[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2172 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2172

 To establish a pilot toll credit market place program, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 2015

 Mr. Lipinski (for himself and Mr. Duncan of Tennessee) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a pilot toll credit market place 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. TOLL CREDIT MARKETPLACE PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and implement a pilot 
program to develop a toll credit marketplace for States to buy and sell 
toll credits.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the pilot program are--
            (1) to identify whether a monetary value can be assigned to 
        toll credits;
            (2) to identify the discounted rate of toll credits for 
        cash;
            (3) to determine if the purchase of toll credits by States 
        provides the purchasing State budget flexibility to deal with 
        funding issues, including off-system needs, transit systems 
        with high operating costs, or cash flow issues; and
            (4) to test the feasibility of expanding the toll credit 
        market to allow all States to participate on a permanent basis.
    (c) Administration of Pilot Program.--In carrying out the pilot 
program under this Act, the Secretary, working through the 
Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, shall determine 
how a toll credit marketplace will work and--
            (1) establish an online platform that allows participating 
        States to offer and bid on toll credit purchases;
            (2) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, provide notice to States that the Federal Highway 
        Administration requests participants for the toll credit 
        marketplace;
            (3) allow States that maintain a toll credit balance 
        accumulated before the enactment of this Act and States that do 
        not maintain infrastructure for the collection of toll credits 
        or have not accumulated a toll credit balance to participate in 
        the pilot program; and
            (4) not allow a State to purchase or sell toll credits in 
        an amount that is less than 5 percent of the toll credit's 
        value if applied as a non-Federal share requirement under 
        section 120(i)(1) of title 23, United States Code.
    (d) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) Initial report.--Not later than 180 days after notice 
        of the pilot program is provided to the States under subsection 
        (c)(2), the Secretary shall notify the Committee on 
        Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public 
        Works of the Senate on the progress of the toll credit 
        marketplace.
            (2) State report.--Not later than 30 days after a purchase 
        or sale in the toll credit marketplace, a State selling toll 
        credits shall provide the Administrator of the Federal Highway 
        Administration with information on the transaction, the amount 
        of cash received and the value of toll credits sold, on the 
        intended use of the cash, and an update on the State's 
        remaining toll credit balance. A State purchasing toll credits 
        shall provide the Administrator of the Federal Highway 
        Administration with information on the value of toll credits 
        purchased, the anticipated use of the toll credits, and plans 
        for maintaining maintenance of effort for spending on Federal-
        aid highways projects.
            (3) Annual report.--Not later than 1 year and after notice 
        is given under subsection (c)(2) and each year thereafter that 
        the pilot program is in effect, the Secretary shall submit a 
        report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment 
        and Public Works of the Senate and make such report publicly 
        available on its website that--
                    (A) determines whether a toll credit marketplace is 
                viable;
                    (B) describes of the buying and selling activities 
                of the toll credit marketplace;
                    (C) determines of the monetary value of toll 
                credits;
                    (D) determines whether the pilot program could be 
                expanded to more States and or all States; and
                    (E) provides updated information on the toll credit 
                balance accumulated by each State.
    (e) Definitions.--
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.
            (2) Toll credit.--The term ``toll credit'' means the credit 
        that can be used for non-Federal share under section 120(i) of 
        title 23, United States Code.
            (3) Toll credit marketplace.--The term ``toll credit 
        marketplace'' means a market where toll credits can be 
        purchased and sold by States participating in the pilot 
        program.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States, 
        the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any territory or 
        possession of the United States, including the Virgin Islands.
    (f) Maintenance of Effort.--A State participating in the toll 
credit marketplace shall continue to be subject to requirements of 
section 120(i)(2) of title 23, United States Code.
    (g) Use of Funds Received for the Sale.--
            (1) Certification.--A State receiving funds in exchange for 
        a toll credit shall be required to certify that the proceeds 
        will be used for highway, transit, and other related projects 
        and must receive approval from the Federal Highway 
        Administration before expending such funds.
            (2) Approval.--Not later than 30 days after the receipt of 
        a certification under paragraph (1), the Federal Highway 
        Administration shall send a notice of decision approving or 
        rejecting the State's submission. A notice of disapproval shall 
        be accompanied by an explanation of the grounds for disapproval 
        and provide recommendations for resubmitting a certification 
        that will be approved.
            (3) Appeal.--Not later than 30 days after a State receives 
        a notice of decision to reject its submission, such State may 
        appeal the decision to the Secretary of Transportation who, not 
        later than 60 days after receipt, shall review and adjudicate 
        such appeal.
    (h) Metropolitan Planning Organization and Local Government Toll 
Credit Allocation.--
            (1) Purchase of toll credits.--Upon request of an 
        interested metropolitan planning organization or local 
        government, a State may purchase toll credits on behalf of a 
        metropolitan planning organization or local government upon 
        request and timely payment of the amount of such credits by 
        such organization or government.
            (2) Allocation of toll credits.--A State purchasing toll 
        credits without prior requests from a metropolitan planning 
        organization or local government may allocate those toll 
        credits for use by a metropolitan planning organization or 
        local government upon approval by the board of leadership of 
        such metropolitan planning organization or local government.
    (i) Limitation on Use of Federal Funds for the Purchase of Toll 
Credits.--
            (1) Limitation on federal funds.--A State, metropolitan 
        planning organization, or local government may not use Federal 
        funds to purchase toll credits on the toll credit marketplace.
            (2) Use of toll credits.--Any recipient of Federal funding 
        under Title 23 or Title 49 that purchases toll credits under 
        this Act may not use such toll credits for more than 10 percent 
        of its annual apportionment in any fiscal year.

SEC. 2. TOLL CREDIT ELIGIBILITY AS COLLATERAL UNDER THE RAILROAD 
              REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT FINANCING PROGRAM.

    Section 822(f) of title 45, United States Code, is amended by 
adding after section 822(f)(2)(A) the following:
                            ``(i) collateral that is eligible for use 
                        in an application includes credits earned under 
                        section 120(i) of title 23, United States 
                        Code.''.
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