Q: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''American Indian Transportation
Improvement Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) the Federal Government has a responsibility to promote
the general welfare of the United States by supporting
interstate, national, and international commerce through the
use of Federal resources to assist States, Indian tribes, and
local governments in the development and maintenance of
physical infrastructure, including roads, highways, byways,
bridges, and other transportation-related structures;
(2) there exists a unique legal and political relationship
between the United States and tribal governments and a unique
Federal responsibility to American Indians and Alaska Natives;
(3) under law and practice, the United States has
undertaken a trust responsibility to protect and preserve
Indian tribes, Indians, and tribal assets and resources;
(4) this Federal responsibility includes working with
tribal governments and their members to improve the condition
of the physical infrastructure used by tribes for their
economic well-being;
(5) the demonstrated need for improvements to physical
infrastructure on Indian land is acute, and the Federal
Government should assist in making the improvements and in
developing tribal and private mechanisms to achieve the goals
of economic self-sufficiency and political self-determination;
(6)(A) Indian tribes of the United States are served by
over 50,000 miles of roads nationwide;
(B) the road system of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
constitutes about 21,000 miles, or 42 percent, of roads serving
Indian tribes;
(C) State and county roads make up the largest percentage,
about 49 percent, of roads serving Indian tribes; and
(D) tribal roads account for approximately 5 percent, and
private and Federal roads (other than Bureau of Indian Affairs
roads) make up the small balance of approximately 4 percent, of
roads serving Indian tribes;
(7)(A) the Indian reservation roads program established
under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of
1991 (Public Law 102-240) is targeted at the Bureau of Indian
Affairs road system that constitutes less than /2\ of the
total mileage of roads on Indian reservations in the United
States;
(B) only 11 percent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs roads
are rated as being in good condition; and
(C) of the unpaved Bureau of Indian Affairs roads, 90
percent are known to be in poor condition and none of the
unpaved roads are rated as being in good condition;
(8)(A) annual funding of the Indian reservation roads
program, through the Highway Trust Fund, as authorized by the
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, has become
the major source of funding for new road construction on Indian land in
the United States;
(B) the Bureau of Indian Affairs road construction budget
has virtually vanished; and
(C) the Bureau of Indian Affairs continues to provide
minimal funding of about $25,000,000 per fiscal year for road
maintenance of its road system;
(9)(A) in the late 1950's, Bureau of Indian Affairs road
construction and maintenance funding reached a high of
$10,000,000 per fiscal year for the first time in history;
(B) by 1979, Bureau of Indian Affairs road budgets for
construction and maintenance reached their peak of almost
$80,000,000 per fiscal year, and then declined rapidly;
(C) in the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982
(Public Law 97-424), the funding levels for the Indian
reservation roads program stabilized at about $100,000,000
through the Highway Trust Fund for each of fiscal years 1984
through 1986;
(D) the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation
Assistance Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-17) reduced the annual
Highway Trust Fund authorization to $80,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 1987 through 1991; and
(E) in almost every fiscal year since fiscal year 1992, the
Indian reservation roads program has been funded at
$191,000,000 per fiscal year;
(10)(A) Indian reservation roads are needed to support
economic development activities, education, health, and
virtually every aspect of reservation life; and
(B) some of the most scenic highways in the United States
are on Indian reservations;
(11)(A) at current and historic levels of funding, Indian
road conditions continue to fall behind national standards; and
(B) to help alleviate some of the poor transportation
conditions on Indian reservations in the United States, there
is a need to increase the level of funding, from the Highway
Trust Fund, for the Indian reservation roads program to
$300,000,000 per fiscal year, from the current level of
$191,000,000 per fiscal year; and
(12) Federal assistance described in this section should be
provided in a manner that recognizes the rights of Indian self-
determination and self-governance by providing the assistance,
to the maximum extent practicable, directly to Indian tribal
governments.

SEC. 3. INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS.

(a) In General.--Section 1003(a)(6)(A) of the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-240; 105 Stat.
1919) is amended--
(1) by striking ''1992 and'' and inserting ''1992,''; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: '', $250,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, $275,000,000
for fiscal year 1999, and $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2000 through 2002''.
(b) Mass Transportation Services.--Section 1032(d) of the
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 202
note; 105 Stat. 1975) is amended by inserting before the period at the
end the following: ''and not more than 3 percent of the funds allocated
for Indian reservation roads for a fiscal year may be used for
providing mass transportation services to Indian tribes''.
(c) Maintenance.--Section 204(b) of title 23, United States Code,
is amended in the second sentence by inserting before the period at the
end the following: ''and, in the case of Indian reservation roads,
maintenance thereof''.

SEC. 4. APPORTIONMENT ADJUSTMENTS.

Section 1015 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency
Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 104 note; 105 Stat. 1943) is amended--
(1) by striking ''1997'' each place it appears and
inserting ''2002''; and
(2) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting after ''Federal
lands highways program'' the following: ''(other than funds for
a public land highway constructed on an Indian reservation)''.

SEC. 5. SCENIC BYWAYS PROGRAM.

Section 1047 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency
Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 101 note; 105 Stat. 1996) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by inserting ''and Indian tribes'' after ''the
States'' each place it appears;
(B) by striking ''term is'' and inserting ''terms
are''; and
(C) by inserting ''or Indian tribe'' after
''State'';
(2) in subsection (c), by inserting ''or Indian tribe''
after ''State''; and
(3) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the first sentence--
(i) by striking ''There'' and inserting the
following:
''(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), there''; and
(ii) by striking ''1995, 1996, and 1997''
and inserting ''1995 through 2002''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
''(2) Indian tribes.--Not less than 1 percent of the funds
made available to the Secretary for a fiscal year under
paragraph (1) shall be used by the Secretary to make
competitive grants to Indian tribes for the planning, design,
and development of Indian tribe scenic byway programs.''.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

Section 101(a) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after the undesignated paragraph defining ''Indian
reservation roads'' the following:
''The term 'Indian tribal transportation department' means the
department, commission, board, or member of an Indian tribe that is
charged by its laws with the responsibility for highway construction.
''The term 'Indian tribe' has the meaning given the term in section
4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 450b).''.

SEC. 7. CERTIFICATION ACCEPTANCE.

Section 117(a) of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ''or Indian tribe'' after ''any State''
each place it appears;
(2) by inserting ''or Indian tribal transportation
department'' after ''State highway department''; and
(3) by inserting ''or tribal'' after ''with State''.

SEC. 8. TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT ACTIVITIES.

Section 133(d)(2) of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ''10 percent'' and inserting the following:
''(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), 10
percent''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
''(B) Indian tribes.--Not less than 1 percent of
the funds made available to a State for a fiscal year
under subparagraph (A) shall be transferred to, and used by, the
Secretary to make competitive grants to Indian tribes for
transportation enhancement activities.''.

SEC. 9. INDIAN RESERVATION BRIDGES.

Section 144(g) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by
striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
''(4) Indian reservation bridges.--Notwithstanding
subsection (e), an amount equal to 1 percent of the highway
bridge replacement and rehabilitation program funds available
to be apportioned to States under this section shall be
allocated to the Secretary for projects to replace,
rehabilitate, paint, or apply calcium magnesium acetate to
highway bridges that are part of the Indian reservation road
system, with priority given to bridges with the highest level
of deficiency (as determined in accordance with the National
Bridge Inspection Standards of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs).''.

SEC. 10. INDIAN TECHNICAL CENTERS.

Section 326(c) of title 23, United States Code, is amended in the
second sentence--
(1) by striking ''$6,000,000 per fiscal year for each of
the fiscal years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997'' and
inserting ''$10,800,000 for each of fiscal years 1992 through
2002''; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ''and including at least $1,000,000 per fiscal year
for each of the Indian technical centers established under
subsection (b)''.

SEC. 11. HIGHWAY SAFETY PROGRAMS.

Section 402(i) of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ''and 'political subdivision of a State'
includes'' and inserting ''and''; and
(2) in the first proviso, by striking ''to the Secretary of
the Interior'' and inserting ''for Indian tribes''.

SEC. 12. MASS TRANSIT SET-ASIDE.

Section 5338(h) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ''and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ''and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
''(4) not less than 1.0 percent is available for
transportation services to Indian tribes--
''(A) under an allocation formula, which shall be
established by the Secretary of Transportation through
negotiations with Indian tribes; and
''(B) with respect to any fiscal year commencing
before the formula is established under subparagraph
(A), under an allocation formula established by the
Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration of
the Department of Transportation.''.
A:
American Indian Transportation Improvement Act of 1997 - Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to: (1) extend and increase through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for Indian reservation roads under the Federal lands highway program; (2) permit up to three percent of the funds allocated for Indian reservation roads for a fiscal year to be used for providing mass transportation services to Indian tribes; and (3) exclude funds made available under the Federal lands highway program for a public land highway constructed on an Indian reservation from the apportionment adjustments, hold harmless provisions.
(Sec. 5) Revises requirements regarding the scenic byway programs to: (1) require the Secretary of Transportation to provide technical assistance and make grants to Indian tribes for the planning and development of Indian tribe scenic byway programs; (2) provide for a Federal share of 80 percent for the costs of planning and development of Indian tribe scenic byway programs; and (3) extend such programs through FY 2002, requiring that not less than one percent of funds made available for a fiscal year be used to make competitive grants to Indian tribes for the planning and development of Indian tribe scenic byway programs.
(Sec. 6) Amends Federal law concerning highways to define the terms: (1) "Indian tribal transportation department"; and (2) "Indian tribe."
(Sec. 7) Revises the requirement regarding acceptance by the Secretary of certification relating to certain highway or other transportation construction projects to include Indian tribes.
(Sec. 8) Revises the requirement regarding the allocation of apportioned funds for highway safety programs to require that not less than one percent of the ten percent of funds made available to a State under the surface transportation program for transportation enhancement activities for a fiscal year be transferred to, and used by, the Secretary to make competitive grants to Indian tribes for transportation enhancement activities.
(Sec. 9) Repeals requirements regarding set asides for Indian reservation bridges under the highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation program. Replaces them with a requirement providing for an amount equal to one percent of the highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation program funds available to be apportioned to States, to be allocated to the Secretary for projects to replace, rehabilitate, paint, or apply calcium magnesium acetate to highway bridges that are part of the Indian reservation road system, with priority given to bridges with the highest level of deficiency.
(Sec. 10) Revises the requirement with respect to the set aside for technical assistance centers to: (1) extend and increase through FY 2002 the amount of funding set aside for technical and financial support for such centers; and (2) require that the set aside amount include at least $1 million per fiscal year for each of the Indian technical centers established.
(Sec. 11) Revises requirements relating to highway safety programs to: (1) remove reference to "political subdivision of a State" with respect to the application of the requirements on Indian reservations; and (2) require that 95 percent of funds for highway safety programs on Indian reservations be apportioned to Indian tribes (currently such funds are apportioned to the Secretary of the Interior).
(Sec. 12) Amends Federal law concerning transportation to revise the requirement relating to the set-asides from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund to require that not less than one percent is available for transportation services to Indian tribes: (1) under an allocation formula, to be established by the Secretary through negotiations with Indian tribes; and (2) with respect to any fiscal year commencing before the formula is established, under an allocation formula established by the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration.