[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 8 (Tuesday, February 1, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S752-S753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeMINT:
  S. 248. A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to permit 
States to carry out surface transportation program projects on local 
roads to address safety concerns; to the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works.
  Mr. DeMINT. Mr. President, each State has unique road needs and 
different transportation priorities. In order to more effectively 
leverage limited dollars, State transportation agencies need increased 
flexibility to use Federal funds for projects identified as safety 
concerns.
  Currently, when an urgent need arises, a State must apply to the 
Secretary of Transportation for a waiver and fill out mountains of 
paperwork in order to transfer funds to critical priorities. We need to 
empower States to make their own decisions when it comes to meeting 
their most urgent safety needs.
  Today, I introduce legislation called the Surface Transportation 
Adaptability to Ensure Safety Act or ``STATES Act,'' which allows 
States to undertake a surface transportation project on any State-
maintained public road if the State determines that the project is 
necessary to address high fatality rates or other safety concerns.
  This bill empowers States, such as South Carolina, to respond to 
serious needs quickly, while also allowing them to make the most 
efficient use of the transportation dollars they receive. Under this 
legislation, a State can decide to use its Surface Transportation 
Program funding on a road functionally classified as a rural or minor 
collector without getting permission from Washington.

[[Page S753]]

  No red tape. No Federal bureaucracy. Just a decision made at the 
local level by the people with the best understanding of the situation. 
It is time to bring safety decisions down to the local level and give 
each State the discretion to allocate funds to the most pressing safety 
concerns in its highway program.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 248

       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 ``Surface Transportation 
     Adaptability to Ensure Safety (STATES) Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. LOCATION OF SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM PROJECTS.

        Section 133(c) of title 23, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``Except'' and inserting the following:
       ``(1) In general.--Except''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Safety projects.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a 
     State may undertake a surface transportation program project 
     on any State-maintained public road, including a road 
     functionally classified as a local or rural minor collector, 
     if the State determines that the project is necessary to 
     address high fatality rates or other safety concerns.''.
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