[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1384 Introduced in Senate (IS)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1384

   To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide State and local 
authorities a means by which to eliminate congestion on the Interstate 
                                System.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 9, 2003

  Mr. Allard introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide State and local 
authorities a means by which to eliminate congestion on the Interstate 
                                System.

    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 ``Freeing Alternatives for Speedy 
Transportation Act'' or the ``FAST Act''.

SEC. 2. INTERSTATE SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 1 of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 165. FAST fees
    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish and implement 
an Interstate System FAST Lanes program under which the Secretary, 
notwithstanding sections 129 and 301, shall permit a State, or a public 
or private entity designated by a State, to collect fees to finance the 
expansion of a highway, for the purpose of reducing traffic congestion, 
by constructing 1 or more additional lanes (including bridge, support, 
and other structures necessary for that construction) on the Interstate 
System.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to participate in the program, a 
State shall submit to the Secretary for approval an application that 
contains--
            ``(1) an identification of the additional lanes (including 
        any necessary bridge, support, and other structures) to be 
        constructed on the Interstate System under the program;
            ``(2) in the case of 1 or more additional lanes that affect 
        a metropolitan area, an assurance that the metropolitan 
        planning organization established under section 134 for the 
        area has been consulted during the planning process concerning 
        the placement and amount of fees on the additional lanes; and
            ``(3) a facility management plan that includes--
                    ``(A) a plan for implementing the imposition of 
                fees on the additional lanes;
                    ``(B) a schedule and finance plan for construction, 
                operation, and maintenance of the additional lanes 
                using revenues from fees (and, as necessary to 
                supplement those revenues, revenues from other 
                sources); and
                    ``(C) a description of the public or private 
                entities that will be responsible for implementation 
                and administration of the program.
    ``(c) Requirements.--The Secretary shall approve the application of 
a State for participation in the program after the Secretary determines 
that, in addition to meeting the requirements of subsection (b), the 
State has entered into an agreement with the Secretary that provides 
that--
            ``(1) fees collected from motorists using a FAST lane shall 
        be collected only through the use of noncash electronic 
        technology;
            ``(2) all revenues from fees received from operation of 
        FAST lanes shall be used only for--
                    ``(A) debt service relating to the investment in 
                FAST lanes;
                    ``(B) reasonable return on investment of any 
                private entity financing the project, as determined by 
                the State;
                    ``(C) any costs necessary for the improvement, and 
                proper operation and maintenance (including 
                reconstruction, resurfacing, restoration, and 
                rehabilitation), of FAST lanes and existing lanes, if 
                the improvement--
                            ``(i) is necessary to integrate existing 
                        lanes with the FAST lanes;
                            ``(ii) is necessary for the construction of 
                        an interchange (including an on- or off-ramp) 
                        from the FAST lane to connect the FAST lane 
                        to--
                                    ``(I) an existing FAST lane;
                                    ``(II) the Interstate System; or
                                    ``(III) a highway; and
                            ``(iii) is carried out before the date on 
                        which fees for use of FAST lanes cease to be 
                        collected in accordance with paragraph (6); or
                    ``(D) the establishment by the State of a reserve 
                account to be used only for long-term maintenance and 
                operation of the FAST lanes;
            ``(3) fees may be collected only on and for the use of FAST 
        lanes, and may not be collected on or for the use of existing 
        lanes;
            ``(4) use of FAST lanes shall be voluntary;
            ``(5) revenues from fees received from operation of FAST 
        lanes may not be used for any other project (except for 
        establishment of a reserve account described in paragraph 
        (2)(D) or as otherwise provided in this section);
            ``(6) on completion of the project, and on completion of 
        the use of fees to satisfy the requirements for use of revenue 
        described in paragraph (2), no additional fees shall be 
        collected; and
            ``(7)(A) to ensure compliance with paragraphs (1) through 
        (5), annual audits shall be conducted for each year during 
        which fees are collected on FAST lanes; and
            ``(B) the results of each audit shall be submitted to the 
        Secretary.
    ``(d) Apportionment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Revenues collected from FAST lanes shall 
        not be taken into account in determining the apportionments and 
        allocations that any State or transportation district within a 
        State shall be entitled to receive under or in accordance with 
        this chapter.
            ``(2) No effect on state expenditure of funds.--Nothing in 
        this section affects the expenditure by any State of funds 
        apportioned under this chapter.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--
            (1) The analysis for subchapter I of chapter 1 of title 23, 
        United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
        relating to section 164 the following:

``165. FAST fees.''.
            (2) Section 301 of title 23, United States Code, is amended 
        by inserting after ``tunnels,'' the following: ``and except as 
        provided in section 165,''.

SEC. 3. TOLL FEASIBILITY.

    Section 106 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(i) Toll Feasibility.--The Secretary shall select and conduct a 
study on a project under this title that is intended to increase 
capacity, and that has an estimated total cost of at least $50,000,000, 
to determine whether--
            ``(1) a toll facility for the project is feasible; and
            ``(2) privatizing the construction, operation, and 
        maintenance of the toll facility is financially advisable 
        (while retaining legal and administrative control of the 
        portion of the applicable Interstate route).''.
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