[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1448 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1448

   To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
Transportation to carry out a transit accessibility innovation program, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 2015

 Mr. Langevin (for himself, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, 
and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
           the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
Transportation to carry out a transit accessibility innovation program, 
                        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 ``Transit Accessibility Innovation Act 
of 2015''.

SEC. 2. TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY INNOVATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 5307 the following:
``Sec. 5308. Transit accessibility innovation program
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a transit 
accessibility innovation program in accordance with the requirements of 
this section to encourage public transit systems to take actions to 
address deficiencies in service for individuals with disabilities.
    ``(b) Grants Authority.--
            ``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program, the 
        Secretary shall distribute amounts made available to carry out 
        this section as competitive discretionary grants to public 
        transit agencies for eligible projects.
            ``(2) Selection criteria.--The Secretary shall develop 
        criteria to ensure that projects receiving funding under the 
        program are innovative and replicable in other communities, and 
        will result in a substantive improvement in service for 
        individuals with disabilities.
    ``(c) Applications.--
            ``(1) In general.--In order to be eligible to receive a 
        grant under the program, a public transit agency shall submit 
        to the Secretary an application at such time, in such form, and 
        containing such information as the Secretary may require.
            ``(2) Contents.--An application for a grant under the 
        program shall contain, at a minimum, a description of--
                    ``(A) the project for which the applicant is 
                seeking funding;
                    ``(B) the anticipated benefits the project will 
                deliver for the following long-term outcomes: community 
                integration, safety, accessibility, quality, 
                coordination, and customer service;
                    ``(C) the expected contribution of the project to 
                the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the 
                delivery of public transportation and ADA paratransit 
                service;
                    ``(D) the ability of the project to facilitate 
                innovation in providing public transportation to 
                individuals with disabilities; and
                    ``(E) the ability of the project to attract new 
                partnerships and non-Federal funding, including State, 
                local, private, and philanthropic funding.
            ``(3) Community coordination requirements.--
                    ``(A) Certification.--To ensure that projects 
                receiving funding under this section address the needs 
                of individuals with disabilities in a geographic area, 
                an application for a grant under the program shall 
                contain a certification that--
                            ``(i) each project for which the applicant 
                        is seeking funding is included in a locally 
                        developed, coordinated public transit-human 
                        services transportation plan; and
                            ``(ii) the plan was developed and approved 
                        through a process that included community 
                        participation, including by--
                                    ``(I) seniors;
                                    ``(II) individuals with 
                                disabilities;
                                    ``(III) representatives of public, 
                                private, and nonprofit transportation 
                                and human service providers; and
                                    ``(IV) other members of the public.
                    ``(B) Use of existing plans.--A plan used to 
                coordinate the funding of projects under section 5310 
                may be used to satisfy the requirements of subparagraph 
                (A).
                    ``(C) Limitation.--The requirements of this 
                paragraph shall not apply to the transportation 
                promotion pilot program established under this section.
    ``(d) Factors.--In providing grant funds for projects under the 
program, the Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the ability of the 
project to--
            ``(1) enhance accessibility to rail and fixed route bus 
        service;
            ``(2) promote paratransit coordination with other programs 
        and utilize other revenue streams;
            ``(3) increase service quality to address customer 
        complaints;
            ``(4) provide fixed route travel training for passengers 
        and specialized training for paratransit personnel;
            ``(5) reduce turnover through increased wages and benefits, 
        and increase monitoring, in the provision of ADA paratransit;
            ``(6) provide ADA complementary paratransit services in a 
        way that maximizes quality, reliability, safety, customer 
        satisfaction, and a stable workforce by determining what 
        factors within contracting might impact the quality of ADA 
        paratransit services;
            ``(7) improve ADA paratransit on-time performance and 
        interoperability with other transportation services available 
        to people with disabilities, both public and private;
            ``(8) delay or suspend proposed ADA paratransit service 
        cuts triggered by the elimination or cutting of fixed route bus 
        routes;
            ``(9) delay or suspend cuts for paratransit services that 
        exceed ADA requirements, except that grant funds may not be 
        issued under this section more than once for the same route (or 
        a significantly similar route);
            ``(10) increase opportunities for community integration and 
        independence of people with disabilities by promoting access to 
        employment and other resources; and
            ``(11) augment passenger safety, without compromising 
        passengers' rights under the ADA.
    ``(e) Practices To Promote Successful Outcomes and Sharing of 
Information.--
            ``(1) Priority.--In providing grant funds for eligible 
        projects under the program, the Secretary shall give priority 
        to projects that are replicable in other communities using 
        existing resources.
            ``(2) Set aside for activities to promote sharing of best 
        practices.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) set aside 2 percent of the funds made 
                available to carry out this section; and
                    ``(B) use those amounts to carry out activities to 
                ensure that innovative practices, program models, and 
                new service delivery options are collected, reviewed, 
                and disseminated to other public transit agencies, so 
                that the practices, models, and options can be 
                replicated in other communities.
            ``(3) Technical assistance.--The Secretary shall provide 
        technical assistance to recipients of grant funds under the 
        program to ensure that the projects carried out using the funds 
        are successful.
    ``(f) Maintenance of Effort.--
            ``(1) ADA minimum standards.--Funds received under the 
        program may not be used to meet the minimum standards of the 
        ADA, including ADA complementary paratransit service 
        requirements.
            ``(2) Certification.--To ensure that grant activities are 
        not supplanting existing, budgeted services and that public 
        transit agencies are upholding maintenance of effort on 
        existing programs, a public transit agency receiving grant 
        funds under the program shall--
                    ``(A) certify that the funds will not be used to 
                pay for existing services; or
                    ``(B) provide an explanation as to why the existing 
                services are justified grant activities.
    ``(g) Grant Requirements.--A grant under this section shall be 
subject to the same requirements as a grant under section 5307, except 
that any public transit agency may use grant funds received under the 
program for operating expenses.
    ``(h) Transportation Promotion Pilot Program.--
            ``(1) Set aside.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary 
        shall--
                    ``(A) set aside 1 percent of the funds made 
                available to carry out this section or $100,000, 
                whichever amount is greater; and
                    ``(B) use those amounts to carry out a 
                transportation promotion pilot program under this 
                subsection.
            ``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the transportation promotion 
        pilot program shall be to ensure that--
                    ``(A) public transit agencies fulfill their 
                requirements under the ADA; and
                    ``(B) individuals with disabilities have advocates 
                to ensure greater opportunities for integration and 
                access into transit systems.
            ``(3) Grant authority.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In carrying out the 
                transportation promotion pilot program, the Secretary 
                shall make grants to--
                            ``(i) agencies implementing a system 
                        established under section 143 of the 
                        Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill 
                        of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15043) that 
                        have demonstrated histories of transportation 
                        expertise or advocacy; and
                            ``(ii) nonprofit organizations that have 
                        demonstrated histories of transportation 
                        expertise or advocacy.
                    ``(B) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a 
                grant under this paragraph, an agency or organization 
                shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the agency or 
                organization--
                            ``(i) has a mission that includes 
                        individual or systemic advocacy and monitoring 
                        to address the transportation needs of 
                        individuals with disabilities; and
                            ``(ii) has the support of other 
                        organizations in the disability community.
                    ``(C) Use of grants.--Grants funds received under 
                this paragraph shall be used to fund individual or 
                systemic advocacy and monitoring to address the 
                transportation needs of people with disabilities.
    ``(i) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this 
section may be construed to affect projects or activities carried out 
under section 5310 or the funding of such projects or activities.
    ``(j) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions 
apply:
            ``(1) ADA.--The term `ADA' means the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
            ``(2) ADA paratransit.--The term `ADA paratransit' means 
        the provision of nonfixed route paratransit transportation 
        services in accordance with section 223 of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 
        12143).
    ``(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2016 through 2021.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for such chapter is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 5307 the following:

``5308. Transit accessibility innovation program.''.

SEC. 3. RAISING CAPS ON USE OF FORMULA FUNDS FOR PROVISION OF NONFIXED 
              ROUTE PARATRANSIT TRANSPORTATION SERVICES.

    Section 5302(3)(I) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``10 percent'' and inserting ``15 percent''.
                                 <all>