Title: COMMUTE Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Connecting Opportunities through Mobility Metric and Unlocking Transportation Efficiencies Act or the COMMUTE Act
This bill directs the Department of Transportation to carry out an accessibility data pilot program. The purpose of the pilot program is to develop or make available an accessibility data set for states and metropolitan or rural planning organizations to improve their transportation planning by measuring the level of access to important destinations such as jobs, health care facilities, child care services, educational and workforce training facilities, affordable housing, and food sources.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 654 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 654

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2019

Ms. Baldwin (for herself and Ms. Ernst) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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 carry out 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 
make available an accessibility data set for each eligible entity 
selected to participate in the pilot program to improve transportation 
planning of those eligible entities by measuring the level of access by 
multiple transportation modes to important destinations, such as--
            (1) jobs, including areas with a concentration of available 
        jobs;
            (2) health care facilities;
            (3) child care services;
            (4) educational and workforce training facilities;
            (5) affordable housing; and
            (6) food sources.
    (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 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.
    (e) Selection.--The Secretary shall select eligible entities to 
participate in the program on a competitive basis, including--
            (1) 5 States;
            (2) 10 metropolitan planning organizations, of which--
                    (A) 5 shall each serve an area with a population of 
                not more than 200,000 people; and
                    (B) 5 shall each serve an area with a population of 
                200,000 or more people; and
            (3) 5 rural planning organizations.
    (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 the feasibility of developing and providing 
periodic accessibility data sets for all States, regions, and 
localities.
    (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 
8 years after the date on which the pilot program is implemented.
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