GREEN Ferries Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3516 To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Trans- portation to make zero-emission or reduced-emission passenger ferry grants, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself and Mr. PAYNE) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to make zero-emission or reduced-emission passenger ferry grants, 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 ‘‘Greenhouse gas Reduc- 4 tion and Environmental Enhancement through New Fer- 5 ries Act’’ or the ‘‘GREEN Ferries Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3516.IH H3516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3516 IH SEC. 2. PASSENGER FERRY GRANTS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5307(h) of title 49, 2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 3 following paragraph: 4 ‘‘(4) ZERO-EMISSION OR REDUCED-EMISSION 5 GRANTS.— 6 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 7 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term 8 ‘eligible project’ means a project or pro- 9 gram of projects in an area eligible for a 10 grant under subsection (a) for— 11 ‘‘(I) acquiring zero- or reduced- 12 emission passenger ferries; 13 ‘‘(II) leasing zero- or reduced- 14 emission passenger ferries; 15 ‘‘(III) constructing new vessels, 16 facilities, and related equipment for 17 zero- or reduced-emission passenger 18 ferries; 19 ‘‘(IV) leasing facilities and re- 20 lated equipment for zero- or reduced- 21 emission passenger ferries; 22 ‘‘(V) constructing new public 23 transportation facilities to accommo- 24 date zero- or reduced-emission pas- 25 senger ferries; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3516.IH H3516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3516 IH ‘‘(VI) constructing shoreside 1 ferry charging or fueling infrastruc- 2 ture for zero- or reduced-emission 3 passenger ferries; or 4 ‘‘(VII) rehabilitating or improv- 5 ing existing public transportation fa- 6 cilities to accommodate zero- or re- 7 duced-emission passenger ferries. 8 ‘‘(ii) ZERO- OR REDUCED-EMISSION 9 PASSENGER FERRY.— 10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The term 11 ‘zero- or reduced-emission passenger 12 ferry’ means a passenger ferry used to 13 provide public transportation that re- 14 duces operational lifecycle emissions 15 by at least 75 percent through the use 16 of eligible technologies and fuels, that 17 may include utilizing onboard energy 18 storage systems or alternative fuels, 19 hybrid-electric or 100 percent electric 20 propulsion, related shoreside charging 21 or fueling infrastructure, and other 22 technologies deployed under normal 23 operation. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3516.IH H3516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3516 IH ‘‘(iii) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘recipi- 1 ent’ means a designated recipient, a local 2 government authority, or a State that re- 3 ceives a grant under subsection (a). 4 ‘‘(B) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Sec- 5 retary may make grants to recipients to finance 6 eligible projects under this paragraph. 7 ‘‘(C) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—A grant 8 under this paragraph shall be subject to the 9 same terms and conditions as a grant under 10 subsection (a). 11 ‘‘(D) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—The Sec- 12 retary shall solicit grant applications and make 13 grants for eligible projects under this paragraph 14 on a competitive basis. 15 ‘‘(E) GOVERNMENT SHARE OF COSTS.— 16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share 17 of the cost of an eligible project carried out 18 under this paragraph shall not exceed 80 19 percent. 20 ‘‘(ii) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The 21 non-Federal share of the cost of an eligible 22 project carried out under this subsection 23 may be derived from in-kind contribu- 24 tions.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3516.IH H3516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3516 IH (b) SET ASIDE.—Section 5336(h)(1) of title 49, 1 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 2 ‘‘(1) to carry out section 5307(h)— 3 ‘‘(A) $60,906,000 shall be set aside in fis- 4 cal year 2022, of which, not less than 5 $20,000,000 shall be used to make grants 6 under section 5307(h)(4); 7 ‘‘(B) $61,856,134 shall be set aside in fis- 8 cal year 2023, of which, not less than 9 $20,000,000 shall be used to make grants 10 under section 5307(h)(4); 11 ‘‘(C) $62,845,832 shall be set aside in fis- 12 cal year 2024, of which, not less than 13 $20,000,000 shall be used to make grants 14 under section 5307(h)(4); and 15 ‘‘(D) $63,832,511 shall be set aside in fis- 16 cal year 2025, of which, not less than 17 $20,000,000 shall be used to make grants 18 under section 5307(h)(4);’’. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3516.IH H3516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS