-urbanized areas 
                of the State or possession that do not have any 
                reported public transit services, or in which either 
                the availability or utilization of rural public transit 
                is in the bottom quintile as compared to all rural 
                public transit services in the United States, using 
                such measurements as shall be identified by the 
                Secretary, together with annually updated progress 
                toward achieving the State's or possession's strategy 
                for establishing high-quality transit service in these 
                unserved and underserved communities and areas of 
                persistent poverty; and
                    ``(C) demonstrate that every subrecipient of the 
                State or posession has surveyed, within the past year 
                and at least every 2 years thereafter, current transit 
                riders as well as non-riding residents of areas of 
                persistent poverty and underserved communities within 
                the subrecipient's service area regarding transit 
                service improvements, using means designed to maximize 
                participation from both riders and non-riders, and has 
                published the survey in an online format.
    ``(i) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as 
are necessary to carry out the program established under subsection 
(a), including defining the terms `frequent service', `preponderance of 
a grant', `primarily serve', and `access to jobs and essential service' 
for purposes of this Act, including by taking into account any 
necessary difference in the definition of such terms required for 
urbanized areas, rural areas located near urbanized areas, and remote 
rural areas.
    ``(j) Prohibition on Privatization.--Any eligible project carried 
out using a grant under this section shall be operated and maintained 
by employees of an existing public transportation provider in the 
service area.
    ``(k) Access Measurement.--
            ``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under this 
        section, the Secretary shall set up a multimodal access 
        measurement interface that is open to any public agency through 
        the program under section 5505 of title 49, United States Code, 
        to aid transit agencies in determining and reporting on access 
        to jobs and essential services.
            ``(2) Interim data.--Until the access measurement interface 
        under paragraph (1) is established, an eligible recipient may 
        use other data sources to determine and report on access to 
        jobs and essential services.
    ``(l) GAO Report.--Not later than 4 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate a report that reviews the outcomes of the 
program established under subsection (a), including new service 
produced and improvements in access to work and essential services, 
particularly for areas of persistent poverty and underserved 
communities.
    ``(m) Prevailing Wage.--The Secretary shall ensure that any labor 
associated with eligible operating costs or a public transportation 
project carried out using a grant made under this section will be paid 
wages not less than those prevailing on similar projects in the 
locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor under subchapter IV 
of chapter 31 of title 40. The Secretary shall make a grant under this 
section only after being assured that required labor standards will be 
maintained.
    ``(n) Maintenance of Effort.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        beginning of each fiscal year, recipients of funds under this 
        section shall certify to the Secretary that such recipients 
        will, with funding pledged by all sources, maintain effort with 
        regard to transit service. As part of this certification, the 
        transit agency shall submit to the Secretary a statement 
        identifying the amount of funds from all sources (other than 
        funds provided under this section and related non-Federal 
        match) expended on transit operations during the prior fiscal 
        year, and the amount expected to be expended on transit 
        operations from all sources during the current fiscal year.
            ``(2) Failure to maintain effort.--If a recipient of funds 
        under this section is unable to maintain the level of effort 
        certified pursuant to paragraph (1) for any fiscal year, the 
        amount such recipient would have received under this section in 
        the following fiscal year shall be reduced by one-third.
    ``(o) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to prevent an eligible recipient from increasing service 
through the use of any other Federal or non-Federal funds.
    ``(p) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2023 through 2026.
    ``(q) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Areas of persistent poverty.--The term `area of 
        persistent poverty' means--
                    ``(A) a county that has consistently had greater 
                than or equal to 20 percent of the population of such 
                county living in poverty during the most recent 30-year 
                period for which data is available, as measured by the 
                1990 and 2000 decennial censuses; or
                    ``(B) a census tract with a poverty rate of at 
                least 20 percent as measured by the 2014 through 2018 
                5-year data series available from the American 
                Community Survey of the Bureau of the Census.
            ``(2) Associated capital improvements.--The term 
        `associated capital improvements' means capital projects 
        described in subparagraphs (B) through (G) of section 
        5302(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code.
            ``(3) Eligible recipient.--The term `eligible recipient' 
        means a recipient or subrecipient of funds under section 5307 
        or 5311 of title 49, United States Code.
            ``(4) Underserved community.--The term `underserved 
        community' means--
                    ``(A) a census tract or block numbering area in 
                which the median income does not exceed 80 percent of 
                the area median income;
                    ``(B) families with income not greater than 100 
                percent of the area median income that reside in 
                minority census tracts;
                    ``(C) families with income not greater than 100 
                percent of the area median income that reside in areas 
                affected by disasters, as determined by the 
                Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration;
                    ``(D) a census tract that has a minority population 
                of at least 30 percent or a median income of less than 
                100 percent of the area median income;
                    ``(E) a community that has low access to jobs and 
                essential services, as determined by the Secretary; or
                    ``(F) a census block or group of geographically 
                contiguous census blocks in which the population of any 
                racial or ethnic minority individuals, individually or 
                in combination, comprises 30 percent or more of the 
                population of persons in the census block or group of 
                geographically contiguous census blocks.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 53 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 5307 the following:

``5308. High quality transit operating support program.''.
    (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that capital 
funding for transit should be increased.
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