Reconnecting Communities Act
Bill: S.1202 | Sponsor: Sen. Carper, Thomas R. (D-DE)
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Reconnecting Communities Act
This bill establishes a grant program to remove, retrofit, or otherwise address infrastructural barriers (e.g., highways, railways, or viaducts) that impede mobility and connectivity, with a particular focus on communities of color and low-income communities.
Under this program, the Department of Transportation (DOT) must award three types of grants:
DOT must award the community engagement, education, and capacity-building grants and the planning and feasibility study grants to state, tribal, and local governments; metropolitan planning organizations; and nonprofits. An eligible entity may apply for and receive funding from more than one type of grant.
DOT must award the capital construction grants to the owner of an infrastructure barrier. The owner may, if applicable, partner with other eligible entities.

To establish a program to improve community connectivity by identifying 
    and removing or mitigating infrastructural barriers that create 
 obstacles to mobility or economic development or expose the community 
to pollution and other health and safety risks, 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 ``Reconnecting Communities Act''.

SEC. 2. CONNECTING COMMUNITIES GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Capital construction grant.--The term ``capital 
        construction grant'' means a capital construction grant under 
        subsection (f).
            (2) Community engagement, education, and capacity building 
        grant.--The term ``community engagement, education, and 
        capacity building grant'' means a community engagement, 
        education, and capacity building grant under subsection (d).
            (3) Community of color.--The term ``community of color'' 
        means, in a State, a census block group for which the aggregate 
        percentage of residents who identify as Black, African-
        American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, 
        Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Latino, other nonwhite race, 
        or linguistically isolated is--
                    (A) not less than 50 percent; or
                    (B) significantly higher than the State average.
            (4) Infrastructural barrier.--The term ``infrastructural 
        barrier'' means a highway (including a limited access highway), 
        a railway, a viaduct, a principal arterial facility, or any 
        other transportation facility for which the high speeds, grade 
        separation, or other design factors create an obstacle to 
        connectivity, including--
                    (A) obstacles to walking, biking, and mobility;
                    (B) diminished access to destinations across the 
                infrastructural barrier; or
                    (C) barriers to the economic development of the 
                surrounding neighborhood.
            (5) Low-income community.--The term ``low-income 
        community'' means a census block group in which not less than 
        30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line (as 
        defined in section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 9902)).
            (6) Planning and feasibility study grant.--The term 
        ``planning and feasibility study grant'' means a planning and 
        feasibility study grant under subsection (e).
            (7) Program.--The term ``program'' means the program 
        established under subsection (b).
            (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.
            (9) Tribal government.--The term ``Tribal government'' 
        means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska 
        Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 
        component band, or component reservation, individually 
        identified (including parenthetically) in the list published 
        most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant 
        to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List 
        Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
    (b) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program to 
        help communities--
                    (A) identify infrastructural barriers within the 
                community that--
                            (i) create obstacles to mobility or 
                        economic development; or
                            (ii) expose the community to high levels of 
                        particulate matter, noise pollution, and other 
                        public health and safety risks;
                    (B) study the feasibility of improving, and develop 
                plans to improve, community connectivity, including 
                through--
                            (i) removal or retrofit of an 
                        infrastructural barrier; or
                            (ii) construction of facilities to mitigate 
                        the obstacle created by the infrastructural 
                        barrier by enhancing connectivity across the 
                        infrastructural barrier;
                    (C) plan the redevelopment of any land made 
                available by the removal or retrofit of the 
                infrastructural barrier, with a focus on improvements 
                that will benefit the populations impacted by or 
                previously displaced by the infrastructural barrier;
                    (D) access funding to carry out the activities 
                described in subparagraphs (B) and (C); and
                    (E) require the equity of any activities carried 
                out under the program, including by garnering community 
                engagement, avoiding displacement, and ensuring local 
                participation in jobs created through those activities.
            (2) Types of grants.--Under the program, the Secretary 
        shall award the following types of grants:
                    (A) Community engagement, education, and capacity 
                building grants.
                    (B) Planning and feasibility study grants.
                    (C) Capital construction grants.
            (3) Multiple grants permitted.--An eligible entity may 
        apply for and receive funding from more than 1 type of grant 
        described in paragraph (2).
    (c) Requirement for Project Selection.--To receive a grant under 
the program, a project shall provide the majority of project benefits 
to 1 or more communities of color or low-income communities.
    (d) Community Engagement, Education, and Capacity Building 
Grants.--
            (1) Eligible entities.--The Secretary may award a community 
        engagement, education, and capacity building grant to carry out 
        community engagement, education, and capacity building 
        activities described in paragraph (2) to--
                    (A) a political subdivision of a State or local 
                government;
                    (B) a Tribal government;
                    (C) a metropolitan planning organization; and
                    (D) a nonprofit organization.
            (2) Eligible activities.--A community engagement and 
        capacity building activity referred to in paragraph (1) 
        includes an activity--
                    (A) to educate community members about 
                opportunities to affect transportation and economic 
                development planning and investment decisions;
                    (B) to build organizational or community capacity 
                to engage in transportation and economic development 
                planning;
                    (C) to identify community needs and desires for 
                community improvements;
                    (D) to develop community-driven solutions to local 
                challenges;
                    (E) to conduct assessments of equity, mobility and 
                access, environmental justice, affordability, economic 
                opportunity, health outcomes, and other local goals;
                    (F) to form a community advisory board in 
                accordance with subsection (g); and
                    (G) to engage community members in scenario 
                planning.
            (3) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of an 
        activity carried out with funds from a community engagement, 
        education, and capacity building grant may be up to 100 
        percent, at the discretion of the eligible entity.
    (e) Planning and Feasibility Study Grants.--
            (1) Eligible entities.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary may award a planning 
                and feasibility study grant to carry out planning 
                activities described in paragraph (2) to--
                            (i) a State;
                            (ii) a political subdivision of a State or 
                        local government;
                            (iii) a Tribal government;
                            (iv) a metropolitan planning organization; 
                        and
                            (v) a nonprofit organization.
                    (B) Partnerships.--In the case of an eligible 
                entity that is not the owner of the infrastructural 
                barrier that is the subject of the planning and 
                feasibility study grant, the eligible entity shall 
                demonstrate the existence of a partnership with the 
                owner of the infrastructural barrier.
            (2) Eligible activities.--A planning activity referred to 
        in paragraph (1)(A) includes--
                    (A) development of designs and artistic renderings 
                to facilitate community engagement;
                    (B) traffic studies, nonmotorized accessibility 
                analyses, equity needs analyses, and collection of 
                other relevant data;
                    (C) planning studies to evaluate the feasibility of 
                removing or retrofitting an infrastructural barrier, or 
                the construction of facilities to mitigate the obstacle 
                created by the infrastructural barrier by enhancing 
                connectivity across the infrastructural barrier;
                    (D) public engagement activities to provide 
                opportunities for public input into a plan to remove, 
                convert, or mitigate an infrastructural barrier;
                    (E) environmental review, consultation, or other 
                action required under any Federal environmental law 
                relating to the review or approval of a project to 
                remove, retrofit, or mitigate an existing 
                infrastructural barrier;
                    (F) establishment of a community land trust for the 
                development and use of real estate created by the 
                removal or capping of an infrastructural barrier; and
                    (G) other transportation planning activities 
                required in advance of a project to remove, retrofit or 
                mitigate an existing infrastructural barrier, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
            (3) Technical assistance.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary may provide to an 
                eligible entity technical assistance in building 
                organizational or community capacity--
                            (i) to engage in transportation planning; 
                        and
                            (ii) to identify innovative solutions to 
                        infrastructure challenges, including 
                        reconnecting communities that--
                                    (I) are bifurcated by eligible 
                                facilities; or
                                    (II) lack safe, reliable, and 
                                affordable transportation choices.
                    (B) Priorities.--In selecting recipients of 
                technical assistance under subparagraph (A), the 
                Secretary shall give priority to an application from a 
                community that is economically disadvantaged.
            (4) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of an 
        activity carried out with funds from a planning and feasibility 
        study grant shall be not more than 80 percent.
    (f) Capital Construction Grants.--
            (1) Eligible entities.--The Secretary may award a capital 
        construction grant to the owner of an infrastructural barrier 
        to carry out a project described in paragraph (3) for which all 
        necessary feasibility studies and other planning activities 
        have been completed.
            (2) Partnerships.--For the purpose of submitting an 
        application for a capital construction grant, an owner of an 
        infrastructural barrier may, if applicable, partner with--
                    (A) a State;
                    (B) a unit of local government;
                    (C) a Tribal government;
                    (D) a metropolitan planning organization; or
                    (E) a nonprofit organization.
            (3) Eligible projects.--
                    (A) In general.--A project eligible to be carried 
                out with a capital construction grant includes--
                            (i) the removal of an infrastructural 
                        barrier;
                            (ii) the retrofit of an infrastructural 
                        barrier in a way that enhances community 
                        connectivity and is sensitive to the context of 
                        the surrounding community, including retrofits 
                        to a highway to cap the facility or replace the 
                        facility with an at-grade arterial roadway;
                            (iii) the construction of facilities that 
                        improve connectivity across the infrastructural 
                        barrier;
                            (iv) the replacement of an infrastructural 
                        barrier with a new use or facility that has 
                        been identified by members of the community; 
                        and
                            (v) the construction of other 
                        transportation improvements that address the 
                        mobility needs of the community.
                    (B) Exclusion.--Funds from a capital construction 
                grant shall not be used on a project that increases net 
                capacity for vehicular travel.
            (4) Priority for capital construction grants.--In selecting 
        eligible entities to receive a capital construction grant, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity that--
                    (A) has entered into a community benefits agreement 
                with representatives of the community;
                    (B) serves a community in which an anti-
                displacement policy or a community land trust is in 
                effect;
                    (C) has formed a community advisory board under 
                subsection (g); or
                    (D) has demonstrated a plan for--
                            (i) employing residents in the area 
                        impacted by the activity or project through 
                        targeted hiring programs; and
                            (ii) contracting and subcontracting with 
                        disadvantaged business enterprises.
            (5) Requirement.--In order to receive a capital 
        construction grant, the owner of the infrastructural barrier 
        shall demonstrate that the project is supported by the 
        community in the immediate vicinity of the project.
            (6) Federal share.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the Federal share of the cost of a project carried 
                out with a capital construction grant may be not more 
                than 80 percent.
                    (B) Maximum federal involvement.--Federal 
                assistance other than a capital construction grant may 
                be used to satisfy the non-Federal share of the cost of 
                a project for which the grant is awarded.
    (g) Community Advisory Board.--
            (1) In general.--To help achieve inclusive economic 
        development benefits, an eligible entity may form a community 
        advisory board, which shall--
                    (A) facilitate community engagement with respect to 
                the activity or project proposed to be carried out; and
                    (B) track progress with respect to commitments of 
                the eligible entity to inclusive employment, 
                contracting, and economic development under the 
                activity or project.
            (2) Membership.--If an eligible entity forms a community 
        advisory board under paragraph (1), the community advisory 
        board shall be composed of representatives of--
                    (A) the community;
                    (B) owners of businesses that serve the community;
                    (C) labor organizations that represent workers that 
                serve the community; and
                    (D) State and local government.
    (h) Administrative Costs.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary may 
use not more than 2 percent of the amounts made available for the 
program for the costs of administering the program.
    (i) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment 
and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that--
            (1) assesses the impacts and benefits of highway removals 
        on congestion, mobility, and safety in the project vicinity, 
        and the extent to which those impacts differ from projected 
        impacts;
            (2) includes recommendations for how traffic forecasting 
        should--
                    (A) consider nonmotorized travel demand; and
                    (B) track and be updated in response to observed 
                travel behavior responses to changes in transportation 
                capacity and land use; and
            (3) includes recommendations for how environmental reviews 
        for projects funded under the Federal-aid highway program 
        should consider, identify, and quantify, during project 
        development, any diminished access, including nonmotorized 
        access, that will result from the project.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit 
Account) to carry out this section $3,000,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2022 through 2026.
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