[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1315 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1315

 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a pilot grant 
  program to provide assistance for the capital and startup costs of 
               streetcar development and revitalization.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 2003

Mr. Blumenauer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a pilot grant 
  program to provide assistance for the capital and startup costs of 
               streetcar development and revitalization.

    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 ``Community Streetcar Development and 
Revitalization Act''.

SEC. 2. COMMUNITY STREETCAR DEVELOPMENT AND REVITALIZATION PILOT 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
and begin implementation of a 5-year pilot grant program to provide 
assistance to States and local governmental authorities for the capital 
and startup costs of development and expansion of streetcar 
transportation.
    (b) Project Selection.--The Secretary shall select projects to be 
carried out under the pilot program solely based on the following 
considerations:
            (1) The project is ready for construction.
            (2) The project application demonstrates strong local and 
        private sector financial participation in the project.
            (3) The project will foster redevelopment opportunities 
        adjacent to the streetcar line for which assistance is being 
        sought.
            (4) The project requires the financial participation of the 
        private owners of real property abutting the streetcar line 
        (excluding owner-occupied residential properties) for some of 
        the capital costs of the project.
            (5) The project application demonstrates that development 
        or redevelopment agreements are in place with respect to the 
        project and land use policies complementary to the project have 
        been adopted for land in close proximity to the streetcar line, 
        including property zoned to accommodate mixed-use development 
        is available adjacent to the streetcar line.
            (6) The project application demonstrates either how 
        redeveloping or new neighborhoods on vacant or underutilized 
        land will be connected by the project to each other or to major 
        attractors in the central city where the project will be 
        carried out or how circulator or connector lines under the 
        project will connect developed neighborhoods with one another 
        or with the business district in the central city.
    (c) Applications.--In order to receive grant assistance under this 
Act, a sponsor of a project must submit to the Secretary an application 
that includes a detailed operating plan for the streetcar line for 
which such assistance is being sought, including frequency of service, 
hours of operation, and stop locations, and a demonstration of the 
financial capacity of the sponsor to operate the streetcar line.
    (d) Types of Projects.--A project for which grant assistance may be 
provided under this Act may include streetscaping, signalization 
modifications, and other modifications to the road system or other 
public rights-of-way on which the project is to be carried out and 
acquisition of streetcars and project construction, design, and 
engineering.
    (e) Maximum Funding Limitation.--The maximum amount of Federal 
grant assistance which the Secretary may provide with respect to any 
project under this Act in any fiscal year is $15,000,000.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Local government authority; state.--The terms ``local 
        government authority'' and ``State'' have the meaning such 
        terms have under section 5302 of title 49, United States Code.
            (2) Streetcar.--The term ``streetcar'' means a rail transit 
        vehicle, including modern, antique, or reproduction vehicle, 
        that is designed to fit the scale and traffic patterns of 
        neighborhoods through which it travels, is powered by 
        electricity, and operates at lower-speeds generally in existing 
        rights-of-way through mixed traffic, with frequent stops.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There shall be available from the Highway Trust 
Fund to carry out this Act $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, 
$100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2006, 2007, and 2008.
    (b) Period of Availability.--Funds made available to carry out this 
Act shall remain available until expended.
    (c) Contract Authority.--A grant approved by the Secretary under 
this Act is a contractual obligation of the United States Government to 
pay the Government's share of the cost of the project and may provide 
authority for the Secretary to enter into multi-year agreements with 
respect to the project.
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