SAFE TO DRIVE Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 762 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 such State, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI (for himself, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. GALLAGHER) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Trans- portation and Infrastructure 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 such 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 18:12 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H762.IH H762 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 762 IH 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 otherwise ineligible under this subsection that 12 certifies that such State has enacted a statute 13 that— 14 ‘‘(i) is applicable to drivers of all ages; 15 ‘‘(ii) makes a violation of the statute 16 a primary offense; and 17 ‘‘(iii) prohibits— 18 ‘‘(I) texting, as defined in para- 19 graph (10)(E); or 20 ‘‘(II) non-navigational viewing of 21 a personal wireless communication de- 22 vice. 23 ‘‘(B) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Notwith- 24 standing paragraph (5), amounts received by a 25 State under subparagraph (A) may be used for 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H762.IH H762 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 762 IH activities related to the enforcement of dis- 1 tracted driving laws, including for public infor- 2 mation and awareness purposes.’’; 3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para- 4 graph (10); and 5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(9) DETERMINATIONS OF GRANT ELIGI- 8 BILITY.— 9 ‘‘(A) EXPLANATION OF DETERMINA- 10 TION.—In making an eligibility determination 11 in granting or denying an application of a State 12 for a grant under this subsection, the Secretary 13 shall provide each applicant State with an ex- 14 planation of such determination, including an 15 explanation of whether each section of the stat- 16 ute submitted with such application met or did 17 not meet the requirements for a grant under 18 this subsection. 19 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF DETERMINATION.— 20 Not later than 60 days after granting or deny- 21 ing an application for a grant under this sub- 22 section, the Secretary shall make the deter- 23 mination under subparagraph (A) publicly 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H762.IH H762 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 762 IH available on the Department of Transportation 1 website.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H762.IH H762 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS