Moving FIRST Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1939 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Challenge Grant Program to promote technological innovation in our Nation’s commu- nities. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 20, 2019 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. BURR, Mr. GARDNER, and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transpor- tation (SMART) Challenge Grant Program to promote technological innovation in our Nation’s communities. 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 TITLES. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Moving and Fostering 4 Innovation to Revolutionize Smarter Transportation Act’’ 5 or the ‘‘Moving FIRST Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1939 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) Beyond Traffic 2045, a comprehensive as- 3 sessment of the national transportation system re- 4 cently published by the Department of Transpor- 5 tation, identified transportation trends that need to 6 be proactively addressed, including— 7 (A) the population of the United States 8 will increase by 70,000,000 during the 30-year 9 period ending in 2045; 10 (B) emerging megaregions could absorb 75 11 percent of the United States population by 12 2050; 13 (C) freight volume will increase by more 14 than 40 percent by 2045; 15 (D) Americans are currently stuck in traf- 16 fic for more than 42 hours each year, on aver- 17 age; 18 (E) the current annual cost of congestion 19 in delays and lost fuel amounts to 20 $160,000,000,000; 21 (F) 96 people die in motor vehicle crashes 22 in the United States every day, on average, and 23 nearly 6,700 are injured per day; and 24 (G) connected vehicles and new crash 25 avoidance technology could potentially address 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1939 IS 81 percent of crashes involving unimpaired 1 drivers. 2 (2) According to the Department of Transpor- 3 tation, in 2015— 4 (A) traffic crash-related deaths increased 5 by more than 7 percent compared to 2014; 6 (B) pedestrian fatalities increased by more 7 than 9 percent compared to 2014; and 8 (C) pedalcyclist fatalities increased by 9 more than 12 percent compared to 2014. 10 (3) In 2015, the Secretary of Transportation 11 created the Smart City Challenge to assist cities in 12 addressing the challenges facing our Nation’s trans- 13 portation system through innovative and creative 14 means, utilizing both the public and the private sec- 15 tors. 16 (4) By asking American cities to use emerging 17 transportation technologies to address their most 18 pressing problems, the Smart City Challenge aimed 19 to spark and spread innovation through a mixture of 20 collaboration, competition, and experimentation. 21 (5) The following outcomes were expected from 22 the original Smart City Challenge and are expected 23 to result from the SMART grants awarded under 24 this Act: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1939 IS (A) Improved safety from the use of ad- 1 vanced technologies, including connected vehicle 2 technologies, to reduce the number of collisions, 3 fatalities, and injuries for vehicle occupants and 4 nonvehicle occupants. 5 (B) Enhanced mobility by providing 6 realtime traveler information and emerging mo- 7 bility services to improve personal mobility for 8 all citizens including people with lower incomes, 9 people with disabilities, and older adults. 10 (C) Enhanced ladders of opportunity by— 11 (i) providing access to advanced tech- 12 nology and its benefits for underserved 13 areas and residents; 14 (ii) increasing connectivity to employ- 15 ment, education, and other services; and 16 (iii) contributing to revitalization by 17 incentivized reinvestment in underserved 18 communities. 19 (D) Reduction in pollution by imple- 20 menting advanced technologies and policies that 21 support a more sustainable and cost-effective 22 relationship between transportation and the en- 23 vironment through more efficient fuel use and 24 emissions reductions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1939 IS SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) LARGE COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘large com- 3 munity’’ means a beneficiary community with a pop- 4 ulation between 400,000 and 1,000,000, according 5 to the Census Bureau’s most recent annual esti- 6 mates of resident population. 7 (2) MID-SIZED COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘mid- 8 sized community’’ means a beneficiary community 9 with a population between 75,000 and 400,000, or 10 a beneficiary community with a population between 11 10,000 and 75,000 that is located within an urban- 12 ized area or cluster, according to the Census Bu- 13 reau’s most recent annual estimates of resident pop- 14 ulation. 15 (3) MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL GROUP.—The term 16 ‘‘multi-jurisdictional group’’ means a beneficiary 17 composed of 2 or more combination of States, tribal 18 governments, local governments, public transit agen- 19 cies, public toll authorities, or metropolitan planning 20 agencies, each of which is eligible to apply for a 21 SMART grant under section 4. 22 (4) REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘re- 23 gional partnership’’ means a group of 2 or more ju- 24 risdictions with a combined population between 25 10,000 and 75,000, according to the Census Bu- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1939 IS reau’s most recent annual estimates of resident pop- 1 ulation, which have entered into a partnership to 2 apply for a SMART grant under section 4. 3 (5) RURAL COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘rural 4 community’’ means a beneficiary jurisdiction with a 5 population between 10,000 and 75,000 people, not 6 located within an urbanized area or cluster, accord- 7 ing to the Census Bureau’s most recent annual esti- 8 mates of resident population. 9 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of Transportation. 11 (7) STRENGTHENING MOBILITY AND REVOLU- 12 TIONIZING TRANSPORTATION GRANT; SMART 13 GRANT.—The terms ‘‘Strengthening Mobility and 14 Revolutionizing Transportation grant’’ and 15 ‘‘SMART grant’’ means a grant awarded to an eligi- 16 ble applicant under section 4. 17 SEC. 4. SMART GRANT PROGRAM. 18 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—During each of the fiscal 19 years 2020 through 2024, the Secretary is authorized to 20 award— 21 (1) 1 SMART grant of not less than 22 $30,000,000 or more than $50,000,000 to an appli- 23 cant on behalf of a large community to carry out an 24 eligible project; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1939 IS (2) 1 SMART grant of not less than 1 $30,000,000 or more than $50,000,000 to an appli- 2 cant on behalf of a mid-sized community to carry 3 out an eligible project; and 4 (3) 2 SMART grants, totaling not more than 5 the greater of $20,000,000 or 20 percent of the 6 amount appropriated pursuant to section 6(a) for 7 the fiscal year, to applicants on behalf of rural com- 8 munities or regional partnerships to carry out eligi- 9 ble projects. 10 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The following entities are 11 eligible to receive a grant under this section: 12 (1) A unit of local government, including coun- 13 ties. 14 (2) A tribal government. 15 (3) A public transit agency or authority. 16 (4) A public toll authority. 17 (5) A metropolitan planning organization. 18 (6) A multijurisdictional group applying 19 through a single lead applicant listed in paragraphs 20 (1) through (5). 21 (c) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant may 23 apply for a grant under this section by submitting 24 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1939 IS manner, and containing such information as the Sec- 1 retary may reasonably require to evaluate the merits 2 of the proposed project in accordance with the selec- 3 tion criteria set forth in subsection (d). 4 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 5 (A) STATE DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSPOR- 6 TATION.—Eligible rural and regional partner- 7 ship applicants are strongly encouraged to seek 8 technical assistance from the department of 9 transportation in their respective States during 10 the application process and during the imple- 11 mentation of a project that is awarded a 12 SMART grant, as applicable. 13 (B) FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF TRANS- 14 PORTATION.—The Secretary, after reviewing all 15 of the applications for SMART grants sub- 16 mitted in a fiscal year under paragraphs (1), 17 (2), and (3) of subsection (a), shall— 18 (i) provide not fewer than 2 applicants 19 from each of the 3 groups of applicants 20 that submitted applications deemed supe- 21 rior by the Secretary with limited technical 22 assistance to improve their respective ap- 23 plications; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1939 IS (ii) allow such applicants to resubmit 1 their improved applications before deter- 2 mining which applicants will receive a 3 SMART grant in such fiscal year. 4 (3) MULTIPLE GRANTS.—An eligible applicant 5 may not be awarded more than 1 SMART grant 6 during the duration of the SMART Grant Program. 7 (d) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A panel of experts from the 9 Department of Transportation, including representa- 10 tives from the applicable subagencies within the De- 11 partment, shall evaluate applications for SMART 12 grants based on the applicable criteria described in 13 paragraphs (2) through (4). 14 (2) APPLICANT READINESS.—The panel re- 15 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall determine the extent 16 to which the applicant or beneficiary community— 17 (A) has a dense urban population typical 18 for a large or mid-sized American city; 19 (B) represents more than 15 percent of the 20 population of the census-designated place in 21 which it is located, according to the Census Bu- 22 reau’s most recent annual estimates of resident 23 population; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1939 IS (C) has a public transportation system or 1 other transit options committed to integrating 2 with the sharing economy, and is considering 3 options to reduce the frequency of single occu- 4 pancy vehicles; 5 (D) has an environment that is conducive 6 to demonstrating proposed strategies; 7 (E) has continuity of committed leadership 8 and capacity to carry out the proposed project; 9 (F) is committed to making open, ma- 10 chine-readable data accessible, discoverable, and 11 usable by the public, in a secure fashion, to fuel 12 entrepreneurship and innovation; and 13 (G) is likely to successfully implement the 14 project, including technical and financial com- 15 mitments from public and private sectors, and 16 its functional capability to perform. 17 (3) EFFECTIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND 18 PROJECT BENEFITS.—The panel shall determine the 19 extent to which the proposed project will use ad- 20 vanced data and intelligent transportation systems 21 technologies and applications to provide significant 22 benefits to a local area, a State, a region, or the 23 United States, including the extent to which the 24 project will— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1939 IS (A) reduce congestion and delays for com- 1 merce and the traveling public; 2 (B) improve the safety of transportation 3 facilities and systems for pedestrians, bicyclists, 4 and the broader traveling public; 5 (C) provide access to jobs, education, and 6 essential services, including health care; 7 (D) connect underserved populations and 8 reduce their transportation costs; 9 (E) contribute to medium- and long-term 10 economic competitiveness; 11 (F) improve the condition, reliability, and 12 user experience of existing transportation facili- 13 ties and systems; 14 (G) promote connectivity between con- 15 nected vehicles, roadway infrastructure, pedes- 16 trians, bicyclists, the public, and transportation 17 systems; 18 (H) use innovative strategies or tech- 19 nologies to pursue any of the primary selection 20 criteria; 21 (I) demonstrate strong collaboration 22 among a broad range of participants, including 23 the private sector, or the integration of trans- 24 portation with other public service efforts, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1939 IS cluding working with existing mobile and fixed 1 telecommunication service provides whenever 2 possible; 3 (J) improve the environment, improve en- 4 ergy efficiency, reduce dependence on oil, or re- 5 duce pollution; 6 (K) promote or improve positive public 7 health outcomes for a community; 8 (L) increase resiliency of the transpor- 9 tation system; 10 (M) incorporate relevant security solutions 11 and address emergency situations based on the 12 scope and necessity; 13 (N) includes sufficient technical, physical, 14 and administrative measures to ensure security 15 of information and protection of individuals’ 16 privacy; and 17 (O) address issues identified by the De- 18 partment of Transportation in the Beyond 19 Traffic 2045 report. 20 (e) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 21 (1) VISION ELEMENTS.—A SMART grant may 22 be used for a project that demonstrates a sound, in- 23 novative, integrated, and holistic approach and in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1939 IS corporates many aspects [Text truncated for display. 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