lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2007-10-23 00:00:00

Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act - Amends federal transportation law to prohibit a state from prescribing or enforcing any regulation that allows a restricted property-carrying unit (any trailer, semi-trailer, container, or other property-carrying unit longer than 53 feet, except for a fire-fighting unit) to operate on the National Highway System (NHS) (including the Interstate System), unless the operation of such unit is authorized by the state on June 1, 2007, and in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including seasonal operations) on or before that date. Prohibits a state from allowing the operation of a commercial motor vehicle combination on the NHS (except a vehicle or load that cannot be dismantled or divided easily, and that has been issued a special permit under state law) with more than one property-carrying unit (excluding the truck tractor) whose property-carrying units are more than: (1) the maximum combination trailer, semi-trailer, or other type of length limitation allowed by state law on June 1, 2007; or (2) the length of the property-carrying units of those commercial motor vehicle combinations, by specific configuration, in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including continual seasonal operation) in such state on or before June 1, 2007. Amends federal highway law to prohibit a state from allowing the operation of a vehicle or combination (other than a longer combination vehicle) exceeding Interstate weight limits on the Interstate System unless its operation was lawful: (1) on July 1, 1956; (2) in the case of the overall gross weight of any group of two or more consecutive axles, on the date of enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974; or (3) under a special permit pursuant to state (grandfather) law. Declares that Interstate weight limitations on vehicles and combinations (other than longer combination vehicles) that operate on the Interstate System shall also apply to such vehicles and combinations that operate on non-Interstate segments of the NHS, unless: (1) such segments are subject to lower state weight limits; or (2) a state allows the operation of any vehicle or combination on an existing non-Interstate segment of the NHS that could be so operated lawfully on June 1, 2007.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2007-10-23 00:00:00

Bridge Spending Accountability, Flexibility, and Efficiency Act of 2007 - Authorizes a state to obligate certain apportioned high priority project funds for projects to improve structurally deficient bridges located within the state.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2007-10-29 00:00:00

Over-the-Road Bus Transportation Accessibility Act of 2007 - Amends federal transportation law to add as a registration condition for motor carriers of passengers that a carrier be willing and able to comply with specified accessibility requirements for transportation provided by an over-the-road bus (characterized by an elevated passenger deck located over a baggage compartment). Directs the Secretary of Transportation and the Attorney General to enter into a memorandum of understanding to delineate the specific roles and responsibilities of the Department of Transportation and the Department of Justice, respectively, in enforcing carrier compliance with such requirements.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2007-11-06 00:00:00

Aspheric Outside Rearview Mirror Timely Assessment Act of 2007 - Directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct a rulemaking to amend federal regulations pertaining to rearview mirrors to determine whether to permit the use of aspheric mirrors as outside rearview mirrors on passenger cars.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2007-11-13 00:00:00

Requires the Secretary of Transportation to withhold specified graduated percentages of a state's apportionment of certain federal-aid highways funds for FY2010 and thereafter if driver licenses or personal identification cards issued by the state do not meet with certain minimum federal standards to be accepted by a federal agency.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2007-12-06 00:00:00

Border Wait Times Study Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to Congress on the traffic patterns of commercial and passenger vehicles that enter and exit U.S. international land ports of entry along the northern and southern borders. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to study and report to Congress on the negative economic impact, if any, on the United States of wait times at such ports of entry.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2007-12-13 00:00:00

Bluffton University Safety Act of 2007 - Amends federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to prescribe federal motor vehicle safety standards for occupant protection systems for new and existing motorcoaches. Directs the Secretary to carry out, and submit to Congress, an independent study on the passenger safety benefits of three-point passenger safety restraints and compartmentalization in motorcoaches and whether the use of one methodology reduces or enhances passenger safety benefits of the other methodology. Expresses the sense of Congress that it is in the public interest for states to adopt and enforce mandatory seat belt use laws that require the use of seat belts. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a qualified motorcoach safety credit to a taxpayer for the costs of new and existing motorcoaches to comply with the federal motor vehicle safety standards. Requires the Secretary to provide grants (not to exceed $20,000) to motorcoach operators to assist with the cost of retrofitting motorcoaches in order to comply with such federal standards. Amends the Small Business Act to grant the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) the authority to make SBA loans and loan guarantees to motorcoach operators to retrofit their buses and motorcoaches for occupant protection.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2007-12-18 00:00:00

Designates a segment from Interstate Route 68 to Corridor H as an addition to Corridor O of the Appalachian Development Highway System in Maryland and West Virginia.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-01-23 00:00:00

Our Nation's Trade, Infrastructure, Mobility, and Efficiency Act of 2007 or the ON TIME Act of 2007 - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to: (1) address major transportation investment needs in national trade gateway corridors; (2) reduce freight congestion along current and future trade corridors along surface transportation routes that are or will be congested as a result of current or future growth in international trade; and (3) develop corridors that will increase freight transportation system reliability. Directs the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to assess and collect a national trade gateway corridor fee on each article imported into, and exported from, the United States. Requires collected fees to be deposited in the National Trade Gateway Corridor Fund for projects in the transportation trade corridors for the Customs port of unloading of imported, or loading of exported, articles. Sets forth requirements with respect to: (1) the allocation of Fund amounts in the form of grants to state departments of transportation to carry out eligible projects in the corridors for the Customs ports of entry; and (2) project selection and eligibility. Requires the Secretary to establish a transportation trade corridor for each Customs port of entry where fees are collected.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-03-11 00:00:00

Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to include a western passage in the State of Arizona from San Luis as part of the identification of the CANAMEX Corridor in Arizona as a high priority corridor.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-04-09 00:00:00

Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to Congress on the minimum level of sound that is necessary to be emitted from a motor vehicle, or some other method, to alert blind and other pedestrians of the presence of operating motor vehicles while traveling.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-05-01 00:00:00

Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2008 - Requires each state to have in effect within two years a law, or each state department of transportation or metropolitan planning organization an explicit policy statement, that requires all federally-funded transportation projects to accommodate the safety and convenience of all users in accordance with certain complete streets principles. Defines "complete streets principles" as federal, state, local, or regional level transportation laws, policies, or principles which ensure that the safety and convenience of all users of a transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users as well as children, older people, motorists, and those with disabilities, are accommodated in all phases of project planning and development. Allows such law or policy to make exemptions from such principles only if: (1) affected roadways prohibit specified users by law from using them, the cost of a compliance project would be excessively disproportionate to the need, or the population and employment densities or level of transit service around a roadway is low enough that there is no need to implement such principles; and (2) all project-specific exemptions are properly approved. Requires states to ensure that every agency responsible for a project within an approved transportation improvement program reviews and certifies that the project incorporates complete streets principles. Requires the U.S. Access Board to issue final standards for accessibility of new construction and alterations of pedestrian facilities for public rights-of-way.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-05-08 00:00:00

Fairness in Trucking Transactions Act - Amends federal transportation law to require certain fuel cost reimbursements by a motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder providing or arranging truckload transportation or service using fuel for which it does not bear the cost. Requires such a motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder to reimburse persons (truckers) that do bear fuel costs for any such costs they have paid. Prohibits any person from causing a motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder to present false or misleading information on a document or in an oral representation about the actual rate, charge, or allowance to any party to the transaction or transportation. Sets forth additional civil penalties (including the award of treble damages by a court) for a motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder that fails to make a fuel cost payment to the cost bearer. Provides for the confidentiality of information obtained by the Secretary of Transportation or the Surface Transportation Board in investigations of alleged violations of the payment of fuel costs.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-06-11 00:00:00

Bridge Life Extension Act of 2008 - Allows the Secretary of Transportation to approve federal-aid highway funding for states for bridge reconstruction, replacement, or rehabilitation projects only if the state submits, and the Secretary approves, a corrosion mitigation and prevention plan.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2008-06-12 00:00:00

Responsible Highway Investment Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate the requirement that obligations held by the Highway Trust Fund be U.S. obligations that are not interest-bearing.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-06-17 00:00:00

Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2008 - Prohibits a person from transporting a horse in interstate commerce in a motor vehicle containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. Sets forth civil penalties for persons who knowingly violate such prohibition.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Commemorations
Date: 2008-06-19 00:00:00

Designates the portion of U.S. Route 20A located in Orchard Park, New York, between Abbot Road and California Road, as the "Timothy J. Russert Highway."
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-07-08 00:00:00

National Highway Chokepoint Congestion Relief Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) issue regulations to establish a chokepoint congestion relief program; and (2) develop criteria for designating national chokepoint regions in a state. Authorizes the Secretary to make capital improvement grants to states in order to carry out eligible projects that reduce traffic congestion in the national chokepoint regions. Sets forth a formula for the apportioning of grant funds. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) states should adopt both interim and long-term objectives for significantly reducing traffic congestion at chokepoint areas; (2) establishment of performance measures and quantitative goals will allow states to make efficient use of available resources on projects that have the maximum impact in reducing traffic congestion and improving mobility at chokepoint areas; and (3) alleviation of traffic congestion requires Congress to commit to authorizing and funding nonautomotive travel modes as well as travel demand management, growth management, and land use strategies. Requires the Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), through the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, to study and report to specified congressional committees on the extent to which congestion pricing can encourage travelers to drive during off-peak hours, or change their mode of transportation, and can also generate revenue and thus require less tax-based funding.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-07-10 00:00:00

Gasoline Savings and Speed Limit Reduction Act of 2008 - Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from approving a federal-aid highway project for a state: (1) with a maximum speed limit in excess of 60 miles per hour on any state highway (other than a highway on the National Highway System (NHS) located outside of an urbanized area), or in excess of 65 miles per hour on any such NHS highway; and (2) that has failed to certify to the Secretary that it is enforcing such national maximum speed limits. Prohibits the Secretary from approving a federal-aid highway project also for a state with a speed limit on any portion of a public highway within its jurisdiction which is not uniformly applicable to all types of motor vehicles using such portion of highway, if on July 1, 2008, such highway portion had a speed limit which was uniformly applicable to all types of motor vehicles using it. Allows a lower speed limit, however, for a vehicle under a special permit based on the weight or dimension of such vehicle. Makes the requirement inapplicable, also, during any time that the condition of the highway, weather, or an accident creates a temporary hazard to the safety of traffic. Requires the Secretary to transfer up to a specified annual percentage of the aggregate amount of federal-aid highway funds to state safety projects in states that fail to enforce the national maximum speed limits. Directs the Secretary to arrange with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences to study, and report to the Secretary and Congress on, the benefits of the national maximum speed limits program and the effectiveness of state enforcement of such limits.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-07-10 00:00:00

Putting the Brakes on Human Smuggling Act - Disqualifies from operating a commercial motor vehicle any individual who uses a commercial motor vehicle to assist in the entry of illegal aliens into the United States. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to impose a lifetime disqualification from operating such a vehicle on any individual convicted under federal criminal law of assisting in such entry or in the harboring of illegal aliens. Revises content requirements of the commercial driver's license information system to include whether a commercial motor vehicle operator has been temporarily or permanently disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle for violation of this Act. Requires a state to notify the Secretary of Transportation or the operator of the information system of disqualifications, revocations, suspensions, or cancellations of licenses to operate a commercial motor vehicle because of such a violation.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-07-10 00:00:00

Resist Offsetting with Additional Debt Act or the ROAD Act - Rescinds unobligated balances of certain earmark surface transportation projects under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (in order to eliminate the shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF)). Prohibits the transfer of funds from the General Fund of the Treasury to the HTF. Expresses the sense of Congress that state transportation departments should consider implementing certain projects under the highway bridge program and the surface transportation program that improve transportation safety.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-07-17 00:00:00

Resist Offsetting with Additional Debt Act or the ROAD Act - Rescinds unobligated balances of certain earmarked surface transportation projects under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and certain other appropriations Acts (in order to eliminate the deficit in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF)). Prohibits: (1) recalculation of amounts allocated for surface transportation projects under the Equity bonus program for a fiscal year to take such rescissions into account; and (2) the transfer of funds from the General Fund of the Treasury in order to alleviate the deficit in the HTF (except amounts equivalent to certain taxes and penalties). Expresses the sense of Congress that state transportation departments should consider implementing certain projects under the highway bridge program and the surface transportation program that improve transportation safety.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2008-07-29 00:00:00

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the excise tax on diesel fuel and special motor fuels sales of such fuels in a rural area to any operator of a diesel-powered highway vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of less than 25,000 pounds.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-07-31 00:00:00

Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2008- Directs the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to prescribe regulations requiring motorcoaches to be installed with: (1) safety seat belts at each seating position; (2) advanced glazing in each portal to prevent passenger ejection; (3) improved firefighting equipment; and (4) enhanced compartmentalization safety countermeasures and certain other motor vehicle safety features.Requires the Secretary to complete, and report to Congress on, a study on improving bus crashworthiness, bus crash avoidance, and bus fire protection and passenger evacuation.Amends federal transportation law to direct the Secretary to prescribe regulations: (1) requiring providers of motorcoach services registered with the the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to undergo periodic safety reviews; (2) establishing a training curriculum and providing certification for each driver of a motorcoach seeking a commercial driver's license (CDL) passenger endorsement; (3) improving CDL testing; (4) requiring a driver of a commercial motor vehicle that transports for compensation not fewer than 9 and not more than 15 passengers to have a CDL; (5) requiring a federal medical qualification certificate to be made a part of CDLs; (6) requiring the annual review of state licensing authorities to assess the accuracy of physical examination reports and medical certificates of CDL applicants that are submitted by medical examiners to such authorities; and (7) requiring that all commercial motor vehicles be equipped with electronic on-board recorders that record driver hours of service. Sets forth a deadline for the Secretary to establish the national registry of medical examiners.Requires a state to carry out an annual commercial motor vehicle inspection program in order to receive a grant for the development or implementation of programs for improving motor carrier safetyAmends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for the purchase of qualified new motorcoaches and for the cost of improvements to existing motorcoaches to satisfy new federal safety requirements. Limits the amount of such credit to $45,000. Terminates such credit after 2026.Directs the Secretary to develop and administer supplemental grants, not to exceed $20,000, for the cost of retrofitting motorcoaches to comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Limits eligibility for such grants to certain motorcoach operators who have a fleet of not more than 25 motorcoaches and have total annual revenues of less than $5 million.Amends the Small Business Act to set forth loan and loan guarantee requirements for the motorcoach industry.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-07-31 00:00:00

Surface Transportation Safety Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to modify certain federal regulations to: (1) allow fire services personnel to wear high visibility apparel meeting certain requirements; and (2) ensure that positive protective measures (including temporary longitudinal traffic barriers) are used to separate workers on highway construction projects from motorized traffic. Directs the Secretary to approve the use of federal-aid highway funds for patented or proprietary items that further the goals of state strategic highway safety plans. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to revise the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to include a standard for a minimum level of retroreflectivity that must be maintained for pavement markings, which shall apply to all roads open to public travel. Revises requirements for the highway safety improvement program to count installation, replacement, and upgrade of highway signs and pavement markings as a highway safety improvement project. Directs the Secretary to: (1) require each state to assess local government financial obligations to maintain minimum levels of retroreflectivity in traffic signs and pavement markings; and (2) provide local governments funding for at least 90% of such obligations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) carry out a program to improve traffic signs and pavement markings for older drivers and pedestrians in all states; (2) review the safety of all highway-rail grade crossings in the United States and, based on such review, compile a list of the ten highway-rail grade crossings having the greatest need for safety improvements; and (3) establish a national database of information on the safety of highway-rail grade crossings in the United States.