[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1282 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1282

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a grant program 
to support efforts to provide fare-free transit service, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 25, 2023

Mr. Markey (for himself and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                           and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a grant program 
to support efforts to provide fare-free transit service, 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 ``Freedom to Move Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to invest in the efforts of States, counties, and local 
        municipalities to provide fare-free public transportation; and
            (2) to support States, counties, and local municipalities 
        in improving and expanding access to safe, accessible, and 
        reliable mass transit systems in order to improve the 
        livability of communities.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT FARE-FREE TRANSIT.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible entity.--In this section, the term ``eligible 
        entity'' means--
                    (A) a State, a political subdivision of a State, or 
                an Indian Tribe;
                    (B) a transit agency;
                    (C) a private nonprofit organization engaged in 
                public transportation in a rural area; or
                    (D) a partnership between 2 or more entities 
                described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).
            (2) Foster care youth.--The term ``foster care youth''--
                    (A) means children and youth whose care and 
                placement are the responsibility of the State or Tribal 
                agency that administers a State or Tribal plan under 
                part B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
                U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 et seq.), without regard to 
                whether foster care maintenance payments are made under 
                section 472 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on behalf of 
                such children and youth; and
                    (B) includes individuals who were age 13 or older 
                when their care and placement were the responsibility 
                of a State or Tribal agency that administered a State 
                or Tribal plan under part B or E of title IV of the 
                Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 et 
                seq.) and who are no longer under the care and 
                responsibility of such a State or Tribal agency, 
                without regard to any such individual's subsequent 
                adoption, guardianship arrangement, or other form of 
                permanency outcome.
            (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' means an 
        Indian tribe, as that term is used in chapter 53 of title 49, 
        United States Code.
            (4) Low-income individual.--The term ``low-income 
        individual'' means an individual whose family income is at or 
        below 150 percent of the poverty line (as that term is defined 
        in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 
        U.S.C. 9902(2)), including any revision required by that 
        section) for a family of the size involved.
            (5) Mass transit; public transit; transit.--The terms 
        ``mass transit'', ``public transit'', and ``transit'' mean 
        public transportation.
            (6) Public transportation.--The term ``public 
        transportation''--
                    (A) means regular, continuing shared-ride surface 
                transportation services that are open to the general 
                public or open to a segment of the general public 
                defined by age, disability, or low income; and
                    (B) does not include--
                            (i) intercity passenger rail transportation 
                        provided by the entity described in chapter 243 
                        of title 49, United States Code (or a successor 
                        to that entity);
                            (ii) intercity bus service;
                            (iii) charter bus service;
                            (iv) school bus service;
                            (v) sightseeing service;
                            (vi) courtesy shuttle service for patrons 
                        of 1 or more specific establishments; or
                            (vii) intra-terminal or intra-facility 
                        shuttle services.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.
            (8) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 5302 of title 49, United States Code.
            (9) Underserved community.--The term ``underserved 
        community'' means--
                    (A) a community that--
                            (i) is not served by any existing bus 
                        route; or
                            (ii) receives infrequent bus service; and
                    (B) a community located in an area within a census 
                tract that is identified as--
                            (i) a low-income community; and
                            (ii) a community of color.
    (b) Grants Authorized.--Not later than 360 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall award grants (which shall be 
known as ``Freedom to Move Grants'') to eligible entities, on a 
competitive basis, to cover the lost fare revenue for fare-free public 
transportation and improve public transportation.
    (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, at a minimum, the 
following:
            (1) A description of how the eligible entity plans to 
        implement fare-free transit access.
            (2) A description of how the eligible entity will work to 
        expand and improve bus service, which may include--
                    (A) a bus network redesign;
                    (B) how the bus network redesign will prioritize 
                consistent and reliable service for low-income and 
                underserved communities;
                    (C) how the bus network redesign will prioritize 
                connectivity to critical services and improve community 
                livability; and
                    (D) how the eligible entity will meaningfully 
                consult with members of the community, community 
                leaders, local stakeholders and advocates (including 
                transit advocates and disability advocates), local 
                education agencies and institutions of higher 
                education, community developers, labor unions, public 
                housing agencies, and workforce development boards, 
                while facilitating the bus network redesign.
            (3) A description of how the eligible entity will 
        meaningfully partner and collaborate with members of the 
        community, community leaders, local stakeholders and advocates 
        (including transit advocates and disability advocates), local 
        education agencies and institutions of higher education, 
        community developers, labor unions, public housing agencies and 
        workforce development boards to support outreach efforts to 
        increase awareness of fare-free transit programs, including 
        fare-free bus programs.
            (4) A description of the eligible entity's equity 
        evaluation examining any equity and mobility gaps within each 
        transit system operated by the eligible entity or within the 
        geographic area under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, 
        and how the eligible entity plans to significantly close those 
        gaps, including--
                    (A) the average commute time for driver commuters 
                and non-driver commuters;
                    (B) public transit ridership rates disaggregated 
                by--
                            (i) mode of transportation; and
                            (ii) demographic group, including youth 
                        (including foster care youth), seniors, 
                        individuals with disabilities, and low-income 
                        individuals; and
                    (C) average length of bus routes and average delay 
                times.
            (5) A description of the eligible entity's fare evasion 
        enforcement policies, including--
                    (A) the cost of the fine, if any, and whether the 
                infraction is considered a civil offense or a criminal 
                offense punishable by imprisonment;
                    (B) the number of individuals charged with 
                violating a fare evasion policy, disaggregated by age, 
                race, gender, and disability status; and
                    (C) how the eligible entity plans to eliminate fare 
                evasion policies and end the criminalization of 
                individuals evading fares.
            (6) An estimate of additional costs that the eligible 
        entity will incur as a result of increased ridership, 
        including--
                    (A) fuel costs;
                    (B) personnel costs;
                    (C) maintenance costs; and
                    (D) other operational costs.
            (7) Information and statistics on assaults on transit 
        employees and a description of each training or policy used or 
        intended to be used to protect employees, which may include de-
        escalation training.
    (d) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall be for a 5-
year period.
    (e) Selection of Eligible Entities.--In carrying out the grant 
program under this section, the Secretary shall award grants to 
eligible entities located in both rural and urbanized areas.
    (f) Uses of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use the grant to support--
            (1) implementing a fare-free transit program; and
            (2) efforts to improve public transportation, particularly 
        in underserved communities, including costs associated with 
        efforts to provide more safe, frequent, and reliable bus 
        service, including--
                    (A) bus stop safety and accessibility improvements;
                    (B) pedestrian and bike shelters;
                    (C) signage;
                    (D) painted bus lanes;
                    (E) signal priority systems;
                    (F) street redesign;
                    (G) operational costs to meet demands of increased 
                ridership, including hiring and training of personnel; 
                and
                    (H) conducting a bus network redesign.
    (g) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date on 
        which funds are made available to carry out this section, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    (A) collect data from each eligible entity 
                receiving a grant under this section on the progress of 
                the entity in meeting the targets described in the 
                application of the entity; and
                    (B) publish and submit to Congress a report 
                containing the data collected under subparagraph (A).
            (2) Requirements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) include data on demographics of communities 
                served under this section, disaggregated and cross-
                tabulated by--
                            (i) race;
                            (ii) ethnicity;
                            (iii) sex; and
                            (iv) household median income; and
                    (B) assess the progress of eligible entities 
                towards significantly closing transit equity and 
                mobility gaps as described in subsection (c)(4).
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
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