SAFE TO DRIVE Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 195 To amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transpor- tation to provide States applying for distracted driving grants an expla- nation of the eligibility decision with respect to the State, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Sec- retary of Transportation to provide States applying for distracted driving grants an explanation of the eligibility decision with respect to the State, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘States Afforded Fund- 4 ing Extensions To Oppose Driving Recklessly In Vehicular 5 Engagements Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE TO DRIVE Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.IS S195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 195 IS SEC. 2. NATIONAL PRIORITY SAFETY PROGRAMS. 1 Section 405(e) of title 23, United States Code, is 2 amended— 3 (1) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 4 following: 5 ‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL DISTRACTED DRIVING 6 GRANTS.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para- 8 graph (1), the Secretary shall use up to 25 per- 9 cent of the amounts available for grants under 10 this subsection to award grants to any State 11 that— 12 ‘‘(i) is otherwise ineligible for a grant 13 under this subsection; and 14 ‘‘(ii) certifies that the State has en- 15 acted a statute that— 16 ‘‘(I) is applicable to drivers of all 17 ages; 18 ‘‘(II) makes a violation of the 19 statute a primary offense; and 20 ‘‘(III) prohibits— 21 ‘‘(aa) texting; or 22 ‘‘(bb) non-navigational view- 23 ing of a personal wireless com- 24 munications device. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.IS S195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 195 IS ‘‘(B) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Notwith- 1 standing paragraph (5), amounts received by a 2 State under subparagraph (A) may be used for 3 activities related to the enforcement of dis- 4 tracted driving laws, including for public infor- 5 mation and awareness purposes.’’; 6 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para- 7 graph (10); and 8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(9) DETERMINATIONS OF GRANT ELIGI- 11 BILITY.— 12 ‘‘(A) EXPLANATION OF DETERMINA- 13 TION.—In making an eligibility determination 14 in granting or denying an application of a State 15 for a grant under this subsection, the Secretary 16 shall provide each applicant State with an ex- 17 planation of that determination, including an 18 explanation of whether each section of the stat- 19 ute submitted with the application met or did 20 not meet the requirements for a grant under 21 this subsection. 22 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF DETERMINATION.— 23 Not later than 60 days after granting or deny- 24 ing an application for a grant under this sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.IS S195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 195 IS section, the Secretary shall make the expla- 1 nation under subparagraph (A) publicly avail- 2 able on the website of the Department of 3 Transportation.’’. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S195.IS S195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS