[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2927 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2927

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide grants and technical 
                 assistance to restore orphan highways.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2003

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide grants and technical 
                 assistance to restore orphan highways.

    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 ``Orphan Highway Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL ORPHAN HIGHWAYS PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 165. National orphan highways program
    ``(a) Grants and Technical Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants and 
        provide technical assistance to States, and units of local 
        government to--
                    ``(A) perform preventive maintenance on or carry 
                out projects for resurfacing, restoration, 
                reconstruction, and rehabilitation of an orphan 
                highway, as defined in subsection (e); and
                    ``(B) rehabilitate, repair, or construct sidewalks, 
                medians, bike lanes, traffic-calming devices, 
                signaling, or signage to enhance community livability 
                on or adjacent to an orphan highway.
            ``(2) Priority.--In making grants, the Secretary shall give 
        priority to projects that--
                    ``(A) include rehabilitation measures that focus on 
                pedestrian safety;
                    ``(B) are coordinated with State and local adopted 
                preservation or development plans;
                    ``(C) promote cost-effective and strategic 
                investments in transportation infrastructure that 
                minimize adverse impacts on the environment;
                    ``(D) promote innovative private sector strategies;
                    ``(E) foster public-private partnerships;
                    ``(F) include a higher percentage of State or 
                locally matched funds;
                    ``(G) have zoning designations that support more 
                intensive, mixed-use development along part or all of 
                the route; or
                    ``(H) upon completion, will result in the transfer 
                of ongoing management and administrative 
                responsibilities from the State to the local 
                jurisdiction.
            ``(3) Distribution of funds.--The Secretary shall allocate 
        funds made available for this section for fiscal years 2004 
        through 2009 among the grant recipients, using 2000 census data 
        as follows:
                    ``(A) not less than 20 percent to units of local 
                government with a population between 50,000 and 250,000 
                residents; and
                    ``(B) not less than 50 percent to units of local 
                government with a population of less than 50,000.
    ``(b) Savings Clause.--The Secretary shall not withhold any grant 
or impose any requirement on a grant recipient as a condition of 
providing a grant or technical assistance for any orphan highway unless 
the requirement is consistent with the authority provided in this 
chapter.
    ``(c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of carrying out 
a project under this section shall be 80 percent, except that, in the 
case of an orphan highway that provides access to or within Federal or 
Indian land, the head of a Federal land management agency may use funds 
authorized for such agency for the non-Federal share.
    ``(d) Administrative Oversight.--A grant recipient may use not more 
than 2 percent of funds received under this section for administrative 
costs.
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act the following 
definitions apply:
            ``(1) Orphan highway.--
                    ``(A) is or was formerly a United States numbered 
                highway;
                    ``(B) is located within the boundaries of a unit of 
                local government as defined under paragraph (2);
                    ``(C) is no longer a principal route for traffic 
                passing through the State after construction of a 
                bypass or Interstate;
                    ``(D) currently functions as a county, parish, or 
                city arterial or collector route, or provides access to 
                or within Federal or tribal lands; and
                    ``(E) because of decreased importance to statewide 
                transportation, has received only routine maintenance 
                but needs significant resurfacing, restoration, 
                reconstruction, or rehabilitation.
            ``(2) Unit of local government.--The term `unit of local 
        government' means--
                    ``(A) any city, county, township, town, borough, 
                parish, village, or other general purpose political 
                subdivision of a State;
                    ``(B) any law enforcement district or judicial 
                enforcement district that--
                            ``(i) is established under applicable State 
                        law; and
                            ``(ii) has the authority to, in a manner 
                        independent of other State entities, establish 
                        a budget and impose taxes;
                    ``(C) an Indian Tribe (as that term is defined in 
                section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
                Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b); or
                    ``(D) for the purposes of assistance eligibility, 
                any agency of the government of the District of 
                Columbia or the Federal Government that performs law 
                enforcement functions in and for--
                            ``(i) the District of Columbia; or
                            ``(ii) any Trust Territory of the United 
                        States.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for such chapter is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 164 the following:

``165. National orphan highways program.''.
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