BE SAFE Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1709 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program to improve evacuation routes in rural communities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 4, 2019 Mr. JONES (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. CASSIDY) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Envi- ronment and Public Works A BILL To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program to improve evacuation routes in rural communities, 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 ‘‘Bolstering Emergency 4 routes to Save Americans From Extreme weather Act of 5 2019’’ or the ‘‘BE SAFE Act of 2019’’. 6 SEC. 2. EVACUATION ROUTE PROGRAM. 7 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab- 8 lish a competitive grant program that would improve 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1709.IS S1709 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1709 IS emergency evacuation routes in small and rural commu- 1 nities through— 2 (1) the construction of State and local con- 3 nector roads that facilitate access to broader thor- 4 oughfares, such as Federal highways; and 5 (2) the improvement or expansion of existing 6 roads and bridges where traffic congestion is a con- 7 cern for the safe and efficient evacuation of small 8 communities and rural counties in the event of ex- 9 treme weather events, such as hurricanes, wildfires, 10 and flooding. 11 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 12 of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of 13 the Federal Highway Administration (referred to in this 14 Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall establish a competitive 15 grant program in accordance with this section to provide 16 grants to eligible entities described in subsection (c) for 17 transportation infrastructure projects in rural counties 18 that connect small communities to broader thoroughfares 19 and evacuation routes that are essential for supporting 20 mass evacuations caused by emergency weather events. 21 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may award 22 a grant under this section to any of the following entities: 23 (1) A State. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1709.IS S1709 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1709 IS (2) A regional planning organization or eco- 1 nomic development authority. 2 (3) A unit of local government. 3 (4) A political subdivision of a State or unit of 4 local government. 5 (5) A special purpose district or public author- 6 ity with a transportation function, including a port 7 authority or airport. 8 (6) A Federal land management agency that 9 applies for the grant jointly with a State or group 10 of States. 11 (7) A Tribal government or a consortium of 12 Tribal governments. 13 (d) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Secretary may award 14 a grant under this section for a project— 15 (1) in an area that is— 16 (A) within a city or county with a popu- 17 lation of less than 200,000 individuals; and 18 (B) frequently impacted by extreme weath- 19 er events and related hazards, as designated by 20 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 21 Management Agency; and 22 (2)(A) to build new connector roads; 23 (B) to improve or expand existing roads that 24 are inadequate for efficient evacuation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1709.IS S1709 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1709 IS (C) to expand 2-lane bridges that require ex- 1 pansion for efficient evacuation; 2 (D) to extend existing highways to connect to 3 the Interstate System (as defined in section 101(a) 4 of title 23, United States Code), more directly; or 5 (E) to connect State and local roads and high- 6 ways to evacuation routes in adjacent States. 7 (e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The Secretary may award 8 a grant under this section in an amount that is not greater 9 than $100,000,000. 10 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 12 sums as are necessary to carry out this section. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1709.IS S1709 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS