1.This Act may be cited as the
Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New
Transportation Efficiency Act
.
2.Transportation
alternatives
(a)Subtitle III of title
49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
63Transportation
alternatives
6301.In this chapter:
(1)The
term Administrator means Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency.
(2)The
term charrette means a open, collaborative design session held
over the course of 2 or more days—
(A)that includes
participation by stakeholders and the public;
(B)that involves a
collaborative process with a series of short feedback loops; and
(C)the purpose of
which is to produce 2 or more feasible Plans.
(3)The
term Fund means the Low Greenhouse Gas Transportation Fund
established by section 6302(a)(1).
(4)Intercity
passenger rail service
(A)The term intercity passenger rail service
has the meaning given the term intercity rail passenger
transportation in section 24102.
(B)The
term intercity passenger rail service includes high-speed rail
service.
(5)The
term MPO means a metropolitan planning organization designated
under section 134(b) of title 23 that, as of the most recent decennial census,
represents more than 200,000 individuals.
(6)The
term Plan means a transportation greenhouse gas reduction plan
covering a period of at least 10 years developed under section 6304(a).
(7)The term scenario analysis means an
analysis that is conducted by identifying different trends and making
projections based on those trends to develop a range of scenarios and estimates
of how each scenario could improve mobility and affect rates of—
(A)vehicle miles
traveled;
(B)use of
petroleum-derived transportation fuel; and
(C)greenhouse gas
emissions from the transportation sector.
(8)The
term State means—
(A)a State;
(B)the District of
Columbia; and
(C)the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico.
6302.
(a)There
is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the
Low Greenhouse Gas Transportation Fund
, consisting of such
amounts as are deposited in the Fund under section 6303(c).
(b)
(1)Subject to section 6303(c), on request by the Secretary,
the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Secretary
such amounts as the Secretary determines are necessary to provide assistance
for use in implementing projects under Plans developed under section
6308(b).
(2)An amount not exceeding 10 percent of the amounts in the
Fund shall be available for each fiscal year to pay the administrative expenses
necessary to carry out this Act.
(c)
(1)The amounts required to be transferred to the Fund under
this section shall be transferred at least monthly from the general fund of the
Treasury to the Fund on the basis of estimates made by the Secretary of the
Treasury.
(2)Proper
adjustment shall be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the extent
prior estimates were in excess of or less than the amounts required to be
transferred.
6303.
(a)For each of calendar years 2012 through 2050, the
Administrator shall auction 10 percent of the emission allowances established
for each of those calendar years under any program in effect providing for the
regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and the auctioning of emission
allowances that is administered by the Administrator.
(b)The
auctions required for each calendar year specified in paragraph (1) shall be
conducted over the course of at least 4 sessions, spaced evenly over a period
beginning 330 days before, and ending 60 days after, the beginning of each such
calendar year.
(c)The Administrator shall deposit in the Fund the proceeds
from each auction conducted under this section.
6304.
(a)Each
State and MPO shall establish the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions
from the transportation sector during the 10 years following the date of
enactment of this chapter through—
(1)the increase in
mobility options;
(2)the reduction of
vehicle miles traveled; and
(3)the use of
petroleum-derived transportation fuel.
(b)Each State and MPO shall develop a transportation
greenhouse gas reduction plan, and a prioritized list of projects the support
the plan, that are integrated into the long-range transportation and
transportation improvement plans of the State or MPO to work toward achieving
the goal established by the State or MPO under subsection (a) through
investment in—
(1)new transit
projects eligible for assistance under chapter 53 (or the expansion of
operations or frequency of existing transit service);
(2)an intercity
passenger rail project for—
(A)(i)the acquisition,
construction, improvement, or inspection of equipment, track and track
structures, or a facility for use in or for the primary benefit of intercity
passenger rail service;
(ii)expenses incidental to that
acquisition or construction (including expenses for designing, engineering,
location surveying, mapping, environmental studies, and acquisition of
rights-of-way);
(iii)payments for the capital portions
of rail trackage rights agreements;
(iv)highway-rail grade crossing
improvements relating to intercity passenger rail service;
(v)security;
(vi)mitigation of environmental
impacts;
(vii)communication and signalization
improvements;
(viii)relocation assistance;
(ix)acquisition of replacement housing
sites; and
(x)acquisition, construction,
relocation, and rehabilitation of replacement housing;
(B)rehabilitating,
remanufacturing, or overhauling rail rolling stock and facilities used
primarily in intercity passenger rail service; and
(C)costs associated
with developing State rail plans;
(3)sidewalks,
crosswalks, bicycle paths, greenways, pedestrian signals, pavement marking,
traffic calming techniques, modification of public sidewalks (including
projects to achieve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.)), and other strategies to encourage pedestrian and
bike travel;
(4)additional
freight rail capacity, particularly if the capacity—
(A)relieves a
freight bottleneck designated by the Secretary as causing poor on-time
performance for intercity rail passenger trains; or
(B)expands intercity
or commuter rail capacity;
(5)carpool, vanpool,
or car-share projects;
(6)updates to zoning
and other land use regulations and plans—
(A)to coordinate
with local, regional, and State plans; or
(B)to support
infill, transit-oriented development, or mixed-use development;
(7)improvements
in—
(A)travel and
land-use data collection; and
(B)travel models to
better measure greenhouse gas emissions and emission reductions; or
(8)the
transportation control measures described in clauses (i) through (xv) of
section 108(f)(1)(A), or section 211, of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
7408(f)(1)(A), 7545).
(c)Each Plan shall be—
(1)submitted to the
Secretary not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this chapter;
and
(2)updated every 4
years thereafter, including with analysis regarding achievement of the goals of
the Plan.
(d)
(1)Subject to section 6306(b), not later than 180 days after
the date of submission of a Plan under subsection (c)(1), the Secretary, in
consultation with the Administrator, shall determine and certify
whether—
(A)the Plan is
likely to achieve the goal established by the State or MPO, as the case may be,
under subsection (a); and
(B)the development
of the plan has complied with subsection (e).
(2)Previously
developed plansIf a State or MPO develops a plan to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector before the date of
enactment of this chapter, the State or MPO shall not be eligible to receive a
distribution of funds under section 6308 unless the Secretary, in consultation
with the Administrator, first determines and certifies that the plan meets the
requirements of this chapter.
(e)Public
involvement, coordination, and consultationEach Plan shall be
developed—
(1)using
transportation and economic development scenario analysis and strong public and
stakeholder involvement, including—
(A)public comment
periods;
(B)scenario
planning;
(C)the most recent
models; and
(D)public
charrettes;
(2)with strong
regional coordination, including between each MPO and the State in which the
MPO is located and with other MPOs located within that State; and
(3)in consultation
with State and local housing, economic development, land use, environmental,
and transportation agencies.
(f)Incorporation
of MPO PlansEach State shall incorporate, without modification,
into the Plan of the State the final Plans of MPOs located within the
State.
6305.To maximize greenhouse gas emission
reductions from the transportation sector, the Secretary and the Administrator
shall enter into an arrangement with the Transportation Research Board of the
National Academy of Sciences under which that Board shall submit to the
Administrator and the Secretary, not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this chapter, a report containing recommendations—
(1)for use in
improving research and tools to assess the effect of transportation plans and
land use plans on motor vehicle use rates and transportation sector greenhouse
gas emissions;
(2)for use in
improving Federal Government data sources that are necessary to assess
greenhouse gas emission data from the transportation sector for use in
developing Plans; and
(3)regarding
policies to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation
sector.
6306.
(a)Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this chapter, based on any recommendations contained in the reports submitted
under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 6305, and every 5 years thereafter, the
Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, shall establish or update,
as appropriate, standards for transportation data collection, monitoring,
planning, and modeling.
(b)The Secretary shall not certify any Plan under
section 6304(d) until such time as standards for transportation data
collection, monitoring, planning, and modeling are established under subsection
(a).
6307.Not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this chapter, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator
shall submit to the committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives
having jurisdiction over transportation and climate change a report that
describes—
(1)the aggregate
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector expected
as a result of the development and implementation of the Plans;
(2)the impact of
other Federal policies and programs on this chapter;
(3)changes to
Federal law that could improve the performance of the Plans; and
(4)regulatory
changes planned to improve the performance of the Plans.
6308.
(a)Development and
updating of plansThe Secretary shall use 5 percent of the funds
deposited in the Fund for each fiscal year to support the development and
updating of Plans under section 6304.
(b)
(1)The Secretary shall use 10 percent of the funds deposited
in the Fund for each fiscal year—
(A)to support the
implementation of Plans; and
(B)to fund the
projects described in Plans as being necessary to meet the goals established by
the States or MPOs submitting the Plans.
(2)The
Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator, shall establish and
regularly update a formula for the distribution of funds in accordance with
paragraph (1) that—
(A)reflects the
expected per capita reduction in greenhouse gas emissions expected as a result
of implementation of each Plan certified under section 6304(d);
(B)ensures that at
least 50 percent of the funds are used to implement Plans certified under
section 6304(d) that are developed by MPOs;
(C)emphasizes Plans
that increase transportation options and mobility, particularly for low-income
individuals, minorities, the elderly, zero-car households, and the disabled;
and
(D)during the first
5 years after the date of enactment of this chapter, takes into consideration
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions achieved by States and MPOs under Plans
certified under section 6304(d).
(3)The
Federal share of a project described in paragraph (1)(B) that is carried out
using funds made available under this section shall be 80
percent.
.
(b)The analysis for
subtitle III of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the
item relating to chapter 61 the following:
CHAPTER 63—Transportation alternatives
Sec.
6301. Definitions.
6302. Fund.
6303. Auctioning.
6304. Plans.
6305. Study.
6306. Technical standards.
6307. Report.
6308.
Funding.
.