[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1700 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1700

   To authorize funds to further the strong Federal interest in the 
  improvement of highways and transportation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 1997

Mr. Thune (for himself, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Hill, and Mrs. Cubin) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize funds to further the strong Federal interest in the 
  improvement of highways and transportation, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Lands Transportation 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. COOPERATIVE FEDERAL LANDS TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 205 the following:

``SEC. 206. COOPERATIVE FEDERAL LANDS TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Findings and Purpose.--
            ``(1) Findings.--Congress finds that public roads owned by 
        States--
                    ``(A) can provide valuable assistance to the 
                Federal Government in ensuring adequate and safe 
                transportation to, in, and across federally owned land 
                and Indian reservations; and
                    ``(B) supplement the efforts of the Federal 
                Government in developing and maintaining roads to serve 
                federally owned land and Indian reservations.
            ``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to further 
        the Federal interest in State-owned or State-maintained roads 
        that provide transportation to, in, or across federally owned 
        land or Indian reservations by establishing the Cooperative 
        Federal Lands Transportation Program.
    ``(b) Program.--There is established the Cooperative Federal Lands 
Transportation Program (referred to in this section as the `program'). 
Funds available for the program may be used for projects, or portions 
of projects, on State-owned or State-maintained highways that cross, 
are adjacent to, or lead to federally owned land or Indian 
reservations, as determined by the State. Such projects shall be 
proposed by a State and selected by the Secretary. A project proposed 
by a State under this section shall be on a highway owned or maintained 
by the State and may be a highway construction or maintenance project 
eligible under this title or any project of a type described in section 
204(h).
    ``(c) Distribution of Funds for Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary--
                            ``(i) after consultation with the 
                        Administrator of General Services, the 
                        Secretary of the Interior, and the heads of 
                        other agencies as appropriate, shall determine 
                        the percentage of the total land in each State 
                        that is owned by the Federal Government or that 
                        is held by the Federal Government in trust;
                            ``(ii) shall determine the sum of the 
                        percentages determined under clause (i) for 
                        States with respect to which the percentage is 
                        4.5 or greater; and
                            ``(iii) shall determine for each State 
                        included in the determination under clause (ii) 
                        the percentage obtained by dividing--
                                    ``(I) the percentage for the State 
                                determined under clause (i); by
                                    ``(II) the sum determined under 
                                clause (ii).
                    ``(B) Adjustment.--The Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) reduce any percentage determined 
                        under subparagraph (A)(iii) that is greater 
                        than 7.5 percent to 7.5 percent; and
                            ``(ii) redistribute the percentage points 
                        equal to any reduction under clause (i) among 
                        other States included in the determination 
                        under subparagraph (A)(ii) in proportion to the 
                        percentages for those States determined under 
                        subparagraph (A)(iii).
            ``(2) Availability to states.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (3), for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall make 
        funds available to carry out eligible projects in a State in an 
        amount equal to the amount obtained by multiplying--
                    ``(A) the percentage for the State, if any, 
                determined under paragraph (1); by
                    ``(B) the funds made available for the program for 
                the fiscal year.
            ``(3) Selection of projects.--The Secretary may establish 
        deadlines for States to submit proposed projects for funding 
        under this section, except that in the case of fiscal year 1998 
        the deadline may not be earlier than January 1, 1998. For each 
        fiscal year, if a State does not have pending, by that 
        deadline, applications for projects with an estimated cost 
        equal to at least 3 times the amount for the State determined 
        under paragraph (2), the Secretary may distribute, to 1 or more 
        other States, at the Secretary's discretion, \1/3\ of the 
        amount by which the estimated cost of the State's applications 
        is less than 3 times the amount for the State determined under 
        paragraph (2).
    ``(d) Transfers.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, a State and the Secretary may agree to transfer amounts 
        made available to a State under this section for use in 
        carrying out projects on any Federal lands highway that is 
        located in the State.
            ``(2) Special rule.--This paragraph applies to a State that 
        contains a national park that was visited by more than 
        2,500,000 people in 1996 and comprises more than 3,000 square 
        miles of land area, including surface water, that is located in 
        the State. For such a State, 50 percent of the amount that 
        would otherwise be made available to the State for each fiscal 
        year under the program shall be made available only for 
        eligible highway uses in the national park and within the 
        borders of the State. For the purpose of making allocations 
        under section 202(c), the Secretary may not take into account 
        the past or future availability, for use on park roads and 
        parkways in a national park, of funds made available for use in 
        a national park by this paragraph.''.
    (b) Definition of Federal Lands Highway Investment.--Section 101(a) 
of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by adding at the end the following:
    ``The term `Federal lands highway investment' means funds 
authorized for the Federal lands highways program or the Cooperative 
Federal Lands Transportation Program under chapter 2.''; and
            (2) by reordering the undesignated paragraphs so that they 
        are in alphabetical order.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 2 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 205 the following:

``206. Cooperative Federal Lands Transportation Program.''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 
Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account), for the Cooperative Federal 
Lands Transportation Program under section 206 of title 23, United 
States Code, $200,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1998 through 
2002.
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