Less Traffic with Smart Stop Lights Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3261 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a Smart Technology Traffic Signals Grant Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 13, 2019 Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, and Mr. SCHWEIKERT) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Trans- portation and Infrastructure A BILL To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a Smart Technology Traffic Signals Grant Program, 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 ‘‘Less Traffic with 4 Smart Stop Lights Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. SMART TECHNOLOGY TRAFFIC SIGNALS GRANT 6 PROGRAM. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3261.IH H3261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3261 IH portation shall establish a Smart Technology Traffic Sig- 1 nals Grant Program (in this section referred to as the 2 ‘‘Program’’) to improve the functioning of traffic signals 3 in a manner that— 4 (1) reduces traffic congestion; 5 (2) improves the safety and effectiveness of 6 roadways; 7 (3) reduces fuel costs for drivers; and 8 (4) reduces air pollution. 9 (b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the Pro- 10 gram, the Secretary may make grants, on a competitive 11 basis, to a State, local, or Tribal government entity. 12 (c) GRANT USES.—An entity awarded a grant under 13 the Program shall use the grant to improve traffic signals 14 through the implementation of innovative technology, in- 15 cluding— 16 (1) adaptive signal control technology; and 17 (2) real-time data measurement technology. 18 (d) TIMING.—A grant awarded to an entity under the 19 Program shall be fully expended not later than the date 20 that is 3 years after the date on which initial grant 21 amounts are made available to the entity. 22 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 24 graph (2), the Federal share of the costs of a project 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3261.IH H3261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3261 IH assisted with a grant under the Program may not 1 exceed 80 percent. 2 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may waive 3 paragraph (1) if a State, local, or Tribal government 4 entity demonstrates, as determined by the Secretary, 5 extreme financial hardship. 6 (3) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The non-Fed- 7 eral share of the costs of a project assisted with a 8 grant under the Program may be derived in whole 9 or in part from in-kind contributions. 10 (f) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant under 11 the Program, a State, local, or Tribal government entity 12 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 13 in such form, and containing such information as the Sec- 14 retary determines appropriate. 15 (g) PROHIBITION.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant awarded under the 17 Program may not be used to purchase, operate, or 18 maintain an automated traffic enforcement system. 19 (2) AUTOMATED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT SYS- 20 TEM DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘auto- 21 mated traffic enforcement system’’ means any device 22 that captures an image of or information from a ve- 23 hicle for the purposes of traffic law enforcement. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3261.IH H3261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3261 IH (h) CROWDSOURCING.—Notwithstanding section 1 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary may 2 accept, subject to regulations issued by the Office of Per- 3 sonnel Management, voluntary services if— 4 (1) such services are accepted by the Secretary 5 for an authorized use under subsection (c); 6 (2) volunteers are not financially compensated; 7 and 8 (3) volunteers will not be used to displace any 9 employee of the Federal Government. 10 (i) FUNDING.— 11 (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 12 the Secretary may use amounts made available to 13 carry out the surface transportation block grant pro- 14 gram (established under section 133(a) of title 23, 15 United States Code) and the congestion mitigation 16 and air quality improvement program (established 17 under section 149(a) of title 23, United States 18 Code) to carry out the Program. 19 (2) Paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to 20 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of 21 this Act. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3261.IH H3261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS