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

Summary:
Improving Access to Jobs Act
This bill requires transportation planners to consider projects and strategies to improve safe and convenient access to employment. (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 employment 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. 6464 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6464

   To amend title 23, United States Code, to require transportation 
   planners to consider projects and strategies to improve safe and 
 convenient access to employment 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, United States Code, to require transportation 
   planners to consider projects and strategies to improve safe and 
 convenient access to employment 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 Jobs Act''.

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

    (a) National Highway Performance Program.--Section 119(f) of title 
23, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Conditions'' 
        and inserting ``Conditions; Safe and Convenient Access to 
        Employment''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Safe and convenient access to employment on public 
        roads.--
                    ``(A) Penalty.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), 
                        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 10 
                                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)(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 
                employment 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 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) Definition of access.--In this subsection, 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.''.
            (2) Public transportation.--Section 5303(h)(1) of title 49, 
        United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) through (I) 
                as subparagraphs (G) through (J), respectively;
                    (B) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the 
                following:
                    ``(F) improve safe and convenient access to 
                employment by all modes of travel for all users;''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Definition of access.--In this subsection, 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.''.
    (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 (J) as subparagraphs (G) through (J), 
                        respectively; and
                            (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 
                        the following:
                    ``(F) improve safe and convenient access to 
                employment by all modes of travel for all users;''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Definition of access.--In this subsection, 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.''.
            (2) Public transportation.--Section 5304(d)(1) of title 49, 
        United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) through (I) 
                as subparagraphs (H) through (K), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the 
                following:
                    ``(F) improve safe and convenient access to 
                employment by all modes of travel for all users;''.
    (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);
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
            ``(7) Access to employment.--To improve safe and convenient 
        access to employment opportunities by all modes of travel for 
        all users.''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) Definition of access.--In this subsection, 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.'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking the paragraph designation 
                        and all that follows through ``Not later'' and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(1) Rulemaking.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later''; 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 Jobs 
                Act.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) Access to employment 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 employment for all 
        users by all modes of travel.
            ``(8) Definition of access.--In this subsection, 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.''; 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 that rulemaking 
                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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