Title: Improving Access to Services Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Improving Access to Services Act
This bill requires transportation planners to consider projects and strategies to improve safe and convenient access to certain services, including health care facilities, child care, and affordable housing. (Access is the ability to travel by auto, transit, pedestrian, and bike networks measured in terms of travel times, with impedances for level of travel stress for active travel and costs for low income travelers.)
The Department of Transportation must establish minimum standards for states to use in determining and improving safe and convenient access to certain services for all users by all modes of travel.
If a state fails to improve access, it must obligate 10% of federal transportation funds apportioned to such state from the previous fiscal year into its efforts to meet the minimum standards to improve access.
The bill prohibits metropolitan transportation planning organizations from approving a transportation improvement plan that increases the ratio of automobile to non-automobile access in urbanized areas.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6463 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6463

    To amend title 23 and title 49, United States Code, to require 
transportation planners to consider projects and strategies to improve 
 safe and convenient access to services by all modes of travel for all 
                     users, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 7, 2020

  Mr. Garcia of Illinois (for himself, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Takano, Ms. 
   Tlaib, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Barragan, Mr. 
 Thompson of Mississippi, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Rush, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, and 
  Mr. Soto) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 23 and title 49, United States Code, to require 
transportation planners to consider projects and strategies to improve 
 safe and convenient access to services by all modes of travel for all 
                     users, 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 ``Improving Access to Services Act''.

SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF PROJECTS AND STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO 
              SERVICES.

    (a) National Highway Performance Program.--Section 119(f) of title 
23, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the heading, by striking ``Conditions'' and 
        inserting ``Conditions; Safe and Convenient Access to 
        Services''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Safe and convenient access to services on public 
        roads.--
                    ``(A) Penalty.--Subject to subparagraph (A), if a 
                State reports, in a performance target report under 
                section 150(e), that the State has not achieved the 
                targets of the State for performance measures described 
                in section 150(d) pertaining to the minimum standards 
                for public roads established by the Secretary under 
                section 150(c)(7), the State shall be required, during 
                the following fiscal year--
                            ``(i) to obligate, from the amounts 
                        apportioned to the State under section 
                        104(b)(1), an amount equal to ten percent of 
                        funds apportioned to the State for the previous 
                        fiscal year for the purpose of achieving the 
                        targets through projects on Federal-aid 
                        highways; and
                            ``(ii) to obligate, from the amounts 
                        apportioned to the State under section 
                        104(b)(2) (other than amounts suballocated to 
                        metropolitan areas and other areas of the State 
                        under section 133(d)), an amount equal to 10 
                        percent of the amount of funds apportioned to 
                        the State for the previous fiscal year for the 
                        purpose of achieving the targets through 
                        projects on Federal-aid highways.
                    ``(B) Restoration.--The obligation requirement in 
                subparagraph (A)(i) for a fiscal year shall remain in 
                effect for each subsequent fiscal year until the date 
                on which the Secretary determines that the State has 
                achieved the targets of the State for performance 
                measures described in section 150(d) pertaining to the 
                minimum standards for public roads established by the 
                Secretary under section 150(c)(7).''.
    (b) Metropolitan Transportation Planning.--
            (1) Federal-aid highways.--Section 134(h) of title 23, 
        United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 
                        through (J) as subparagraphs (G) through (K), 
                        respectively; and
                            (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 
                        the following:
                    ``(F) improve safe and convenient access to 
                services by all modes of travel for all users;''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Limitation on transportation improvement plan.--In 
        furtherance of the planning goals described in subparagraphs 
        (F) and (G) of paragraph (1), a metropolitan planning 
        organization shall not approve a transportation improvement 
        plan found to increase the ratio of automobile to non-
        automobile access in urbanized areas.
            ``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Access.--The term `access' means the ability 
                to travel by auto, transit, pedestrian, and bike 
                networks measured in terms of travel times, with 
                impedances for level of travel stress for active travel 
                and costs for low income travelers.
                    ``(B) Services.--The term `services' means health 
                care facilities, child care, education and workforce 
                training, affordable housing, food sources, banking and 
                financial institutions, and other retail shopping 
                establishments.''.
            (2) Public transportation.--Section 5303(h) of title 49, 
        United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 
                        through (I) as subparagraphs (G) through (J), 
                        respectively; and
                            (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 
                        the following:
                    ``(F) improve safe and convenient access to 
                services by all modes of travel for all users;''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Access.--The term `access' means the ability 
                to travel by auto, transit, pedestrian, and bike 
                networks measured in terms of travel times, with 
                impedances for level of travel stress for active travel 
                and costs for low income travelers.
                    ``(B) Services.--The term `services' means health 
                care facilities, child care, education and workforce 
                training, affordable housing, food sources, banking and 
                financial institutions, and other retail shopping 
                establishments.''.
    (c) Statewide and Nonmetropolitan Transportation Planning.--
            (1) Federal-aid highways.--Section 135(d) of title 23, 
        United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 
                        through (I) as subparagraphs (G) through (J), 
                        respectively; and
                            (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 
                        the following:
                    ``(F) improve safe and convenient access to 
                services by all modes of travel for all users;''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Access.--The term `access' means the ability 
                to travel by auto, transit, pedestrian, and bike 
                networks measured in terms of travel times, with 
                impedances for level of travel stress for active travel 
                and costs for low income travelers.
                    ``(B) Services.--The term `services' means health 
                care facilities, child care, education and workforce 
                training, affordable housing, food sources, banking and 
                financial institutions, and other retail shopping 
                establishments.''.
            (2) Public transportation.--Section 5304(d) of title 49, 
        United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 
                        through (I) as subparagraphs (G) through (J), 
                        respectively; and
                            (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 
                        the following:
                    ``(F) improve safe and convenient access to 
                services by all modes of travel for all users;''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Access.--The term `access' means the ability 
                to travel by auto, transit, pedestrian, and bike 
                networks measured in terms of travel times, with 
                impedances for level of travel stress for active travel 
                and costs for low income travelers.
                    ``(B) Services.--The term `services' means health 
                care facilities, child care, education and workforce 
                training, affordable housing, food sources, banking and 
                financial institutions, and other retail shopping 
                establishments.''.
    (d) National Goals and Performance Management Measures.--Section 
150 of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph 
                (8); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
            ``(7) Access to services.--To improve safe and convenient 
        access to services opportunities by all modes of travel for all 
        users.'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``In general--Not later 
                        than'' and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Updates.--The Secretary shall periodically 
                update the rulemaking promulgated under subparagraph 
                (A) as necessary, including to implement the amendments 
                made to this section by the Improving Access to 
                Services Act.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) Access to services on public roads.--For the purpose 
        of carrying out section 119(f)(3), the Secretary shall 
        establish minimum standards for States to use in determining 
        and improving safe and convenient access to services for all 
        users by all modes of travel.''; and
            (3) in subsection (d)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``subsection (c), each State shall 
                set'' and inserting ``subsection (c)(1)(A), and not 
                later than 1 year after each update of the rulemaking 
                described under subsection (c)(1)(B), each State shall 
                set or update, as applicable,''; and
                    (B) by striking ``and (6)'' and inserting ``(6), 
                and (7)''.
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