Reconnecting Communities Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1202 To establish a program to improve community connectivity by identifying and removing or mitigating infrastructural barriers that create obstacles to mobility or economic development or expose the community to pollution and other health and safety risks, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 19, 2021 Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To establish a program to improve community connectivity by identifying and removing or mitigating infrastructural barriers that create obstacles to mobility or economic development or expose the community to pollution and other health and safety risks, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Reconnecting Commu- 4 nities Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1202 IS SEC. 2. CONNECTING COMMUNITIES GRANT PROGRAM. 1 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 2 (1) CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION GRANT.—The term 3 ‘‘capital construction grant’’ means a capital con- 4 struction grant under subsection (f). 5 (2) COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, EDUCATION, 6 AND CAPACITY BUILDING GRANT.—The term ‘‘com- 7 munity engagement, education, and capacity build- 8 ing grant’’ means a community engagement, edu- 9 cation, and capacity building grant under subsection 10 (d). 11 (3) COMMUNITY OF COLOR.—The term ‘‘com- 12 munity of color’’ means, in a State, a census block 13 group for which the aggregate percentage of resi- 14 dents who identify as Black, African-American, 15 American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, 16 Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Latino, other 17 nonwhite race, or linguistically isolated is— 18 (A) not less than 50 percent; or 19 (B) significantly higher than the State av- 20 erage. 21 (4) INFRASTRUCTURAL BARRIER.—The term 22 ‘‘infrastructural barrier’’ means a highway (includ- 23 ing a limited access highway), a railway, a viaduct, 24 a principal arterial facility, or any other transpor- 25 tation facility for which the high speeds, grade sepa- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1202 IS ration, or other design factors create an obstacle to 1 connectivity, including— 2 (A) obstacles to walking, biking, and mo- 3 bility; 4 (B) diminished access to destinations 5 across the infrastructural barrier; or 6 (C) barriers to the economic development 7 of the surrounding neighborhood. 8 (5) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 9 income community’’ means a census block group in 10 which not less than 30 percent of the population 11 lives below the poverty line (as defined in section 12 673 of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 13 U.S.C. 9902)). 14 (6) PLANNING AND FEASIBILITY STUDY 15 GRANT.—The term ‘‘planning and feasibility study 16 grant’’ means a planning and feasibility study grant 17 under subsection (e). 18 (7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 19 the program established under subsection (b). 20 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 21 the Secretary of Transportation. 22 (9) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 23 government’’ means the recognized governing body 24 of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1202 IS pueblo, village, community, component band, or com- 1 ponent reservation, individually identified (including 2 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 3 of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to sec- 4 tion 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 5 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 6 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 8 a program to help communities— 9 (A) identify infrastructural barriers within 10 the community that— 11 (i) create obstacles to mobility or eco- 12 nomic development; or 13 (ii) expose the community to high lev- 14 els of particulate matter, noise pollution, 15 and other public health and safety risks; 16 (B) study the feasibility of improving, and 17 develop plans to improve, community 18 connectivity, including through— 19 (i) removal or retrofit of an 20 infrastructural barrier; or 21 (ii) construction of facilities to miti- 22 gate the obstacle created by the 23 infrastructural barrier by enhancing 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1202 IS connectivity across the infrastructural bar- 1 rier; 2 (C) plan the redevelopment of any land 3 made available by the removal or retrofit of the 4 infrastructural barrier, with a focus on improve- 5 ments that will benefit the populations im- 6 pacted by or previously displaced by the 7 infrastructural barrier; 8 (D) access funding to carry out the activi- 9 ties described in subparagraphs (B) and (C); 10 and 11 (E) require the equity of any activities car- 12 ried out under the program, including by gar- 13 nering community engagement, avoiding dis- 14 placement, and ensuring local participation in 15 jobs created through those activities. 16 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—Under the program, 17 the Secretary shall award the following types of 18 grants: 19 (A) Community engagement, education, 20 and capacity building grants. 21 (B) Planning and feasibility study grants. 22 (C) Capital construction grants. 23 (3) MULTIPLE GRANTS PERMITTED.—An eligi- 24 ble entity may apply for and receive funding from 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1202 IS more than 1 type of grant described in paragraph 1 (2). 2 (c) REQUIREMENT FOR PROJECT SELECTION.—To 3 receive a grant under the program, a project shall provide 4 the majority of project benefits to 1 or more communities 5 of color or low-income communities. 6 (d) COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, EDUCATION, AND 7 CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS.— 8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may 9 award a community engagement, education, and ca- 10 pacity building grant to carry out community en- 11 gagement, education, and capacity building activities 12 described in paragraph (2) to— 13 (A) a political subdivision of a State or 14 local government; 15 (B) a Tribal government; 16 (C) a metropolitan planning organization; 17 and 18 (D) a nonprofit organization. 19 (2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A community en- 20 gagement and capacity building activity referred to 21 in paragraph (1) includes an activity— 22 (A) to educate community members about 23 opportunities to affect transportation and eco- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1202 IS nomic development planning and investment de- 1 cisions; 2 (B) to build organizational or community 3 capacity to engage in transportation and eco- 4 nomic development planning; 5 (C) to identify community needs and de- 6 sires for community improvements; 7 (D) to develop community-driven solutions 8 to local challenges; 9 (E) to conduct assessments of equity, mo- 10 bility and access, environmental justice, afford- 11 ability, economic opportunity, health outcomes, 12 and other local goals; 13 (F) to form a community advisory board in 14 accordance with subsection (g); and 15 (G) to engage community members in sce- 16 nario planning. 17 (3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 18 the cost of an activity carried out with funds from 19 a community engagement, education, and capacity 20 building grant may be up to 100 percent, at the dis- 21 cretion of the eligible entity. 22 (e) PLANNING AND FEASIBILITY STUDY GRANTS.— 23 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1202 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 1 award a planning and feasibility study grant to 2 carry out planning activities described in para- 3 graph (2) to— 4 (i) a State; 5 (ii) a political subdivision of a State 6 or local government; 7 (iii) a Tribal government; 8 (iv) a metropolitan planning organiza- 9 tion; and 10 (v) a nonprofit organization. 11 (B) PARTNERSHIPS.—In the case of an eli- 12 gible entity that is not the owner of the 13 infrastructural barrier that is the subject of the 14 planning and feasibility study grant, the eligible 15 entity shall demonstrate the existence of a part- 16 nership with the owner of the infrastructural 17 barrier. 18 (2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A planning activity 19 referred to in paragraph (1)(A) includes— 20 (A) development of designs and artistic 21 renderings to facilitate community engagement; 22 (B) traffic studies, nonmotorized accessi- 23 bility analyses, equity needs analyses, and col- 24 lection of other relevant data; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1202 IS (C) planning studies to evaluate the feasi- 1 bility of removing or retrofitting an 2 infrastructural barrier, or the construction of 3 facilities to mitigate the obstacle created by the 4 infrastructural barrier by enhancing 5 connectivity across the infrastructural barrier; 6 (D) public engagement activities to provide 7 opportunities for public input into a plan to re- 8 move, convert, or mitigate an infrastructural 9 barrier; 10 (E) environmental review, consultation, or 11 other action required under any Federal envi- 12 ronmental law relating to the review or ap- 13 proval of a project to remove, retrofit, or miti- 14 gate an existing infrastructural barrier; 15 (F) establishment of a community land 16 trust for the development and use of real estate 17 created by the removal or capping of an 18 infrastructural barrier; and 19 (G) other transportation planning activities 20 required in advance of a project to remove, ret- 21 rofit or mitigate an existing infrastructural bar- 22 rier, as determined by the Secretary. 23 (3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1202 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 1 provide to an eligible entity technical assistance 2 in building organizational or community capac- 3 ity— 4 (i) to engage in transportation plan- 5 ning; and 6 (ii) to identify innovative solutions to 7 infrastructure challenges, including recon- 8 necting communities that— 9 (I) are bifurcated by eligible fa- 10 cilities; or 11 (II) lack safe, reliable, and af- 12 fordable transportation choices. 13 (B) PRIORITIES.—In selecting recipients of 14 technical assistance under subparagraph (A), 15 the Secretary shall give priority to an applica- 16 tion from a community that is economically dis- 17 advantaged. 18 (4) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 19 the cost of an activity carried out with funds from 20 a planning and feasibility study grant shall be not 21 more than 80 percent. 22 (f) CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION GRANTS.— 23 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may 24 award a capital construction grant to the owner of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1202 IS an infrastructural barrier to carry out a project de- 1 scribed in paragraph (3) for which all necessary fea- 2 sibility studies and other planning activities have 3 been completed. 4 (2) PARTNERSHIPS.—For the purpose of sub- 5 mitting an application for a capital construction 6 grant, an owner of an infrastructural barrier may, if 7 applicable, partner with— 8 (A) a State; 9 (B) a unit of local government; 10 (C) a Tribal government; 11 (D) a metropolitan planning organization; 12 or 13 (E) a nonprofit organization. 14 (3) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—A project eligible to be 16 carried out with a capital construction grant in- 17 cludes— 18 (i) the removal of an infrastructural 19 barrier; 20 (ii) the retrofit of an infrastructural 21 barrier in a way that enhances community 22 connectivity and is sensitive to the context 23 of the surrounding community, including 24 retrofits to a highway to cap the facility or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1202 IS replace the facility with an at-grade arte- 1 rial roadway; 2 (iii) the construction of facilities that 3 improve connectivity across the 4 infrastructural barrier; 5 (iv) the replacement of an 6 infrastructural barrier with a new use or 7 facility that has been identified by mem- 8 bers of the community; and 9 (v) the construction of other transpor- 10 tation improvements that address the mo- 11 bility needs of the community. 12 (B) EXCLUSION.—Funds from a capital 13 construction grant shall not be used on a 14 project that increases net capacity for vehicular 15 travel. 16 (4) PRIORITY FOR CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION 17 GRANTS.—In selecting eligible entities to receive a 18 capital construction grant, the Secretary shall give 19 priority to an eligible entity that— 20 (A) has entered into a community benefits 21 agreement with representatives of the commu- 22 nity; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1202.IS S1202 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1202 IS (B) serves a community in which an anti- 1 displacement policy or a community land trust 2 is in effect; 3 (C) has formed a community advisory 4 board under subsection (g); or 5 (D) has demonstrated a plan for— 6 (i) employing residents in the area im- 7 pacted by the activity or project through 8 targeted hiring programs; and 9 (ii) contracting and subcontracting 10 with disadvantaged business enterprises. 11 (5) REQUIREMENT.—In order to receive a cap- 12 ital construction grant, the owner of the 13 infrastructural barrier shall demonstrate that the 14 project is supported by [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]