IMAGINE Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1159 To encourage the research and use of innovative materials and associated techniques in the construction and preservation of the domestic transpor- tation and water infrastructure system, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 13, 2019 Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in ad- dition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To encourage the research and use of innovative materials and associated techniques in the construction and preser- vation of the domestic transportation and water infra- structure system, 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 ‘‘Innovative Materials 4 for America’s Growth and Infrastructure Newly Expanded 5 Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘IMAGINE Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1159 IH SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 1 The purposes of this Act are— 2 (1) to encourage the research and use of inno- 3 vative materials, in concert with traditional mate- 4 rials, and associated techniques in the construction 5 and preservation of the domestic infrastructure net- 6 work; 7 (2) to accelerate the deployment and extend the 8 service life, improve the performance, and reduce the 9 cost of infrastructure projects; and 10 (3) to improve the economy, resilience, main- 11 tainability, sustainability, and safety of the domestic 12 infrastructure network. 13 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF INNOVATIVE MATERIAL. 14 In this Act, the term ‘‘innovative material’’, with re- 15 spect to an infrastructure project, includes high perform- 16 ance asphalt mixtures and concrete formulations, 17 geosynthetic materials, advanced insulating materials, ad- 18 vanced alloys and metals, reinforced polymer composites, 19 advanced polymers, nanocellulose and wood-based compos- 20 ites, coatings, highly functional adhesives, or other corro- 21 sion prevention methods used in conjunction with those 22 materials, and any other material or aggregate materials, 23 as determined by the appropriate agency or department 24 head. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1159 IH SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY INNOVATIVE MATERIALS STAND- 1 ARDS TASK FORCE. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 5 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech- 6 nology shall establish an Interagency Innovative Ma- 7 terials Standards Task Force (referred to in this 8 section as the ‘‘Task Force’’) composed of the heads 9 of Federal agencies responsible for significant civil 10 infrastructure projects, including— 11 (A) the Administrator of the Federal High- 12 way Administration; 13 (B) the Commanding General and Chief of 14 Engineers of the Corps of Engineers; 15 (C) the Assistant Secretary of the Army 16 for Civil Works; and 17 (D) the Administrator of the Environ- 18 mental Protection Agency. 19 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Na- 20 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall 21 serve as Chairperson of the Task Force. 22 (b) PURPOSE.—The Task Force shall coordinate and 23 improve, with respect to infrastructure construction, retro- 24 fitting, rehabilitation, and other improvements— 25 (1) Federal testing standards; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1159 IH (2) Federal design and use guidelines; 1 (3) Federal regulations; and 2 (4) other applicable standards. 3 (c) REPORT.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Task 6 Force shall conduct, and submit to the appropriate 7 committees of Congress a report that describes the 8 results of, a study— 9 (A) to assess the standards for the use of 10 innovative materials in infrastructure projects; 11 (B) to identify any barriers, regulatory or 12 otherwise, relating to the standards described in 13 subparagraph (A) that preclude the use of cer- 14 tain products or associated techniques; and 15 (C) to identify opportunities for the devel- 16 opment of standardized designs that use inno- 17 vative materials to reduce costs, improve per- 18 formance, and extend the service life of infra- 19 structure assets. 20 (2) REPORT.—The report under paragraph (1) 21 shall— 22 (A) identify any non-Federal entities or 23 other organizations, including the American As- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1159 IH sociation of State Highway and Transportation 1 Officials, that develop relevant standards; and 2 (B) outline a strategy to improve coordina- 3 tion and information sharing between the enti- 4 ties described in subparagraph (A) and any rel- 5 evant Federal agencies. 6 (d) IMPROVED COORDINATION.—Not later than 2 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Task 8 Force shall collaborate with any non-Federal entity identi- 9 fied under subsection (c)(2)(A)— 10 (1) to identify and carry out appropriate re- 11 search, testing methods, and processes relating to 12 the development and use of innovative materials; 13 (2) to develop new methods and processes relat- 14 ing to the development and use of innovative mate- 15 rials, as the applicable agency head determines to be 16 necessary; 17 (3) to contribute to the development of stand- 18 ards and guidelines for the use of innovative mate- 19 rials and approaches in civil infrastructure projects; 20 (4) to develop a plan for addressing potential 21 barriers, regulatory or otherwise, identified in sub- 22 section (c)(1)(B); and 23 (5) to develop a plan for the development of 24 standardized designs that use innovative materials to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1159 IH reduce costs, improve performance, and extend the 1 service life of infrastructure assets. 2 SEC. 5. INNOVATIVE MATERIAL INNOVATION HUBS. 3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) HUB.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ means an Innova- 5 tive Material Innovation Hub established under this 6 section. 7 (2) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali- 8 fying entity’’ means— 9 (A) an institution of higher education (as 10 defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu- 11 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))); 12 (B) an appropriate Federal or State entity, 13 including a federally funded research and devel- 14 opment center of the Department of Transpor- 15 tation; 16 (C) a university transportation center 17 under section 5505 of title 49, United States 18 Code; 19 (D) an Innovative Material Innovation 20 Hub in existence on the date of enactment of 21 this Act; and 22 (E) any other relevant entity the Secretary 23 determines to be appropriate. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1159 IH (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Transportation. 2 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 4 out a program to enhance the development of inno- 5 vative materials in the United States by making 6 awards to consortia for establishing and operating 7 new Hubs, to be known as ‘‘Innovative Material In- 8 novation Hubs’’, to conduct and support multidisci- 9 plinary, collaborative research, development, dem- 10 onstration, standardized design development, and 11 commercial application of innovative materials. 12 (2) LOCATION OF HUBS.—To the extent prac- 13 ticable, each Hub shall be located at 1 centralized lo- 14 cation. 15 (3) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS.—The 16 Secretary shall designate for each new Hub a unique 17 innovative material focus, such as material develop- 18 ment, infrastructure applications, and other focus 19 areas identified by the Secretary. 20 (4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en- 21 sure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary du- 22 plication of, the activities of each Hub with the ac- 23 tivities of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1159 IH (A) other research entities of the Depart- 1 ment of Transportation, including the Federal 2 Highway Administration; 3 (B) the National Laboratories (as defined 4 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 5 (42 U.S.C. 15801)); 6 (C) the Corps of Engineers; 7 (D) the Environmental Protection Agency; 8 (E) the Federal Emergency Management 9 Agency; 10 (F) the National Institute of Standards 11 and Technology; 12 (G) the Department of Defense; 13 (H) an industry consortium meeting the 14 requirements under subsection (c)(1); and 15 (I) any other Federal agencies or industry 16 consortia conducting substantially similar work. 17 (c) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 18 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive an 19 award for the establishment and operation of a Hub 20 under subsection (b)(1), a consortium shall— 21 (A) be composed of not fewer than 2 quali- 22 fying entities; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1159 IH (B) operate subject to a binding agree- 1 ment, entered into by each member of the con- 2 sortium, that documents— 3 (i) the proposed partnership agree- 4 ment, including the governance and man- 5 agement structure of the Hub; 6 (ii) measures the consortium will un- 7 dertake to enable cost-effective implemen- 8 tation of activities under the program de- 9 scribed in subsection (b)(1); and 10 (iii) a proposed budget, including fi- 11 nancial contributions from non-Federal 12 sources; and 13 (C) operate as a nonprofit organization. 14 (2) APPLICATION.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—A consortium seeking 16 to establish and operate a Hub under sub- 17 section (b)(1) shall submit to the Secretary an 18 application at such time, in such manner, and 19 containing such information as the Secretary 20 may require, including a detailed description 21 of— 22 (i) each element of the consortium 23 agreement required under paragraph 24 (1)(B); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1159 IH (ii) any existing facilities the consor- 1 tium intends to provide for Hub activities. 2 (B) REQUIREMENT.—If the consortium 3 members will not be located at 1 centralized lo- 4 cation, the application under subparagraph (A) 5 shall include a communications plan that en- 6 sures close coordination and integration of Hub 7 activities. 8 (3) SELECTION.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall se- 10 lect consortia for awards for the establishment 11 and operation of Hubs through a competitive 12 selection process. 13 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting con- 14 sortia under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 15 shall consider— 16 (i) the information disclosed by the 17 consortium under this subsection; 18 (ii) any existing facilities a consortium 19 will provide for Hub activities; and 20 (iii) maintaining regional variety in lo- 21 cations of selected Hubs. 22 (d) TERM.—An award made to a Hub under this sec- 23 tion shall be for a period of not more than 5 years, subject 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1159 IH to the availability of appropriations, after which the award 1 may be renewed, subject to a rigorous merit review. 2 (e) HUB OPERATIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Hub shall conduct or 4 provide for multidisciplinary, collaborative research, 5 development, demonstration, and commercial appli- 6 cation of innovative materials within the technology 7 development focus designated under subsection 8 (b)(3). 9 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Each Hub shall— 10 (A) encourage collaboration and commu- 11 nication among the member qualifying entities 12 of the consortium as described in subsection 13 (c)(1) and awardees; 14 (B) develop and publish proposed plans 15 and programs on a publicly accessible website; 16 (C) submit to the Department of Trans- 17 portation an annual report summarizing the ac- 18 tivities of the Hub, including information— 19 (i) detailing organizational expendi- 20 tures; and 21 (ii) describing each project under- 22 taken by the Hub; and 23 (D) monitor project implementation and 24 coordination. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 1159 IH (3) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Each Hub shall 1 maintain conflict of interest procedures, consistent 2 with the conflict of interest procedures of the De- 3 partment of Transportation. 4 (4) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 6 subparagraph (B)— 7 (i) no funds provided under this sec- 8 tion may be used for construction of new 9 buildings or facilities for Hubs; and 10 (ii) construction of new buildings or 11 facilities shall not be considered as part of 12 the non-Federal share of a Hub cost-shar- 13 ing agreement. 14 (B) TEST BED AND RENOVATION EXCEP- 15 TION.—Nothing in this paragraph prohibits the 16 use of funds provided under this section or non- 17 Federal cost share funds for the construction of 18 a test bed or renovations to existing buildings 19 or facilities for the purposes of research if the 20 Secretary determines that the test bed or ren- 21 ovations are limited to a scope and scale nec- 22 essary for the research to be conducted. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 1159 IH SEC. 6. TURNER-FAIRBANK HIGHWAY RESEARCH CENTER. 1 Section 503(b)(7) of title 23, United States Code, is 2 amended by adding at the end the following [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]