[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2918 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2918

  To amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
 Transportation to establish a program to provide grants to carry out 
 activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway rights-of-
way, including the planting and seeding of native, locally-appropriate 
  grasses and wildflowers, including milkweed, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 20, 2019

 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Carper, and Mr. Rounds) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
 Transportation to establish a program to provide grants to carry out 
 activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway rights-of-
way, including the planting and seeding of native, locally-appropriate 
  grasses and wildflowers, including milkweed, 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 ``Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act 
of 2019'' or the ``MPH Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY PRACTICES ON ROADSIDES AND HIGHWAY RIGHTS-
              OF-WAY.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 3 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 331. Pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway 
              rights-of-way
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program to 
provide grants to eligible entities to carry out activities to benefit 
pollinators on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, including the 
planting and seeding of native, locally-appropriate grasses and 
wildflowers, including milkweed.
    ``(b) Eligible Entities.--An entity eligible to receive a grant 
under this section is--
            ``(1) a State department of transportation;
            ``(2) an Indian tribe; or
            ``(3) a Federal land management agency.
    ``(c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, including a pollinator-
friendly practices plan described in subsection (d).
    ``(d) Pollinator-Friendly Practices Plan.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible entity shall include in the 
        application under subsection (c) a plan that describes the 
        pollinator-friendly practices that the eligible entity has 
        implemented or plans to implement, including--
                    ``(A) practices relating to mowing strategies that 
                promote early successional vegetation and limit 
                disturbance during periods of highest use by target 
                pollinator species on roadsides and highway rights-of-
                way, such as--
                            ``(i) reducing the mowing swath outside of 
                        the State-designated safety zone;
                            ``(ii) increasing the mowing height;
                            ``(iii) reducing the mowing frequency;
                            ``(iv) refraining from mowing monarch and 
                        other pollinator habitat during periods in 
                        which monarchs or other pollinators are 
                        present;
                            ``(v) use of a flushing bar and cutting at 
                        reduced speeds to reduce pollinator deaths due 
                        to mowing; or
                            ``(vi) reducing raking along roadsides and 
                        highway rights-of-way;
                    ``(B) implementation of an integrated vegetation 
                management plan that includes approaches such as 
                mechanical tree and brush removal, targeted and 
                judicious use of herbicides, and mowing, to address 
                weed issues on roadsides and highway rights-of-way;
                    ``(C) planting or seeding of native, locally-
                appropriate grasses and wildflowers, including 
                milkweed, on roadsides and highway rights-of-way to 
                enhance pollinator habitat, including larval host 
                plants;
                    ``(D) removing nonnative grasses from planting and 
                seeding mixes, except for use as nurse or cover crops; 
                or
                    ``(E) any other pollinator-friendly practices the 
                Secretary determines to be appropriate.
            ``(2) Coordination.--In developing a plan under paragraph 
        (1), an eligible entity that is a State department of 
        transportation or a Federal land management agency shall 
        coordinate with applicable State agencies, including State 
        agencies with jurisdiction over agriculture and fish and 
        wildlife.
            ``(3) Consultation.--In developing a plan under paragraph 
        (1)--
                    ``(A) an eligible entity that is a State department 
                of transportation or a Federal land management agency 
                shall consult with affected or interested Indian 
                tribes; and
                    ``(B) any eligible entity may consult with 
                nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher 
                education, metropolitan planning organizations, and any 
                other relevant entities.
    ``(e) Award of Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide a grant to 
        each eligible entity that submits an application under 
        subsection (c), including a plan under subsection (d), that the 
        Secretary determines to be satisfactory.
            ``(2) Amount of grants.--The amount of a grant under this 
        section--
                    ``(A) shall be based on the number of pollinator-
                friendly practices the eligible entity has implemented 
                or plans to implement; and
                    ``(B) shall not exceed $150,000.
    ``(f) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use the funds for the implementation, improvement, 
or further development of the plan under subsection (d).
    ``(g) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of an activity 
carried out with a grant under this section shall be 100 percent.
    ``(h) Best Practices.--The Secretary shall develop and make 
available to eligible entities best practices for, and a priority 
ranking of, pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway 
rights-of-way.
    ``(i) Technical Assistance.--On request of an eligible entity that 
receives a grant under this section, the Secretary shall provide 
technical assistance with the implementation, improvement, or further 
development of a plan under subsection (d).
    ``(j) Administrative Costs.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary 
may use not more than 2 percent of the amounts made available to carry 
out this section for the administrative costs of carrying out this 
section.
    ``(k) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which the 
first grant is provided under this section, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives a report on the implementation of the program under 
this section.
    ``(l) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
        2020 through 2026.
            ``(2) Availability.--Amounts made available under this 
        section shall remain available for a period of 3 years after 
        the last day of the fiscal year for which the funds are 
        authorized.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 3 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``331. Pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway rights-
                            of-way.''.
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