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Revocation, Limitation, or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies
This notice provides taxpayers with information about the implementation of new section 7345 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), enacted by Section 32101 of Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, Pub. L.114–94, on December 4, 2015. Section 32101(a) of the FAST Act added new Code section 7345, which requires the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to notify the Department of State (State Department) if a certification is made that an individual has a “seriously delinquent tax debt.” Such certification or a reversal of such certification may only be made by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or the Commissioner of an operating division of the IRS (collectively, Commissioner or specified delegate). Upon receipt of a section 7345 certification, section 32101(e) of the FAST Act provides that the State Department will generally deny an application for issuance or renewal of a passport from such individual, and may revoke or limit a passport previously issued to such individual. The IRS and State Department will begin implementation of these provisions in January of 2018.
Section 7345(a) provides that if Treasury receives certification by the Commissioner that an individual has a seriously delinquent tax debt, such certification must be transmitted to the State Department for action with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport.
Under section 7345(b)(1), a “seriously delinquent tax debt” is an unpaid, legally enforceable, and assessed federal tax liability of an individual, greater than $50,000, and for which:
- A notice of federal tax lien has been filed under section 6323, and the taxpayer’s right to a hearing under section 6320 has been exhausted or lapsed; or
- A levy has been issued under section 6331.
Pursuant to section 7345(f), the $50,000 amount is adjusted for inflation each calendar year beginning after 2016.
The $50,000 federal tax liability threshold is calculated by aggregating the total amount of all current tax liabilities for all taxable years and periods meeting the above criteria (including penalties and interest) assessed against an individual.
Section 7345(b)(2) provides that a seriously delinquent tax debt does not include the following:
- A debt that is being timely paid under an IRS-approved installment agreement under section 6159;
- A debt that is being timely paid under an offer in compromise accepted by the IRS under section 7122;
- A debt that is being timely paid under the terms of a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice under section 7122;
- A debt in connection with a levy for which collection is suspended because of a request for a due process hearing (or because such a request is pending) under section 6330; and
- A debt for which collection is suspended because the individual made an innocent spouse election (section 6015(b) or (c)) or the individual requested innocent spouse relief (section 6015(f)).
Section 7345(c)(1) requires the IRS to notify the State Department if the Commissioner reverses the certification because it is erroneous or if the debt with respect to such certification is fully satisfied, becomes unenforceable, or ceases to be a seriously delinquent tax debt. Upon receipt of a notice of the reversal of the certification from the IRS under section 7345(c), section 32101(g) of the FAST Act requires the State Department to remove the certification with respect to such debt from the individual’s record at the State Department.
Section 7345(c)(2) provides the timing for IRS to notify the State Department about a reversal. In the case of a debt that has been fully satisfied or has become legally unenforceable (such as when the collection statute of limitations has run under section 6502), section 7345(c)(2)(A) provides that notification under section 7345(c)(1) must be made not later than the date required for issuing the certificate of release of lien with respect to such debt under section 6325(a) (30 days after the day on which the liability is fully satisfied or legally unenforceable or following acceptance of a bond in full payment of the liability). In the case of an individual who makes an election under section 6015(b) or (c) or requests relief under section 6015(f), section 7345(c)(2)(B) provides that notification under section 7345(c)(1) must be made not later than 30 days after such election or request. In the case of an installment agreement under section 6159 or an offer in compromise under section 7122, section 7345(c)(2)(C) provides that notification under section 7345(c)(1) must be made not later than 30 days after such agreement is entered into or such offer is accepted by the IRS. Finally, in the case of a certification found to be erroneous, section 7345(c)(2)(D) provides that notification under section 7345(c)(1) must be made as soon as practicable after such finding. In all other cases, section 7345(c) provides that such notification shall be made as soon as practicable.
Section 7345(d) requires the IRS to contemporaneously notify an individual when he or she is the subject of a certification or reversal of a certification. The notice must include a description in simple nontechnical terms of the right to bring civil suit under section 7345(e). This notice is the Notice CP508C, “Notice of certification of your seriously delinquent federal tax debt to the State Department.”
Section 7345(e) provides that an individual has the right to judicial review of whether a certification was erroneous or whether the IRS failed to reverse a certification in either a United States district court or the United States Tax Court. If a court determines that the certification was erroneous, the court may order the IRS to notify the Secretary of State that the certification was erroneous.
Section 7345(g) provides that the certification or reversal of a certification may only be delegated by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to the Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, or the Commissioner of an operating division, of the IRS.
In addition, section 7508(a)(3) was added to the Code by section 32101(d) of the FAST Act to provide that certification of a seriously delinquent tax debt under section 7345 will be postponed while an individual is serving in an area designated as a combat zone or participating in a contingency operation.
In addition to the statutory exceptions set forth in section 7345(b)(2) and section 7508(a), the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) will be updated to include information about circumstances under which a tax debt will not be subject to the certification process. The IRS will continue to monitor the certification process after implementation and may update the IRM if necessary to meet the requirements of the program.
If an exception set forth in section 7345(b)(2) applies, the State Department will not be notified that the taxpayer has a seriously delinquent tax debt and therefore section 32101(e) of the FAST Act, regarding denial of a passport application or revocation of a passport, will not apply with respect to such taxpayer. In addition, if after the State Department has been notified of a seriously delinquent tax debt certified under section 7345 the Commissioner or specified delegate determines that the tax debt should not have been certified (for instance, if a statutory exclusion or one of the circumstances set forth in the IRM applies), the IRS will notify the State Department in accordance with section 7345(c) that the certification has been reversed. The reversal notification will be made as soon as practicable after the determination.
Upon receipt of a notice from the IRS under section 7345(c) that the certification has been reversed, section 32101(g) of the FAST Act requires the State Department to remove the certification from the individual’s record with respect to such debt. The certification of a seriously delinquent tax debt to the State Department will be reversed if the tax debt no longer qualifies as seriously delinquent under section 7345(b)(2). Therefore, taxpayers notified that certification of their seriously delinquent tax debt has been transmitted to the State Department should consider paying the tax owed in full, or entering into an installment agreement under section 6159 or an offer in compromise under section 7122 with respect to the debt. More information on these payment options can be found at [https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/revocation-or-denial-of-passport-in-case-of-certain-unpaid-taxes].
When a certified taxpayer applies for a passport, the State Department, in general, will provide the applicant with 90 days to resolve their tax delinquency (such as by making full payment, entering into an installment agreement under section 6159, or IRS acceptance of an offer in compromise under section 7122) before denying the application. If a taxpayer needs their passport to travel within those 90 days, the taxpayer must contact the IRS and resolve the matter within 45 days from the date of application so that the IRS has adequate time to notify the State Department.
Generally, the sole remedy for a taxpayer who believes that a certification is erroneous, or that the Commissioner or specified delegate incorrectly failed to reverse a certification because the tax debt is either fully satisfied or ceases to be a seriously delinquent tax debt by reason of section 7345(b)(2), is to file a civil action in court under section 7345(e). The taxpayer may not go to IRS Appeals to challenge the certification or the decision by the Commissioner or specified delegate not to reverse a certification. However, the taxpayer may contact the phone number in the Notice CP508C to request reversal of the certification if the taxpayer believes that the certification is erroneous.
This notice extends the due date for certain 2017 information-reporting requirements for insurers, self-insuring employers, and certain other providers of minimum essential coverage under section 6055 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) and for applicable large employers under section 6056 of the Code. Specifically, this notice extends the due date for furnishing to individuals the 2017 Form 1095–B, Health Coverage, and the 2017 Form 1095–C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, from January 31, 2018, to March 2, 2018. This notice also extends good-faith transition relief from section 6721 and 6722 penalties to the 2017 information-reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056.
Sections 6055 and 6056 were added to the Code by sections 1502 and 1514 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted March 23, 2010, Pub. L. No. 111–148, 124 Stat. 119, 250, 256. Section 6055 requires health insurance issuers, self-insuring employers, government agencies, and other providers of minimum essential coverage to file and furnish annual information returns and statements regarding coverage provided. Section 6056 requires applicable large employers (generally those with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, in the previous year) to file and furnish annual information returns and statements relating to the health insurance, if any, that the employer offers to its full-time employees. Section 6056 was amended by sections 10106(g) and 10108(j) of the ACA and was further amended by section 1858(b)(5) of the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, Pub. L. No. 112–10, 125 Stat. 38, 169. Section 36B, which was added to the Code by section 1401 of the ACA, provides a premium tax credit for eligible individuals who enroll in coverage through a Health Insurance Marketplace. Section 5000A, which was added to the Code by section 1501(b) of the ACA, generally provides that individuals must have minimum essential coverage, qualify for an exemption from the minimum essential coverage requirement, or make an individual shared responsibility payment when they file their federal income tax return.
Section 6721 of the Code imposes a penalty for failing to timely file an information return or for filing an incorrect or incomplete information return. Section 6722 of the Code imposes a penalty for failing to timely furnish an information statement or for furnishing an incorrect or incomplete information statement. Section 6721 and 6722 penalties are imposed with regard to information returns and statements listed in section 6724(d) of the Code, which includes those required by sections 6055 and 6056.
Final regulations, published on March 10, 2014, relating to the reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056, specify the deadline for information reporting required by those sections. See Information Reporting of Minimum Essential Coverage, T.D. 9660, 2014–13 I.R.B. 842; Information Reporting by Applicable Large Employers on Health Insurance Coverage Offered Under Employer-Sponsored Plans, T.D. 9661, 2014–13 I.R.B. 855.
The regulations under section 6055 require every person that provides minimum essential coverage to an individual during a calendar year to file with the Internal Revenue Service (Service) an information return and a transmittal on or before the following February 28 (March 31 if filed electronically) and to furnish to the responsible individual identified on the return a written statement on or before January 31 following the calendar year to which the statement relates. The Service has designated Form 1094–B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns, and Form 1095–B, Health Coverage, to meet the requirements of the section 6055 regulations.
The regulations under section 6056 require every applicable large employer or a member of an aggregated group that is determined to be an applicable large employer (ALE member) to file with the Service an information return and a transmittal on or before February 28 (March 31 if filed electronically) of the year following the calendar year to which it relates and to furnish to full-time employees a written statement on or before January 31 following the calendar year to which the statement relates. The Service has designated Form 1094–C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns, and Form 1095–C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, to meet the requirements of the section 6056 regulations.
The regulations under sections 6055 and 6056 allow the Service to grant an extension of time of up to 30 days to furnish Forms 1095–B and 1095–C for good cause shown. Treas. Reg. §§ 1.6055–1(g)(4)(i)(B)(1), 301.6056–1(g)(1)(ii)(A). In addition, filers of Forms 1094–B, 1095–B, 1094–C, and 1095–C may receive an automatic 30-day extension of time to file such forms with the Service by submitting Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time To File Information Returns, on or before the due date for filing those forms. Treas. Reg. § 1.6081–1; Temp. Treas. Reg. § 1.6081–8T. Under certain hardship conditions, filers who submit Form 8809 before the automatic 30-day extension period expires and explain in detail why the additional time is needed may also receive an additional 30-day extension of time to file Forms 1094–B, 1095–B, 1094–C, and 1095–C with the Service. Id.
The preambles to the section 6055 and 6056 regulations (T.D. 9660, 2014–13 I.R.B. 842; T.D. 9661, 2014–13 I.R.B. 855) provided that, for reporting of 2015 offers and coverage, the Service would not impose penalties under sections 6721 and 6722 on reporting entities that can show that they made good-faith efforts to comply with the information-reporting requirements. This relief applied only to furnishing and filing incorrect or incomplete information reported on a statement or return, and not to a failure to timely furnish or file a statement or return. Notice 2015–87, 2015–52 I.R.B. 889, reiterated that relief, and Notice 2015–68, 2015–41 I.R.B. 547, provided additional information about that relief with regard to reporting under section 6055. The preambles also noted the general rule that, under section 6724 and the related regulations, the section 6721 and 6722 penalties may be waived if a failure to timely furnish or file a statement or return is due to reasonable cause. To establish reasonable cause, the reporting entity must demonstrate that it acted in a responsible manner and that the failure was due to significant mitigating factors or events beyond the reporting entity’s control. In addition, proposed regulations under section 6055 published on August 2, 2016, proposed additional rules for reporting. 81 Fed. Reg. 50671.
Notice 2016–4, 2016–3 I.R.B. 279, extended the due dates for the 2015 information-reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056 (both those for furnishing to individuals and for filing with the Service). In particular, the notice provided that the furnishing deadline for the 2015 Forms 1095–B and 1095–C was extended from February 1, 2016, to March 31, 2016, and that the filing deadline for the 2015 Forms 1094–B, 1095–B, 1094–C, and 1095–C was extended from February 29, 2016, to May 31, 2016, if not filing electronically, and from March 31, 2016, to June 30, 2016, if filing electronically. In addition, the notice provided that the provisions regarding an automatic and permissive 30-day extension of time for filing information returns and a permissive extension of time (of up to 30 days) for furnishing statements would not apply to the extended due dates.
Notice 2016–70, 2016–49 I.R.B. 784, extended the due dates for the 2016 information-reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056 for furnishing statements to individuals. In particular, the notice provided that the furnishing deadline for the 2016 Forms 1095–B and 1095–C was extended from January 31, 2017, to March 2, 2017. Notice 2016–70 did not extend the deadline for filing information returns with the Service, nor did it affect any extension that would otherwise be applicable to the deadline. The notice also extended good faith transition relief from section 6721 and 6722 penalties to the 2016 information-reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056.
Following consultation with stakeholders, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Service have determined that a substantial number of employers, insurers, and other providers of minimum essential coverage need additional time beyond the January 31, 2018, due date to gather and analyze the information and prepare the 2017 Forms 1095–B and 1095–C to be furnished to individuals. Accordingly, this notice extends by 30 days the due date for furnishing the 2017 Form 1095–B and the 2017 Form 1095–C, from January 31, 2018, to March 2, 2018. In view of this automatic extension, the provisions under Treas. Reg. §§ 1.6055–1(g)(4)(i)(B)(1) and 301.6056–1(g)(1)(ii)(A) allowing the Service to grant an extension of time of up to 30 days to furnish Forms 1095–B and 1095–C will not apply to the extended due date. Notwithstanding the extension provided in this notice, employers and other coverage providers are encouraged to furnish 2017 statements as soon as they are able.
Treasury and the Service have determined that there is no similar need for additional time for employers, insurers, and other providers of minimum essential coverage to file with the Service the 2017 Forms 1094–B, 1095–B, 1094–C, and 1095–C. Therefore, this notice does not extend the due date for filing with the Service the 2017 Forms 1094–B, 1095–B, 1094–C, or 1095–C, which remains February 28, 2018, if not filing electronically, or April 2, 2018, if filing electronically. However, this notice does not affect the provisions regarding an automatic extension of time for filing information returns, which remain available under the normal rules by submitting a Form 8809. See Treas. Reg. § 1.6081–1; Temp. Treas. Reg. § 1.6081–8T. It also does not affect the provisions regarding additional extensions of time to file. Id.
Employers or other coverage providers that do not comply with the due dates for furnishing Forms 1095–B and 1095–C (as extended under the rules described above) or for filing Forms 1094–B, 1095–B, 1094–C, or 1095–C are subject to penalties under section 6722 or 6721 for failure to timely furnish and file, respectively. However, employers and other coverage providers that do not meet the relevant due dates should still furnish and file. The Service will take such furnishing and filing into consideration when determining whether to abate penalties for reasonable cause.
The extension of the due date provided by this notice applies only to section 6055 and 6056 information statements for calendar year 2017 furnished in 2018 and does not require the submission of any request or other documentation to the Service. Because the 30-day extension of the due date to furnish granted in this notice applies automatically and is as generous as the permissive 30-day extension of time to furnish 2017 information statements under sections 6055 and 6056 that have already been requested by some reporting entities in submissions to the Service, the Service will not formally respond to such requests.
Because of the extension granted under this notice, some individual taxpayers may not receive a Form 1095–B or Form 1095–C by the time they are ready to file their 2017 tax return. Taxpayers may rely on other information received from their employer or other coverage provider for purposes of filing their returns, including determining eligibility for the premium tax credit under section 36B and confirming that they had minimum essential coverage for purposes of sections 36B and 5000A. Taxpayers do not need to wait to receive Forms 1095–B and 1095–C before filing their returns. Individuals need not send the information relied upon to the Service when filing their returns but should keep it with their tax records.
In implementing new information-reporting requirements, short-term relief from penalties frequently is provided. This relief recognizes the ongoing challenges involved in developing procedures and systems to accurately collect and report information in compliance with these reporting requirements. The preambles to the section 6055 and 6056 regulations provided transition relief from penalties under sections 6721 and 6722 to reporting entities that could show that they made good-faith efforts to comply with the information-reporting requirements for 2015. This relief applied only to incorrect and incomplete information reported on the statement or return and not to a failure to timely furnish or file a statement or return. Notice 2016–70 extended this relief for the information-reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056 for 2016. Following consultation with stakeholders, Treasury and the Service have determined that this relief is also appropriate for 2017.
Specifically, this notice extends transition relief from penalties under sections 6721 and 6722 to reporting entities that can show that they have made good-faith efforts to comply with the information-reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056 for 2017 (both for furnishing to individuals and for filing with the Service) for incorrect or incomplete information reported on the return or statement. This relief applies to missing and inaccurate taxpayer identification numbers and dates of birth, as well as other information required on the return or statement. No relief is provided in the case of reporting entities that do not make a good-faith effort to comply with the regulations or that fail to file an information return or furnish a statement by the due dates (as extended under the rules described above). In determining good faith, the Service will take into account whether an employer or other coverage provider made reasonable efforts to prepare for reporting the required information to the Service and furnishing it to employees and covered individuals, such as gathering and transmitting the necessary data to an agent to prepare the data for submission to the Service or testing its ability to transmit information to the Service. In addition, the Service will take into account the extent to which the employer or other coverage provider is taking steps to ensure that it will be able to comply with the reporting requirements for 2018.
The extension of time for furnishing information statements under sections 6055 and 6056 for 2017 provided in this notice has no effect on these information-reporting provisions for other years or on the effective date or application of other ACA provisions. Treasury and the Service do not anticipate extending this transition relief – either with respect to the due dates or with respect to good faith relief from section 6721 and 6722 penalties – to reporting for 2018.
Revenue rulings and revenue procedures (hereinafter referred to as “rulings”) that have an effect on previous rulings use the following defined terms to describe the effect:
Amplified describes a situation where no change is being made in a prior published position, but the prior position is being extended to apply to a variation of the fact situation set forth therein. Thus, if an earlier ruling held that a principle applied to A, and the new ruling holds that the same principle also applies to B, the earlier ruling is amplified. (Compare with modified, below).
Clarified is used in those instances where the language in a prior ruling is being made clear because the language has caused, or may cause, some confusion. It is not used where a position in a prior ruling is being changed.
Distinguished describes a situation where a ruling mentions a previously published ruling and points out an essential difference between them.
Modified is used where the substance of a previously published position is being changed. Thus, if a prior ruling held that a principle applied to A but not to B, and the new ruling holds that it applies to both A and B, the prior ruling is modified because it corrects a published position. (Compare with amplified and clarified, above).
Obsoleted describes a previously published ruling that is not considered determinative with respect to future transactions. This term is most commonly used in a ruling that lists previously published rulings that are obsoleted because of changes in laws or regulations. A ruling may also be obsoleted because the substance has been included in regulations subsequently adopted.
Revoked describes situations where the position in the previously published ruling is not correct and the correct position is being stated in a new ruling.
Superseded describes a situation where the new ruling does nothing more than restate the substance and situation of a previously published ruling (or rulings). Thus, the term is used to republish under the 1986 Code and regulations the same position published under the 1939 Code and regulations. The term is also used when it is desired to republish in a single ruling a series of situations, names, etc., that were previously published over a period of time in separate rulings. If the new ruling does more than restate the substance of a prior ruling, a combination of terms is used. For example, modified and superseded describes a situation where the substance of a previously published ruling is being changed in part and is continued without change in part and it is desired to restate the valid portion of the previously published ruling in a new ruling that is self contained. In this case, the previously published ruling is first modified and then, as modified, is superseded.
Supplemented is used in situations in which a list, such as a list of the names of countries, is published in a ruling and that list is expanded by adding further names in subsequent rulings. After the original ruling has been supplemented several times, a new ruling may be published that includes the list in the original ruling and the additions, and supersedes all prior rulings in the series.
Suspended is used in rare situations to show that the previous published rulings will not be applied pending some future action such as the issuance of new or amended regulations, the outcome of cases in litigation, or the outcome of a Service study.
The following abbreviations in current use and formerly used will appear in material published in the Bulletin.
A—Individual.
Acq.—Acquiescence.
B—Individual.
BE—Beneficiary.
BK—Bank.
B.T.A.—Board of Tax Appeals.
C—Individual.
C.B.—Cumulative Bulletin.
CFR—Code of Federal Regulations.
CI—City.
COOP—Cooperative.
Ct.D.—Court Decision.
CY—County.
D—Decedent.
DC—Dummy Corporation.
DE—Donee.
Del. Order—Delegation Order.
DISC—Domestic International Sales Corporation.
DR—Donor.
E—Estate.
EE—Employee.
E.O.—Executive Order.
ER—Employer.
ERISA—Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
EX—Executor.
F—Fiduciary.
FC—Foreign Country.
FICA—Federal Insurance Contributions Act.
FISC—Foreign International Sales Company.
FPH—Foreign Personal Holding Company.
F.R.—Federal Register.
FUTA—Federal Unemployment Tax Act.
FX—Foreign corporation.
G.C.M.—Chief Counsel’s Memorandum.
GE—Grantee.
GP—General Partner.
GR—Grantor.
IC—Insurance Company.
I.R.B.—Internal Revenue Bulletin.
LE—Lessee.
LP—Limited Partner.
LR—Lessor.
M—Minor.
Nonacq.—Nonacquiescence.
O—Organization.
P—Parent Corporation.
PHC—Personal Holding Company.
PO—Possession of the U.S.
PR—Partner.
PRS—Partnership.
PTE—Prohibited Transaction Exemption.
Pub. L.—Public Law.
REIT—Real Estate Investment Trust.
Rev. Proc.—Revenue Procedure.
Rev. Rul.—Revenue Ruling.
S—Subsidiary.
S.P.R.—Statement of Procedural Rules.
Stat.—Statutes at Large.
T—Target Corporation.
T.C.—Tax Court.
T.D.—Treasury Decision.
TFE—Transferee.
TFR—Transferor.
T.I.R.—Technical Information Release.
TP—Taxpayer.
TR—Trust.
TT—Trustee.
U.S.C.—United States Code.
X—Corporation.
Y—Corporation.
Z—Corporation.
Public Law No: 114-94 (12/04/2015)
Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act or the FAST Act
DIVISION A--SURFACE TRANSPORTATION
(Sec. 1002) Directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to reduce the amount apportioned for a surface transportation program, project, or activity for FY2016 by amounts apportioned or allocated under any extension of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) for the period beginning October 1, 2015, and ending upon enactment of this Act.
TITLE I--FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS
Subtitle A--Authorizations and Programs
(Sec. 1101) Reauthorizes through FY2020:
- certain core federal-aid highway programs;
- the transportation infrastructure finance and innovation program;
- the federal lands, tribal transportation, and federal lands transportation and access programs;
- the territorial and Puerto Rico highway program; and
- nationally significant freight and highway projects.
Requires the expenditure of at least 10% of amounts made available for federal-aid highways and public transportation programs through small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
Directs states to compile annual lists of small disadvantaged business enterprises according to minimum uniform criteria established by DOT.
(Sec. 1102) Prescribes obligation ceilings for certain federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs, with specified exceptions.
Prescribes requirements, including a formula, and restrictions for certain FY2016-FY2020 distributions from the obligation limitation for federal-aid highways.
Directs DOT to redistribute to the states any federal-aid highway program funds that, because of any imposed obligation limitation, will not be allocated or otherwise made available to them for obligation for surface transportation program projects.
(Sec. 1104) Authorizes appropriations through FY2020 for Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) administrative expenses.
Revises and renames the surface transportation program as the surface transportation block grant program (STBGP) (as established by section 1109 of this Act).
Requires DOT to set-aside specified amounts of a state's base apportionment of core program funds for the national highway freight program and metropolitan transportation planning.
Directs DOT also to reserve certain amounts to states for:
- the national highway performance program for FY2019 and FY2020, and
- the STBGP through FY2020.
(Sec. 1105) Authorizes DOT to make competitive grants to a state or group of states, a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) that serves an urbanized area with a population of more than than 200,000 individuals, a unit of local government or group of local governments, or other specified entities to furnish financial assistance for nationally significant freight and highway projects.
Requires DOT to reserve out of such grant amounts for each fiscal year:
- 10% for small projects, and
- at least 25% for projects in rural areas.
Makes the maximum federal share of project costs 60%.
(Sec. 1106) Revises requirements for the national highway performance program.
Authorizes DOT, upon request, to allow a state to use its apportionment of national highway performance program funds to pay subsidy and administrative costs of Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program secured loans, loan guarantees, or credit for surface transportation projects for a state, local government, public authority, public-private partnership, or any other legal entity.
Allows a state's apportionment to be obligated for projects:
- for the reconstruction or rehabilitation of federal-aid highway bridges (non-National Highway System bridges), and
- to reduce the risk of failure of critical transportation infrastructure.
(Sec. 1107) Revises requirements for the emergency relief fund program.
Treats as an eligible expense for emergency relief program funding the costs of disaster debris removal for projects for the repair or reconstruction of federal-aid highways on tribal transportation facilities, federal lands transportation facilities, or other federally-owned roads that are open to public travel.
(Sec. 1108) Revises and reauthorizes requirements for the set-aside of highway safety improvement program funds for states for the same period for the elimination of hazards and the installation of protective devices at railway-highway crossings.
(Sec. 1109) Establishes in DOT an surface transportation block grant program (STBGP).
Requires states to obligate for each fiscal year specified graduated percentages of apportioned funds in:
- urbanized areas with a population of over 200,000, and
- rural areas with a population greater than 5,000.
Directs DOT to reserve certain amounts of the state apportionment of funds for each fiscal year for surface transportation projects or activities or transportation alternatives projects.
Requires states to obligate an amount of reserved funds for each fiscal year equal to the amount apportioned to the state for the surface transportation program for FY2009 for recreational trails projects.
(Sec. 1110) Reduces the amount DOT must deduct from FHWA administrative funds each fiscal year for highway use tax evasion projects.
(Sec. 1111) Prescribes requirements for the bundling of two or more similar projects for the replacement or repair of structurally deficient bridges.
(Sec. 1112) Revises formulae for certain allocations of funds to states for construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities.
Reauthorizes the program through FY2020. Certain funds are made available for the National Ferry Database.
(Sec. 1113) Revises the highway safety improvement program.
Makes eligible as highway safety improvement projects any installation of vehicle-to-infrastructure communication equipment, pedestrian hybrid beacons, roadway improvements that provide separation between pedestrians and motor vehicles, and other types of infrastructure safety projects.
Authorizes states to elect not to collect certain data on unpaved public roads regarding the model inventory of roadways if certain requirements are met.
Eliminates the definition of "state highway safety improvement programs."
Requires DOT to review best practices for implementation of roadway safety infrastructure improvements to reduce the number or severity of commercial motor vehicle accidents.
(Sec. 1114) Revises congestion mitigation and air quality improvement (CMAQ) program requirements.
Authorizes states to obligate the apportionment of CMAQ program funds for projects for the installation of vehicle-to-infrastructure communication equipment in nonattainment or maintenance areas for particulate matter.
Declares that requirements for priority use of congestion mitigation and air quality project funds in PM2.5 nonattainment or maintenance areas shall not apply in any state with a population density of 80 or fewer persons per square mile of land area if certain criteria are met.
Authorizes states or metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) also to elect to obligate PM2.5 priority funds to the most cost-effective CMAQ projects to reduce emissions from port-related landside nonroad or on-road equipment that operates within a PM2.5 nonattainment or maintenance area.
(Sec. 1115) Increases the authorization of appropriations for the Puerto Rico highway and territorial highway programs.
(Sec. 1116) Revises national freight program requirements.
Renames the national freight network the National Highway Freight Network.
Authorizes the MPO representative in an urbanized area with a population of 500,000 or more to designate a public road within the borders of that area of the state as a critical urban freight corridor. Authorizes the state to do the same for an urbanized area with a population under 500,000.
Requires states that have not met, or made significant progress toward meeting, certain performance targets related to freight movement of the state to report biennially to DOT on actions the state will undertake to achieve the targets.
Prescribes requirements for the use of apportioned funds, including development of intelligent freight transportation systems. The term "intelligent freight transportation system" means:
- innovative or intelligent technological transportation systems, infrastructure, or facilities; or
- communications or information processing systems that improve the efficiency or safety of freight movements on the federal-aid highway system.
(Sec. 1117) Revises the federal lands and tribal transportation programs.
Requires entities carrying out a project under the tribal transportation program to report annually to DOT and to the Department of the Interior on specified project data.
Directs DOT to:
- report to Congress on the quality of transportation safety data collected by states, counties, and Indian tribes for transportation systems and its relevance to improving the collection and sharing of data on crashes on Indian reservations; and
- identify and evaluate in a separate study any options for improving safety on public roads on Indian reservations.
(Sec. 1118) Revises funding requirements for the tribal transportation program to:
- reduce from 6% to 5% of authorized program funds the maximum amount that either DOT or Interior may use for certain administrative expenses, and
- increase from 2% to 3% of such funds the allocation for specified bridge projects.
(Sec. 1119) Extends the federal lands transportation program and its funds allocations to the transportation systems of Interior's Bureau of Land Management.
(Sec. 1120) Authorizes DOT to conduct cooperative research and technology deployment in coordination with federal land management agencies for transportation planning of federal lands and tribal transportation facilities projects.
Requires DOT to combine and use no more than 5% of federal lands transportation program and federal lands access program funds for transportation planning activities for federal lands transportation facilities, federal lands access transportation facilities, and other federally-owned roads open to public travel.
Allows the use of such funds also for:
- inspections of federally-owned bridges even if not included in the national federal lands transportation facility inventory, and
- transportation planning activities carried out by federal land management agencies.
(Sec. 1121) Directs DOT to establish a tribal transportation self-governance program via a compact with an Indian tribe, subject to negotiated annual written funding arrangements with the tribe.
Requires any funding agreement to authorize the Indian tribe to plan, conduct, consolidate, administer, and receive full tribal share funding, tribal transit formula funding, and funding to tribes from DOT-administered discretionary and competitive grants for all programs, services, functions, and activities to carry out tribal transportation programs and DOT-administered programs, services, functions, and activities.
(Sec. 1122) Directs DOT to issue guidance on working with state departments of transportation that request assistance from FHWA division offices to:
- review principal arterials within a state that were added to the National Highway System (NHS) as of October 1, 2012, and
- identify any necessary functional classification changes to rural and urban principal arterials.
Requires DOT to:
- review the NHS modification process, and
- ensure that a state may submit requests to modify the NHS by withdrawing a road from it.
(Sec. 1123) Directs DOT to establish a program to fund construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of nationally significant federal lands and tribal transportation projects.
Authorizes appropriations through FY2020.
Subtitle B--Planning and Performance Management
(Sec. 1201) Revises requirements for metropolitan transportation planning.
Prescribes requirements for selection of MPO officials or representatives.
Authorizes MPOs serving a transportation management area to develop a congestion management plan that includes projects and strategies that will be considered in the MPO's transportation improvement program.
Treats the Bi-State MPO Region as:
- an MPO,
- a transportation management area, and
- an urbanized area (comprising a population of 145,000 in California and a population of 65,000 in Nevada).
Prescribes formulae for the suballocation of STBGP and transportation alternatives program funds for a fiscal year for the Bi-State MPO Region.
(Sec. 1202) Revises requirements for statewide and nonmetropolitan transportation planning.
Subtitle C--Acceleration of Project Delivery
(Sec. 1301)Prescribes requirements for DOT in highway and public transportation planning to preserve certain historic sites, especially by aligning, to the maximum extent practicable, specified preservation requirements with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and any avoidance alternative analysis it requires.
(Sec. 1303) Exempts from consideration for parkland, wildlife and waterfowl refuge, and historic site preservation purposes any common post-1945 concrete or steel bridge or culvert already exempt from individual review of its effect on any historic property.
(Sec. 1304) Prescribes procedures for accelerating the project delivery decisionmaking process regarding:
- environmental review of highway, public transportation, or multimodal projects;
- coordination among relevant agencies in meeting project deadlines;
- public availability of the status and progress of projects requiring compliance with NEPA review and other federal, state, or local approval;
- integration of planning and environmental review of projects between the lead agency (DOT) and participating federal and non-federal agencies;
- adoption of departmental environmental assessments or environmental impact statements of other operating administrations; and
- federal coordination of the environmental review and permitting process for transportation projects.
Grants DOT, as federal lead agency in the environmental review process for a highway, public transportation capital, or multimodal project, authority and responsibility to consider and respond to comments received from participating federal and non-federal agencies on matters within their special expertise or jurisdiction.
(Sec. 1305) Revises requirements for the integration of planning and environmental review.
(Sec. 1306) Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of federal agencies responsible for the environmental review of a transportation project to give substantial weight to recommendations in the programmatic mitigation plans of states and MPOs.
(Sec. 1307) Requires DOT, upon state request, to give technical assistance to a state assuming responsibility for making categorical exclusion determinations for highway or related projects.
(A "categorical exclusion" under NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.)
(Sec. 1308) Revises requirements for termination of a state from the surface transportation project delivery program, increasing from 30 to 120 days the time DOT must give a state to take corrective action.
Authorizes DOT, in cooperation with state officials, to carry out education, training, peer-exchange, and other initiatives to assist states in developing capacity building for environmental review of projects under NEPA.
(Sec. 1309) Directs DOT to establish a pilot program to authorize states to conduct environmental review of projects under state laws instead of NEPA.
(Sec. 1310) Revises requirements for application of categorical exclusions for multimodal projects, including acceleration of decisionmaking in environmental reviews.
(Sec. 1312) Authorizes a public entity receiving DOT financial assistance for one or more projects, or for a program of projects, for a public purpose to request DOT to allow it to furnish funds to federal agencies, including DOT, state agencies, and Indian tribes participating in the environmental planning and review process for the project, projects, or program, but only to support activities that directly and meaningfully contribute to expediting and improving permitting and review processes.
(Sec. 1313) Directs DOT, in coordination with federal agencies likely to have substantive review or approval responsibilities under federal law, to develop a coordinated and concurrent environmental review and permitting process for transportation projects, meeting specified criteria, when initiating an environmental impact statement.
(Sec. 1314) Amends MAP-21 to require inflation adjustments to specified dollar amounts indicating the maximum federal assistance to certain federal-aid highway projects which must be categorically excluded from the requirements relating to environmental assessments or environmental impact statements.
(Sec. 1315) Directs DOT to develop a template programmatic agreement with states that provides for efficient procedures for evaluating categorical exclusion determinations.
(Sec. 1316) Directs DOT to:
- allow states to assume DOT responsibilities for project design, plans, specifications, estimates, contract awards, and inspection of projects, on both a project-specific and programmatic basis; and
- recommend to Congress legislation to permit the assumption of additional authorities by states, including about real estate acquisition and project design.
(Sec. 1317) Directs DOT to examine ways to modernize and improve the NEPA environmental review process for federal-aid highway projects.
(Sec. 1318) Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess progress made under this Act, MAP-21, and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) to accelerate the delivery of federal-aid highway and highway safety construction projects and public transportation capital projects by streamlining the environmental review and permitting process.
Subtitle D--Miscellaneous
(Sec. 1401) Prohibits, through FY2020, the use of a state's apportionment of highway safety improvement program funds to purchase, operate, or maintain an automated traffic enforcement system, except any located in school zones.
Defines "automated traffic enforcement system" to mean any camera that captures an image of a vehicle for purposes of traffic law enforcement.
(Sec. 1402) Requires DOT to compile and make available on the DOT public website any data on the amounts of federal-aid highway program funds made available under this title for each fiscal year.
(Sec. 1403) Requires DOT to make available certain additional funds deposited into the HTF Highway Account or Mass Transit Account for federal-aid highway programs.
Reauthorizes appropriations through FY2020.
(Sec. 1404) Requires a design for new construction or rehabilitation of NHS highways to take into account, in addition to other specified criteria, the environment and safety for other modes of transportation, as well as cost savings by utilizing flexibility in current design guidance and regulations.
(Sec. 1405) Requires any requested or required justification report for a project that would add a point of access to, or exit from, the Interstate System to include new or modified freeway-to-crossroad interchanges inside a transportation management area.
(Sec. 1407) Makes eligible for funding under the National Highway Performance Program and the Surface Transportation Program any projects for the installation of vehicle-to-infrastructure communication equipment.
(Sec. 1409) Declares that, for Interstate System (IS) vehicle weight limitation purposes, any vehicle carrying fluid milk products shall be considered a load that cannot be easily dismantled or divided, and so are eligible for a special permit.
(Sec. 1410) Exempts certain heavy-duty tow and recovery vehicles traveling on federal highways from federal vehicle weight limitations.
Allows federal truck weight limitations to remain in place on specified highways in Texas and Arkansas.
Directs DOT to waive federal vehicle weight limitations for certain logging vehicles operating on IS highways in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Prohibits states from enforcing against an emergency vehicle a vehicle weight limit (up to a maximum vehicle weight of 86,000 pounds) of less than:
- 24,000 pounds on a single steering axle,
- 33,500 pounds on a single drive axle,
- 62,000 pounds on a tandem axle, or
- 52,000 pounds on a tandem rear drive steer axle.
Defines the term "emergency vehicle" to mean a vehicle designed to be used under emergency conditions to:
- transport personnel and equipment, and
- support the suppression of fires and mitigation of other hazardous situations.
Allows natural gas vehicles to exceed any vehicle weight limit (up to a maximum vehicle weight of 82,000 pounds) by an amount equal to the difference between:
- the weight of the vehicle attributable to the vehicle's natural gas tank and fueling system, and
- the weight of a comparable diesel tank and fueling system.
(Sec. 1411)Revises requirements for the toll roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferries program.
Requires over-the-road buses that serve the public to have access to toll facilities equal to that of public transportation buses.
Defines the term "over-the-road bus" to mean a bus characterized by an elevated passenger deck located over a baggage compartment.
Revises certain exceptions to high occupancy vehicle (HOV) facility requirements.
Authorizes the public authority to allow a public transportation vehicle use of HOV facilities if it provides equal access for all public transportation vehicles and over-the-road buses serving the public.
Authorizes the public authority also to allow use of HOV facilities by:
- vehicles if a toll is paid and the authority ensures that over-the-road buses serving the public have the same access as public transportation buses, and
- alternative fuel vehicles and new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles provided certain requirements are met.
Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to revise requirements for the interstate system reconstruction and rehabilitation pilot program. Prescribes requirements for final approval of state applications to collect tolls on highways, bridges, or tunnels for projects for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of interstate highway corridors.
(Sec. 1412) Authorizes payment from the state apportionment of federal-aid highway program funds for projects at railway-highway grade crossings to eliminate hazards posed by blocked grade crossings due to idling trains.
(Sec. 1413) Directs DOT to designate national electric vehicle charging and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling corridors that identify the need for electric vehicle charging, hydrogen fueling, propane fueling, and natural gas fueling infrastructures at strategic locations along major national highways.
Authorizes the General Services Administration (GSA) to install (on a reimbursable basis) battery recharging stations in GSA-owned parking areas for vehicles of GSA employees, tenant federal agencies, and other authorized individuals. Requires the GSA or the federal agency the charge fees to individuals to use such stations.
(Sec. 1414) Revises federal requirements for minimum state penalties for repeat offenders for driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence.
Adds a 24-7 sobriety program to criteria for state repeat offender laws.
Specifies exceptions to the requirement of an ignition interlock device on a vehicle of an individual with restricted driving privileges
(Sec. 1415) Authorizes as an eligible cost for a federal-aid highway construction project the cost of improving habitat and forage for pollinators (i.e., bees, birds, bats, Monarch and other butterflies) on rights-of-way adjacent to such highways.
Requires DOT, in conjunction with willing states, to carry out programs that encourage:
- integrated vegetation management practices on roadsides and other transportation rights-of-way, including reduced mowing; and
- the development of habitat and forage for pollinators through planting of native forbs and grasses, including noninvasive, native milkweed species.
(Sec. 1416) Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) to revise the high priority Raleigh-Norfolk Corridor of the NHS between Raleigh, North Carolina, and Norfolk, Virginia, to include Rocky Mount, Williamston, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
Includes Texas State Highway 44 from United States Route 59 at Freer, Texas, to Texas State Highway 358 as part of the high priority Lower Rio Grande Valley Corridor of the NHS in Texas.
Designates as a high priority corridor on the NHS, as part of Interstate Route I-11, the Intermountain West Corridor from the vicinity of Las Vegas, Nevada, extending north along U.S. Route 95, terminating at Interstate Route 80.
Declares as high priority corridors on the NHS as well as segments of the IS: - U.S. Route 117/Interstate Route 795 from U.S. Route 70 in Goldsboro, Wayne County, North Carolina, to Interstate Route 40 west of Faison, Sampson County, North Carolina;
- U.S. Route 70 from its intersection with Interstate Route 40 in Garner, Wake County, North Carolina, to the Port at Morehead City, Carteret County, North Carolina;
- Sonoran Corridor along State Route 410 connecting Interstate Route 19 and Interstate Route 10 south of the Tucson International Airport;
- the Central Texas Corridor commencing at the logical terminus of Interstate 10, and generally following portions of U.S. Route 190 eastward passing in the vicinity Fort Hood, Killeen, Belton, Temple, Bryan, College Station, Huntsville, Livingston, Woodville, and to the logical terminus of Texas Highway 63 at the Sabine River Bridge at Burrs Crossing;
- Interstate Route 81 in New York from its intersection with Interstate Route 86 to the United States-Canadian border;
- Interstate Route 70 from Denver, Colorado, to Salt Lake City, Utah;
- Oregon 99W Newberg-Dundee Bypass Route between Newberg, Oregon, and Dayton, Oregon; and
- Interstate Route 205 in Oregon from its intersection with Interstate Route 5 to the Columbia River.
Amends the SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008 to direct DOT to designate as a future Interstate Route 69 Spur, the Audubon Parkway between Henderson, Kentucky, and Owensboro, Kentucky, and as a future Interstate Route 65 and 66 Spur, the William H. Natcher Parkway between Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Owensboro, Kentucky.
(Sec. 1417) Makes eligible for work zone safety training program grants the development, updating, and delivery of training courses on guard rail installation, maintenance, and inspection.
(Sec. 1418) Amends MAP-21 to direct DOT to set-aside for each of FY2016-FY2020 a specified amount of highway safety improvement program funds before making any apportionment for FHWA administrative expenses.
(Sec. 1419) Amends ISTEA to repeal the requirement for annual reports to Congress on continuing studies of the fundamental chemical and physical properties of petroleum asphalts and modified asphalts used in highway construction.
Amends SAFETEA-LU to repeal the requirement for an annual report to Congress on the express lanes demonstration program.
(Sec. 1420) Authorizes DOT to exercise all existing flexibilities under and exceptions to the requirements for federal-aid highway projects and other DOT administered requirements, in whole or in part.
(Sec. 1421) Requires DOT, in cooperation with states, to develop guidance that encourages the use of programmatic approaches to project delivery, expedited procurement techniques, and other best practices for states and the FHWA to facilitate the timely expenditure of federal funds for federal-aid highway projects.
(Sec. 1422) Directs the FHWA to commission the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences to study the performance of bridges funded under the innovative bridge research and construction program in meeting program goals.
(Sec. 1423) Authorizes a state transportation agency to relinquish park-and-ride lot facilities, or portions of them, to a local government agency for highway purposes if authorized to do so under state law, and the relinquishment meets certain requirements.
(Sec. 1424) Authorizes the FHWA to establish a pilot program that allows a state to utilize innovative approaches to maintain the right-of-way of federal-aid highways.
(Sec. 1425) Authorizes states to allow on the IS the maintenance of service club, charitable association, or religious service signs of a certain size, provided the state notifies the FHWA.
(Sec. 1426) Requires the FHWA to appoint a Motorcyclist Advisory Council on infrastructure issues of concern to motorcyclists.
(Sec. 1427) Expresses the sense of Congress that the FHWA should do all it can to protect the safety of construction workers in highway work zones.
(Sec. 1428) Directs DOT to encourage the FHWA to use durable, resilient, and sustainable materials and practices, including the use of geosynthetic materials and other innovative technologies for federal-aid highway projects.
(Sec. 1429) Requires DOT to study methods for evaluating roadside highway safety hardware devices to improve the data collected on the devices.
(Sec. 1430) Expresses the sense of Congress that DOT should utilize modeling and simulation technology to analyze highway and public transportation projects to ensure that they will reduce congestion and be cost effective.
(Sec. 1431) Directs DOT to:
- establish a National Advisory Committee on Travel and Tourism Infrastructure, and
- develop and post on the DOT website a national travel and tourism infrastructure strategic plan.
(Sec. 1432) Exempts from further environmental reviews, approvals, licensing, and permit requirements under specified laws any road, highway, or bridge in operation or under construction that is damaged by a declared emergency and reconstructed in the same location with the same dimensions and design as before the emergency.
(Sec. 1433) Directs the GAO to report to Congress on FHWA administrative expenses funded from the HTF for the last three fiscal years.
(Sec. 1434) Directs DOT to make every required report available on its public website.
(Sec. 1435) Amends MAP-21 to reauthorize the federal share of costs for Appalachian development highway system projects through FY2050. Allows the federal share (currently a flat 100%) to be 100% or less, as determined by the state.
(Sec. 1436) Reauthorizes through FY2020 the Appalachian Regional Development Program.
Authorizes the Appalachian Regional Commission to give technical assistance, make grants, and enter into contracts in the Appalachian region for projects to increase affordable access to broadband networks throughout the Appalachian region and for related projects and activities. Authorizes funding.
(Sec. 1437) Authorizes the governor of a state that shares a border with Canada or Mexico to designate up to 5% of its apportionment of STBGP funds for each fiscal year for border infrastructure projects.
(Sec. 1438) Rescinds permanently on July 1, 2020, $7.569 billion of unobligated federal-aid highway funds apportioned among the states, except certain funds for the highway improvement, railway-highway crossings, and certain other highway programs. Prescribes formulae for determining the amounts to be rescinded among the states and within a state.
(Sec. 1439) Authorizes the take of nesting swallows, between April 1 and August 31 of any year, without individual permit requirements, to facilitate bridge construction or repair projects, provided the Department of the Interior promulgates a regulation under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to allow this.
(Sec. 1440) Allows recipients or subrecipients of federal-aid highway funds to:
- incur preliminary preconstruction development and engineering costs for an eligible project before receiving project authorization from the state, and
- request reimbursement of federal funds after project authorization is received.
(Sec. 1441) Directs DOT to establish a regional infrastructure demonstration program to assist entities in developing improved infrastructure priorities and financing strategies for accelerated development of TIFIA-funded projects.
Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 1442) Requires DOT to encourage each state and MPO to adopt design standards and best practices for surface transportation projects that provide safety for users of the surface transportation network.
(Sec. 1443) Expresses the sense of Congress that Congress recognizes the valuable contributions made by the U.S. engineering industry to provide critical technical expertise, innovation, and local knowledge to federal and state agencies in order to deliver surface transportation projects to the public.
(Sec. 1444) Directs the FHWA to continue the Every Day Counts initiative to work with states, local transportation agencies, and industry stakeholders to identify and deploy proven innovative best practices and products that accelerate transportation innovation deployment and project delivery as well as improve the environment and roadway safety.
(Sec. 1445) Amends the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2004 to repeal the prohibition against the direct or indirect financing of water resources infrastructure projects receiving federal credit assistance with proceeds of any:
- obligation the interest on which is tax-exempt, or
- regarding which a qualified tax credit bond or a Build America Bond is allowable.
(Sec. 1446) Makes various technical corrections to federal transportation laws.
TITLE II--INNOVATIVE PROJECT FINANCE
(Sec. 20001) Amends TIFIA to authorize as an eligible transportation infrastructure project cost the capitalizing of a rural projects fund using proceeds of secured loans made to state infrastructure banks to make loans for rural infrastructure projects.
Revises TIFIA program eligibility requirements, adding projects for:
- public infrastructure near a fixed guideway transit facility, passenger rail station, intercity bus station, or intermodal facility; and
- capitalization of a rural projects fund.
Requires DOT to make an expedited application process available to entities seeking secured loans under the TIFIA program.
Requires the reservation of $2 million of TIFIA program funds for highway infrastructure projects anticipated not to exceed $75 million.
Revises and reauthorizes through FY2020 the state infrastructure bank program.
(Sec. 2002) Authorizes DOT to make payments to states pursuant to a long-term concession agreements for construction costs incurred on federal-aid highway projects.
TITLE III--PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Federal Public Transportation Act of 2015
(Sec. 3003) Revises requirements for metropolitan as well as statewide and nonmetropolitan transportation planning.
Prescribes requirements for selection of MPO representatives or officials.
Authorizes MPOs serving a transportation management area to develop a congestion management plan that includes projects and strategies that will be considered in the MPO's transportation improvement program.
Treats the Bi-State MPO Region (in and around Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada) as:
- an MPO,
- a transportation management area, and
- an urbanized area (comprising a population of 145,000 in California and of 65,000 in Nevada).
(Sec. 3004) Revises requirements for the urbanized area formula public transportation grant program for an urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000.
Allows each public transportation system that is a party to a written agreement with one or more other public transportation systems within the urbanized area to allocate funds for the operating cost of equipment and facilities by a method other than by measuring vehicle revenue hours to follow the terms of the written agreement without regard to measured vehicle revenue hours.
(Sec. 3005) Revises requirements for the fixed guideway capital investment grants program.
Increases the caps on the cost and level of federal assistance for small start new fixed guideway capital projects or corridor-based bus rapid transit projects eligible for financing under fixed guideway capital investment grants.
Eliminates the prerequisite for a new fixed guideway capital project to advance to the engineering phase that it be supported by policies and land use patterns that promote public transportation.
Requires DOT to make necessary benefit, federal investment, and local financial commitment evaluations and ratings of small start projects, upon project sponsor request, upon completion of an environmental assessment under NEPA.
Includes small start projects in programs of interrelated projects (together with new fixed guideway capital projects and core capacity improvement projects, as currently).
Authorizes DOT to award such grants for new fixed guideway capital projects and core capacity improvement projects for both public transportation and intercity passenger rail service. Sets the federal share of project costs at up to 80%.
Authorizes DOT to award up to eight capital investment grants to states and local governments to assist in financing new fixed guideway capital projects or small start projects and core capacity improvement projects. Prescribes requirements for the expedited approval of such projects. Limits grants for such a project to 25% of the net capital project cost.
(Sec. 3006) Requires DOT to collect from, review, and disseminate best practices and other specified information to public transportation agencies for such projects.
Authorizes DOT to award pilot program grants to eligible recipients to assist in financing innovative projects for the transportation of seniors and disabled individuals that improve the coordination of transportation services and non-emergency medical transportation services. Sets the federal share of project costs at up to 80%.
Directs the DOT Interagency Transportation Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility to publish a strategic plan that:
- outlines federal agency role and responsibilities regarding local transportation coordination, including non-emergency medical transportation, for seniors and individuals with disabilities;
- addresses certain Council recommendations, including a cost-sharing policy for grantees; and
- examines and proposes changes to federal laws that will eliminate federal barriers to local transportation coordination.
(Sec. 3007) Revises requirements for the nonurbanized formula grant program.
Requires DOT to apportion specified amounts of rural formula grants each fiscal year for public transportation on Indian reservations.
Prescribes requirements for the allocation of such grants to multiple Indian tribes providing public transportation on tribal lands in a single Tribal Statistical Area.
(Sec. 3008) Replaces the research, development, demonstration, and deployment grant program with a public transportation innovation grant program.
Requires DOT to award grants for projects and activities to advance innovative public transportation research and development.
Requires demonstration, deployment, or evaluation projects in public transportation to seek, among other things, the deployment of low or no emission vehicles, zero emission vehicles, or associated advanced technology.
Prohibits any DOT grants for the demonstration, deployment, or evaluation of a vehicle that is in revenue service unless the project makes significant technological advancements in the vehicle.
Requires DOT to enter into a contract or cooperative agreement with, or make a grant to, at least one institution of higher education to operate a facility to assess components for use in low or no emission vehicles.
Establishes a public transportation cooperative research program. Authorizes DOT to make grants to, and cooperative agreements with, the National Academy of Sciences to carry out public transportation research, development, and technology transfer activities.
(Sec. 3009) Revamps the technical assistance and standards development grant program as the technical assistance and workforce development grant program.
Authorizes DOT to establish a competitive grant program to assist the development of innovative activities that address human resource needs to train and develop the public transportation workforce. Sets the federal share of project costs at 50%.
Directs DOT to establish a national transit institute, and award grants to four-year degree-granting institutions of higher education to carry out institute duties, including to develop training and educational programs for federal, state, and local transportation employees, U.S. citizens, and foreign nationals engaged in federally-assisted public transportation work.
(Sec. 3011) Prohibits the use of grants or loans for public transportation to pay incremental costs of incorporating art or non-functional landscaping into facilities, including the costs of an artist on the design team.
Revises Buy America requirements for public transportation projects. Allows DOT to waive such requirements when procuring rolling stock (including train control, communication, traction power equipment, and rolling stock prototypes) whose cost of components and subcomponents produced in the United States for:
- FY2016 and FY2017, is more than 60% (as under current law) of the cost of all components of the rolling stock;
- FY2018 and FY2019, is more than 65% of the cost of all such components; and
- FY2020 and each fiscal year thereafter, is more than 70% of the cost of all components of such stock.
Prescribes requirements for:
- calculation of the domestic content of certain rolling stock frames or car shells for waiver purposes, and
- a certification of domestic supply for denied waiver applications.
(Sec. 3012) Directs DOT to prescribe regulations for project management oversight that include:
- a requirement that oversight be limited to quarterly reviews of recipient compliance with the project management plan unless the recipient requires more frequent oversight because of specified failures, and
- a process for recipients that require more frequent oversight to return to quarterly reviews.
(Sec. 3013) Revises requirements for the public transportation safety program.
Includes among the contents of the national public transportation safety plan minimum safety standards, meeting specified criteria, for the safe operation of public transportation systems.
Directs DOT to administer state safety oversight programs for rail fixed guideway public transportation systems determined inadequate of enforcing federal safety regulations or incapable of preventing substantial risk of death or personal injury until the state develops a program as meeting certain requirements.
Authorizes DOT to withhold grants to develop state safety oversight programs from states with programs deemed insufficient, including up to 5% of a state's apportionment of formula public transportation grants for urbanized areas with a population under 200,000.
Authorizes DOT also to take certain enforcement action against a recipient that does not comply with federal law regarding the safety of a public transportation system, including withholding up to 25% of a state's apportionment of urbanized area formula public transportation grants.
Requires DOT to issue restrictions and prohibitions if an unsafe condition or practice is determined to exist and be a substantial risk of death or personal injury in a public transportation system.
(Sec. 3014) Revises formulae for the apportionment of formula public transportation grants to states with urbanized areas with a population of at least 200,000 and urbanized areas with a population under 200,000.
Requires a set-aside of $30 million for each fiscal year for passenger ferry grants.
(Sec. 3015) Sets the federal share of costs at 80% for state of good repair capital projects for high intensity fixed guideways and for high intensity motorbuses.
(Sec. 3016) Reauthorizes through FY2020 the research, development demonstration, and deployment program.
Extends:
- formula grants for public transportation, including allocations for specified projects;
- technical assistance and standards development and training grants;
- capital investment grants; and
- authorization for administrative expenditures.
(Sec. 3017) Allocates certain amounts to states and territories for FY2016-FY2020 for formula bus and bus facilities grants.
Requires DOT to carry out a state pool pilot grant program for eligible recipients or state or local governmental entities in urbanized areas with a population of between 200,000 and 999,999 to support their transit asset management plans.
Revises requirements for competitive grants to eligible recipients for bus and bus facilities capital projects. Authorizes competitive grants for low or no emission bus projects.
(Sec. 3018) Limits obligational ceilings for FY2016-FY2020 for:
- formula grants for public transportation, including allocations for specified projects; and
- grants for installation of positive train control systems.
(Sec. 3019) Authorizes states (lead procurement agencies) and grantees of public transportation assistance may enter into a cooperative procurement contracts with one or more vendors for the purchase of rolling stock (railroad cars) and related equipment.
Directs DOT to establish a pilot program for lead nonprofit entities similarly to enter into such contracts for such stock and equipment.
Authorizes grantees to enter into capital leases for:
- the costs of rolling stock or related equipment, and
- certain zero emission vehicle components.
(Sec. 3020) Directs DOT to:
- begin a review of the efficacy of existing safety standards and protocols used in rail fixed guideway public transportation systems, and
- evaluate the need to establish additional federal minimum public transportation safety standards after conducting the review.
(Sec. 3021) Requires DOT to enter into an agreement with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to evaluate whether it is in the public interest to withhold certain evidentiary public transportation safety program information in federal and state court proceedings.
(Sec. 3022) Directs DOT, after publication of a report required by Sec. 3020, to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking on protecting public transportation operators from the risk of assault.
(Sec. 3023) Declares that any paratransit systems currently coordinating complementary paratransit service for more than 40 fixed route agencies shall be permitted to continue using an existing tiered, distance-based coordinated paratransit fare system if the fare is not increased by a greater percentage than any increase to the fixed route fare for the largest transit agency in the complementary paratransit service area.
(Sec. 3024) Requires DOT to report to Congress on the potential of the Internet of Things to improve transportation services in rural, suburban, and urban areas. (The Internet of Things is the network of physical devices, vehicles, buildings and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data.)
(Sec. 3025) Requires DOT to study parking safety at specified alternative transportation facilities and locations.
(Sec. 3026) Grants DOT sole authority to appoint Federal Directors to the Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
Directs parties to the WMATA Compact to amend it to reflect such authority.
(Sec. 3027) Directs the GAO to evaluate the impact that MAP-21 changes had on public transportation, including the effectiveness of public transportation agencies to:
- furnish public transportation to low-income workers in accessing jobs and use reverse commute services; and
- support services to low-income riders to access jobs, medical services, and other life necessities.
(Sec. 3028) Makes $199 million available from the HTF Mass Transit Account for FY2017 for competitive grants for the installation of PTC systems.
(Sec. 3030) Amends MAP-21 to repeal:
- the pilot program for expedited new fixed guideway capital project or a core capacity improvement project delivery,
- the transit cooperative research program,
- requirements for public transportation facility projects for bicycles, and
- human resources and training programs in public transportation.
TITLE IV--HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY
(Sec. 4001) Reauthorizes appropriations from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY2016-FY2020 for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety programs, including:
- the highway safety research and development program,
- national priority safety programs,
- the National Driver Register,
- the High Visibility Enforcement Program, and
- NHTSA administrative expenses.
(Sec. 4002) Revises highway safety program requirements.
Requires state highway safety programs to increase driver awareness of commercial motor vehicles to prevent crashes and reduce injuries and fatalities.
Requires states with installed automated traffic enforcement systems to expend the apportionment of highway safety program funds to conduct a biennial survey of such systems, and make it available on DOT's website.
Directs DOT, in coordination with the Governors Highway Safety Association, to develop procedures to allow states to submit highway safety plans electronically.
Reduces from 60 to 45 the number of days during which DOT must review and approve state highway safety plans it has received.
Revises teen traffic safety requirements.
(Sec. 4003) Revises the highway safety research and development program.
Directs NHTSA (which currently is merely authorized) to carry out collaborative research on in-vehicle alcohol detection technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving. Directs DOT to obligate up to a certain amount of funds for the period FY2017-FY2020 to related research.
Requires DOT to establish procedures and guidelines to ensure that persons participating in a program or activity that collects data on drug or alcohol use by motor vehicle drivers are informed that the program or activity is voluntary.
Sets the federal share of project costs at 100%.
(Sec. 4004) Directs DOT to establish a high-visibility enforcement program under which at least three high-visibility traffic safety law enforcement campaigns will be carried out for FY2016-FY2020.
Requires each campaign to achieve at least one of the following objectives:
- reduce alcohol-impaired or drug-impaired driving, and
- increase the use of seatbelts.
(Sec. 4005) Revises national priority safety programs requirements.
Specifies allocations of national priority safety program funds for occupant protection, state traffic safety information system improvements, impaired driving countermeasures, distracted driving, motorcyclist safety, state graduated driver licensing laws, and nonmotorized safety.
Increases from 75% to 100% the amount of the apportionment of occupant protection grants a state may use for state highway safety programs.
Revises requirements for impaired driving countermeasures incentive grants.
Requires DOT to award separate grants to each state that:
- adopts and is enforcing a law that requires all individuals convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or driving while intoxicated to receive a restriction on driving privileges, and
- provides a 24-7 sobriety program.
Prescribes funding requirements.
Directs DOT to award distracted driving incentive grants to states that include distracted driving awareness as part of the state's driver's license examination, and enact and enforce a law that:
- prohibits drivers (including those under age 18) from texting through a personal wireless communications device (including a cell phone, but not a global navigation satellite [GPS] system receiver) while driving (with specified emergency exceptions),
- makes a violation a primary offense,
- establishes a minimum fine, and
- does not provide an exemption that allows a driver to text through a personal wireless communication device while stopped in traffic.
Revises motorcyclist safety incentive grant requirements.
Requires the allocation of motorcyclist safety grant funds to a state to be in proportion to the state's apportionment of highway safety program funds for FY2009, except that the grant amount may not exceed 25% of the apportionment for FY2009.
Directs DOT to update and give states model language to use in traffic safety education courses, driver's manuals, and other driver training materials instructing motor vehicle operators on the importance of sharing the road safely with motorcyclists.
Revises minimum requirements for state graduated driver licensing incentive grant programs.
Requires DOT to award incentive grants to states with graduated driving licensing laws that require novice drivers under age 18 (currently, under age 21) to comply with a two-stage licensing process before receiving an unrestricted driver's license.
Requires such laws, at a minimum, to include a learner's permit stage that:
- makes a violation of the prohibition against using a personal wireless communications device while driving (with specified emergency exceptions) a primary offense,
- requires applicants to pass a vision and knowledge assessment before receiving a learner's permit,
- requires the driver to be accompanied and supervised at all times while operating the motor vehicle by a licensed driver at least age 21 or by a state-certified driving instructor,
- requires the driver to complete a state-certified driver education or training course or obtain at least 50 hours of behind-the-wheel training (with at least 10 hours at night), with a licensed driver; and
- remains in effect until the driver attains age 16 and enters the intermediate stage, or attains 18.
Requires such laws also to include an intermediate permit stage that:
- begins immediately after successful completion of a driving skills assessment,
- makes a violation of the prohibition against using a personal wireless communications device while driving (with specified emergency exceptions) a primary offense,
- restricts driving at night between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. when not supervised by a licensed driver age 21 or older (with specified exceptions) for the first six months of the intermediate stage, and
- remains in effect until the driver attains age 17.
Directs DOT to award nonmotorized safety grants to states for projects to decrease pedestrian and bicycle fatalities and injuries resulting from crashes with motor vehicles. Sets the federal share of project costs at up to 80%.
(Sec. 4006) Directs DOT to develop a process to identify and mitigate possible systemic issues across state and regional offices by reviewing recommendations identified in triennial state management reviews of state highway safety programs.
(Sec. 4007) Prohibits DOT from providing grants or funds to any state, county, town, township, Indian tribe, municipality, or other local government for use in any program to check helmet usage or create checkpoints for a motorcycle driver or passenger.
(Sec. 4008) Directs DOT to study marijuana-impaired driving. for the remaining text click here
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