[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5181 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5181
To require the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program
relating to the digitization of county roads and the creation of
publicly accessible road datasets, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 30, 2026
Mr. Curtis (for himself and Mr. Kelly) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program
relating to the digitization of county roads and the creation of
publicly accessible road datasets, 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 ``Modernizing Access to Public Roads
Act'' or ``MAP Roads Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNTY ROAD ACCESS AND MAPPING PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) County.--The term ``county'' has meaning given the term
in section 101 of title 23, United States Code.
(2) County road.--The term ``county road'' means a public
road (as defined in section 101 of title 23, United States
Code) that is recognized and maintained by a county government.
(3) Digitization.--The term ``digitization'' means the
process of converting physical or analog map-based information
into standardized electronic formats to produce geospatial
data.
(4) Geospatial data.--The term ``geospatial data'' has the
meaning given the term in section 752 of the Geospatial Data
Act of 2018 (43 U.S.C. 2801).
(5) Program.--The term ``program'' means the pilot program
established under subsection (b).
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Transportation.
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a pilot program to
provide grants to States to support rural commerce, increase public
safety, and improve public access and navigation by funding the
digitization of county roads and the creation of centralized, publicly
accessible road datasets.
(c) Application.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
the program, a State shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such form, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require.
(2) Requirement.--An application submitted under paragraph
(1) shall demonstrate the capacity of the State to administer--
(A) a subgrant program to distribute funds to
counties; and
(B) a statewide repository for county road data.
(3) Priority.--In selecting an application for a grant
under the program, the Secretary shall give priority to an
application in which the applicant State--
(A) identifies a significant deficiency in
digitized county roads within the State; and
(B) expresses a commitment to coordinating with
counties to create shared geospatial data standards.
(d) Use of Funds.--
(1) County activities.--Funds distributed to counties under
the program may be used--
(A) to digitize official county road records;
(B) to convert paper maps or outdated formats to
standardized geospatial datasets; and
(C) to train personnel or hire contractors to
assist in data creation and conversion.
(2) State repository.--The State department of
transportation of each State participating in the program
shall--
(A) serve as the centralized data repository for
all road data produced by counties in the applicable
State under the program;
(B) ensure that such data--
(i) is published on a publicly accessible
website;
(ii) is organized in a manner that
distinguishes between public and private roads;
(iii) is compatible with third-party
mapping platforms; and
(iv) is updated not less frequently than
annually; and
(C) to the maximum extent practicable, coordinate
with Federal agencies and mapping authorities to align
data formats and metadata.
(e) Reporting Requirements.--Not later than 180 days after the
establishment of the program, and annually thereafter for 3 years, each
State awarded a grant under the program shall submit to the Secretary a
report, which shall include, with respect to the period of time since
the previous report--
(1) a list of counties that received a subgrant;
(2) the amount of funding distributed to each county;
(3) the number of miles of county roads digitized under the
program;
(4) the status of State repository development and data
integration efforts; and
(5) any recommendations for improvement or expansion of the
program.
(f) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this Act--
(1) confers any new authority on a county or State to
declare, designate, or assert jurisdiction over a road as a
county road where such designation or jurisdiction does not
otherwise exist under applicable State or local law;
(2) alters, affects, or determines the legal status of any
road for purposes of ownership, jurisdiction, or public access;
or
(3) limits or expands any existing rights, claims, or
defenses relating to road ownership, rights-of-way, or public
access under Federal, State, or local law.
(g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act permits the public
disclosure of geographic information system data regarding the nature,
location, character, or ownership of historic, paleontological, or
archaeological resources that is protected under any other provision of
law.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2026 through 2031, to remain available until
expended.
(2) Administrative expenses.--Of the amounts made available
to carry out the program for each fiscal year, the Secretary
may use not more than 2 percent to administer the program.
(i) Sunset.--The authority to make grants under this section shall
terminate on September 30, 2031.
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