[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1761 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1761

   To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to contract with an 
  independent engineer to review the construction methods of certain 
    Federal highway projects, to require States to submit a project 
 management plan for each highway project financed with Federal funds, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 10, 2007

Mr. Kerry (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to contract with an 
  independent engineer to review the construction methods of certain 
    Federal highway projects, to require States to submit a project 
 management plan for each highway project financed with Federal funds, 
                        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 ``Safety and Accountability in 
Construction Act''.

SEC. 2. HIGHWAY SAFETY.

    (a) Submission of Project Management Plans.--Section 106(a)(1) of 
title 23, United States Code, is amended by striking ``such'' and 
inserting ``the project management plan and such other''.
    (b) Independent Safety Reviews.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, 
        is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 413. Independent safety reviews
    ``(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of 
Transportation (or the Secretary's designee) is authorized to contract 
with a qualified independent engineer to objectively analyze the 
planning, design, construction methods, and materials used to construct 
any highway project financed with Federal funds if the Secretary (or 
the Secretary's designee) determines that--
            ``(1) the project may endanger public safety;
            ``(2) the planning, design, or construction of the project 
        differs from the State's existing Project Management Plan;
            ``(3) the project is experiencing significant cost 
        overruns; or
            ``(4) there is a reasonable basis for requiring a safety 
        review of the project by an independent engineer.
    ``(b) Selection of Independent Engineer.--
            ``(1) In general.--If the Secretary makes a determination 
        under subsection (a), the Secretary shall select and hire an 
        engineer to conduct the analysis described in subsection (a).
            ``(2) Qualifications.--The engineer selected under this 
        subsection--
                    ``(A) shall be a registered professional engineer 
                with a background in the appropriate engineering 
                discipline;
                    ``(B) shall have significant knowledge and 
                experience in highway projects; and
                    ``(C) may not have any prior association with the 
                project to be reviewed or any affiliation with any 
                project participant.
            ``(3) Notification requirement.--If an engineer is selected 
        under this section, the Secretary shall notify--
                    ``(A) the members of Congress of the districts in 
                which the project being reviewed is located; and
                    ``(B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate;
                    ``(C) the Committee on Environment and Public Works 
                of the Senate; and
                    ``(D) the Committee on Transportation and 
                Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.
    ``(c) Access.--
            ``(1) In general.--The transportation department of each 
        State in which a highway project is being reviewed by an 
        independent engineer selected under subsection (b), and any 
        contractors involved in the project, shall provide the engineer 
        with reasonable access to the plans, records, and construction 
        sites of the project.
            ``(2) Contract provisions.--Beginning on the date of the 
        enactment of this section, each contract relating to a highway 
        project receiving Federal financial assistance shall 
        explicitly--
                    ``(A) authorize the Secretary of Transportation to 
                conduct a safety review in accordance with this 
                section; and
                    ``(B) require the parties to comply with paragraph 
                (1).
    ``(d) Reports.--
            ``(1) Analysis findings.--At the conclusion of the analysis 
        described in subsection (a), the independent engineer shall 
        submit a report containing the findings of such analysis to--
                    ``(A) the Secretary of Transportation;
                    ``(B) the Inspector General of the Department of 
                Transportation;
                    ``(C) the Administrator of the Federal Highway 
                Administration; and
                    ``(D) the transportation department of the State in 
                which the project is located.
            ``(2) Internal review.--The Inspector General of the 
        Department of Transportation shall ensure compliance with the 
        requirements under this section and shall submit a report 
        describing such compliance to--
                    ``(A) the Secretary of Transportation;
                    ``(B) the Administrator of the Federal Highway 
                Administration; and
                    ``(C) the appropriate congressional committees.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $15,000,000 for each fiscal year to carry out this 
section.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections in chapter 4 
        of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
        end the following:

``413. Independent safety reviews.''.

SEC. 3. TUNNEL INSPECTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 151 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``and tunnel'' 
        after ``bridge'';
            (2) in subsections (a) and (c), by inserting ``and Tunnel'' 
        after ``Bridge'' each place it appears in the subsection 
        headings;
            (3) by inserting ``and tunnel'' after ``bridge'' each place 
        it appears;
            (4) by inserting ``and tunnels'' after ``bridges'' each 
        place it appears; and
            (5) in subsection (d), by striking ``section 104(a), 
        section 502, and section 144 of this title.'' and inserting 
        ``sections 104(a), 144, and 502 for the bridge inspection 
        program and sections 104(a) and 502 for the tunnel inspection 
        program.''.
    (b) Surface Transportation Program.--Section 133(b)(1) of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting ``, tunnels (including 
safety inspections),'' after ``highways)''.
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