[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2042 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2042

To provide for a program to improve commercial motor vehicle safety in 
 the vicinity of the borders between the United States and Canada and 
                     the United States and Mexico.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 7, 1998

 Mr. Faircloth introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for a program to improve commercial motor vehicle safety in 
 the vicinity of the borders between the United States and Canada and 
                     the United States and Mexico.

    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 ``Safe Highways Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Border state.--The term ``border State'' means a State 
        that has a boundary with a common border between Canada or 
        Mexico.
            (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Transportation.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.

SEC. 3. BORDER SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Program.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to improve 
commercial motor vehicle safety in the vicinity of borders between the 
United States and Canada and the United States and Mexico.
    (b) Grant and Other Authority.--The Secretary may expend funds made 
available to carry out this section--
            (1) for making grants to border States, local governments, 
        organizations, and other persons to carry out activities 
        described in subsection (c);
            (2) to provide for personnel in the Department to conduct 
        the activities referred to in paragraph (1); and
            (3) to enter into contracts for conducting the activities 
        referred to in paragraph (1).
    (c) Use of Funds.--The activities for which funds may be expended 
under this section shall include--
            (1) the employment by the Department or a border State of 
        additional personnel to enforce commercial motor vehicle safety 
        laws;
            (2) the training of personnel to enforce the laws referred 
        to in paragraph (1);
            (3) the development of databases and communication systems 
        to improve commercial motor vehicle safety; and
            (4) education and outreach initiatives.
    (d) Criteria.--In selecting activities and projects for funding 
under this section, the Secretary shall consider--
            (1) current levels of enforcement by border States at the 
        time of the selection;
            (2) cross-border traffic patterns (including the volume of 
        commercial motor vehicle traffic);
            (3) the location of inspection facilities; and
            (4) any other factor that the Secretary determines could 
        result in the greatest safety improvement and benefit to border 
        States and the United States.
    (e) Federal Share.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal share payable under a grant 
        made under this section for--
                    (A) any activity described in paragraph (2), (3), 
                or (4) of subsection (c) shall be 80 percent; and
                    (B) any activity described in subsection (c)(1) 
                shall be--
                            (i) 80 percent for the first 2 years that a 
                        State receives a grant under this section for 
                        that activity;
                            (ii) 50 percent for the third and fourth 
                        years that a State receives a grant under this 
                        section for that activity; and
                            (iii) 25 percent for the fifth and sixth 
                        years that a State receives a grant under this 
                        section for that activity.
            (2) In-kind contributions.--In determining the non-Federal 
        costs under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include in-kind 
        contributions made by the grant recipient.
    (f) Maintenance of Effort.--
            (1) In general.--A grant may not be made to a State under 
        this section for an activity described in subsection (c)(1) for 
        any fiscal year unless the State enters into such agreements 
        with the Secretary as the Secretary may require to ensure that 
        the State will maintain the expenditures described in paragraph 
        (2), at the level specified in paragraph (3), from all sources 
        of funding other than a grant under this section.
            (2) Expenditures.--The expenditures referred to in 
        paragraph (1) are the aggregate expenditures for employment of 
        personnel to enforce commercial motor vehicle safety 
        regulations in the vicinity of the border between the United 
        States and Canada or Mexico.
            (3) Level.--The level specified in this paragraph, with 
        respect to the expenditures described in paragraph (2), is a 
        level greater than or equal to the average level of those 
        expenditures for the 2 fiscal years of the State preceding the 
        date of enactment of this Act.
    (g) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Department of Transportation to carry out this section, $20,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 1999 through 2003.
                                 <all>