[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1527 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1527
To require the Secretary of Transportation to conduct, and submit to
Congress a report describing the results of, an assessment of the total
amount of nonhighway recreational fuel taxes received by the Secretary
of the Treasury and transferred to the Highway Trust Fund, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 16, 2019
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Risch, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Burr, and Mr.
Van Hollen) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Transportation to conduct, and submit to
Congress a report describing the results of, an assessment of the total
amount of nonhighway recreational fuel taxes received by the Secretary
of the Treasury and transferred to the Highway Trust Fund, 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 ``RTP Funding Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. NONHIGHWAY RECREATIONAL FUEL STUDY.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Highway trust fund.--The term ``Highway Trust Fund''
means the Highway Trust Fund established by section 9503(a) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(2) Nonhighway recreational fuel taxes.--The term
``nonhighway recreational fuel taxes'' means taxes under
sections 4041 and 4081 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
with respect to fuel used in vehicles on recreational trails or
back country terrain (including vehicles registered for highway
use when used on recreational trails, trail access roads not
eligible for funding under title 23, United States Code, or
back country terrain).
(3) Recreational trails program.--The term ``recreational
trails program'' means the recreational trails program under
section 206 of title 23, United States Code.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Transportation.
(b) Assessment; Report.--
(1) Assessment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act and not less frequently than once every 5
years thereafter, as determined by the Secretary, the Secretary
shall carry out an assessment of the best available estimate of
the total amount of nonhighway recreational fuel taxes received
by the Secretary of the Treasury and transferred to the Highway
Trust Fund for the period covered by the assessment.
(2) Report.--After carrying out each assessment under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on
Finance and Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the
Committees on Ways and Means and Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that
includes--
(A) a description of the results of the assessment
and an evaluation of whether the current recreational
trails program funding level reflects the amount of
nonhighway recreational fuel taxes collected and
transferred to the general fund of the Treasury and
transferred to the Highway Trust Fund, to assist
Congress in decisionmaking with respect to appropriate
funding levels for the recreational trails program;
(B) an evaluation of whether the current
recreational trails program funding level of each
participating State accurately reflects the
apportionment criteria described in section 133(h)(5)
of title 23, United States Code; and
(C) in the case of the first report submitted under
this paragraph, an estimate of the frequency with which
the Secretary anticipates carrying out the assessment
under paragraph (1), subject to the condition that such
an assessment shall be carried out not less frequently
than once every 5 years.
(c) Consultation.--In carrying out an assessment under subsection
(b)(1), the Secretary may consult with, as the Secretary determines to
be appropriate--
(1) the heads of--
(A) State agencies designated by Governors pursuant
to section 206(c)(1) of title 23, United States Code,
to administer the recreational trails program; and
(B) division offices of the Department of
Transportation;
(2) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(3) the Administrator of the Federal Highway
Administration; and
(4) groups representing recreational activities and
interests, including hiking, biking and mountain biking,
horseback riding, water trails, snowshoeing, cross-country
skiing, snowmobiling, off-highway motorcycling, all-terrain
vehicles and other offroad motorized vehicle activities, and
recreational trail advocates.
(d) Maintenance in Effect of Recreational Trails Program.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall ensure that--
(1) for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter,
the amount made available to carry out the recreational trails
program is equal to not less than the amount made available to
carry out the recreational trails program during fiscal year
2019; and
(2) the recreational trails program shall be carried out as
a distinct program of the Department of Transportation, in
accordance with section 206 of title 23, United States Code.
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