Highway Cost Allocation Study Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1659 To require the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a highway cost allocation study, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 17, 2021 Ms. LUMMIS (for herself and Mr. KELLY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To require the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a highway cost allocation study, 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 ‘‘Highway Cost Alloca- 4 tion Study Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) the Highway Trust Fund was designed to 8 be self-sustaining by relying on user fees from mo- 9 torists on the roadways; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1659.IS S1659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1659 IS (2) however, since 2008, the Highway Trust 1 Fund has experienced a revenue shortfall; 2 (3) Congress has relied on transfers from the 3 general fund of the Treasury to supplement the 4 Highway Trust Fund since that time, undermining 5 the user fee model; 6 (4) the Department of Transportation last com- 7 pleted a highway cost allocation study in 1997; and 8 (5) the information gained from an updated 9 highway cost allocation study could allow Congress 10 to equitably ensure the long-term solvency of the 11 Highway Trust Fund. 12 SEC. 3. HIGHWAY COST ALLOCATION STUDY. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the 14 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor- 15 tation (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in 16 coordination with State departments of transportation, 17 shall carry out a highway cost allocation study to deter- 18 mine the direct costs of highway use by various types of 19 users. 20 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The study under subsection (a) 21 shall include an examination of— 22 (1) the Federal costs occasioned in the design, 23 construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of 24 Federal-aid highways by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1659.IS S1659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1659 IS (A) the use of vehicles of different dimen- 1 sions, weights, number of axles, and other spec- 2 ifications; and 3 (B) the frequency of those vehicles in the 4 traffic stream; and 5 (2) the proportionate share of the costs de- 6 scribed in paragraph (1) that are attributable to 7 each class of highway users. 8 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the study 9 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 10 (1) ensure that the study examines only direct 11 Federal costs of highway use; 12 (2) capture the various driving conditions in 13 different geographic areas of the United States; and 14 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, distin- 15 guish between costs directly occasioned by a highway 16 user class and costs occasioned by all highway user 17 classes. 18 (d) REPORTS.— 19 (1) INTERIM REPORTS.—Not less frequently 20 than annually during the period during which the 21 Secretary is carrying out the study under subsection 22 (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress an in- 23 terim report on the progress of the study. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1659.IS S1659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1659 IS (2) FINAL REPORT.—On completion of the 1 study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall sub- 2 mit to Congress a final report on the results of the 3 study, including the recommendations under sub- 4 section (e). 5 (e) RECOMMENDATIONS.—On completion of the 6 study under subsection (a), the Secretary, in coordination 7 with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall develop rec- 8 ommendations for a set of revenue options to fully cover 9 the costs occasioned by highway users, including rec- 10 ommendations for— 11 (1) changes to existing revenue streams; and 12 (2) new revenue streams based on user fees. 13 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 15 such sums as are necessary. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1659.IS S1659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS