Bridge Investment Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5745 To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a competitive grant program to repair, improve, rehabilitate, or replace bridges to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridge crossings, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 3, 2020 Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Lou- isiana, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. LAHOOD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure A BILL To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a com- petitive grant program to repair, improve, rehabilitate, or replace bridges to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridge crossings, 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 ‘‘Bridge Investment Act 4 of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5745 IH SEC. 2. BRIDGE INVESTMENT PROGRAM. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 2 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 123 the 3 following: 4 ‘‘§ 124. Bridge investment program 5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 8 project’ means a project to replace, rehabilitate, 9 preserve, or protect 1 or more bridges on the 10 National Bridge Inventory under section 11 144(b). 12 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘eligible 13 project’ includes— 14 ‘‘(i) a bundle of projects described in 15 subparagraph (A), regardless of whether 16 the bundle of projects meets the require- 17 ments of section 144(j)(5); and 18 ‘‘(ii) a project to replace or rehabili- 19 tate culverts for the purpose of improving 20 flood control and improved habitat 21 connectivity for aquatic species. 22 ‘‘(2) LARGE PROJECT.—The term ‘large 23 project’ means an eligible project with total eligible 24 project costs of greater than $100,000,000. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5745 IH ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 1 the bridge investment program established by sub- 2 section (b)(1). 3 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF BRIDGE INVESTMENT PRO- 4 GRAM.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 6 bridge investment program to provide financial as- 7 sistance for eligible projects under this section. 8 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The goals of the program shall 9 be— 10 ‘‘(A) to improve the safety, efficiency, and 11 reliability of the movement of people and freight 12 over bridges; 13 ‘‘(B) to improve the condition of bridges in 14 the United States by reducing— 15 ‘‘(i) the number of bridges— 16 ‘‘(I) in poor condition; or 17 ‘‘(II) in fair condition and at risk 18 of falling into poor condition within 19 the next 3 years; 20 ‘‘(ii) the total person miles traveled 21 over bridges— 22 ‘‘(I) in poor condition; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5745 IH ‘‘(II) in fair condition and at risk 1 of falling into poor condition within 2 the next 3 years; 3 ‘‘(iii) the number of bridges that— 4 ‘‘(I) do not meet current geo- 5 metric design standards; or 6 ‘‘(II) cannot meet the load and 7 traffic requirements typical of the re- 8 gional transportation network; and 9 ‘‘(iv) the total person miles traveled 10 over bridges that— 11 ‘‘(I) do not meet current geo- 12 metric design standards; or 13 ‘‘(II) cannot meet the load and 14 traffic requirements typical of the re- 15 gional transportation network; and 16 ‘‘(C) to provide financial assistance that 17 leverages and encourages non-Federal contribu- 18 tions from sponsors and stakeholders involved 19 in the planning, design, and construction of eli- 20 gible projects. 21 ‘‘(c) GRANT AUTHORITY.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro- 23 gram, the Secretary may award grants, on a com- 24 petitive basis, in accordance with this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5745 IH ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNTS.—Except as otherwise 1 provided, a grant under the program shall be— 2 ‘‘(A) in the case of a large project, in an 3 amount that is— 4 ‘‘(i) adequate to fully fund the project 5 (in combination with other financial re- 6 sources identified in the application); and 7 ‘‘(ii) not less than $50,000,000; and 8 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other eligible 9 project, in an amount that is— 10 ‘‘(i) adequate to fully fund the project 11 (in combination with other financial re- 12 sources identified in the application); and 13 ‘‘(ii) not less than $2,500,000. 14 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Except as otherwise 15 provided, for an eligible project receiving assistance 16 under the program, the amount of assistance pro- 17 vided by the Secretary under this section, as a share 18 of eligible project costs, shall be— 19 ‘‘(A) in the case of a large project, not 20 more than 50 percent; and 21 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other eligible 22 project, not more than 80 percent. 23 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5745 IH ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVE- 1 MENT.—Federal assistance other than a grant 2 under the program may be used to satisfy the 3 non-Federal share of the cost of a project for 4 which a grant is made, except that the total 5 Federal assistance provided for a project receiv- 6 ing a grant under the program may not exceed 7 the Federal share for the project under section 8 120. 9 ‘‘(B) OFF-SYSTEM BRIDGES.—In the case 10 of an eligible project for an off-system bridge 11 (as defined in section 133(f)(1))— 12 ‘‘(i) Federal assistance other than a 13 grant under the program may be used to 14 satisfy the non-Federal share of the cost of 15 a project; and 16 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding subparagraph 17 (A), the total Federal assistance provided 18 for the project shall not exceed 90 percent 19 of the total eligible project costs. 20 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGEN- 21 CIES AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.—Notwith- 22 standing any other provision of law, Federal 23 funds other than Federal funds made available 24 under this section may be used to pay the re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5745 IH maining share of the cost of a project under the 1 program by a Federal land management agency 2 or a Tribal government or consortium of Tribal 3 governments. 4 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERATIONS.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants 6 under the program, the Secretary shall con- 7 sider— 8 ‘‘(i) in the case of a large project, the 9 ratings assigned under subsection 10 (g)(5)(A); 11 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an eligible project 12 other than a large project, the quality rat- 13 ing assigned under subsection (f)(3)(A)(ii); 14 ‘‘(iii) the average amount of people 15 and freight supported by the eligible 16 project; 17 ‘‘(iv) the number and percentage of 18 bridges within the same State as the eligi- 19 ble project that are in poor condition; 20 ‘‘(v) the extent to which the eligible 21 project demonstrates cost savings by bun- 22 dling multiple bridge projects; 23 ‘‘(vi) in the case of an eligible project 24 of a Federal land management agency, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5745 IH extent to which the grant would reduce a 1 Federal liability or Federal infrastructure 2 maintenance backlog; 3 ‘‘(vii) geographic diversity among 4 grant recipients, including the need for a 5 balance between the needs of rural and 6 urban communities; 7 ‘‘(viii) the extent to which an eligible 8 project improves intermodal freight trans- 9 port; 10 ‘‘(ix) the number of eligible projects 11 within the same State; 12 ‘‘(x) whether the project serves as 13 part of a State or Federal evacuation 14 route; and 15 ‘‘(xi) the extent to which a bridge that 16 would be assisted with a grant— 17 ‘‘(I) is, without that assistance— 18 ‘‘(aa) at risk of falling into 19 or remaining in poor condition; 20 or 21 ‘‘(bb) in fair condition and 22 at risk of falling into poor condi- 23 tion within the next 3 years; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5745 IH ‘‘(II) does not meet current geo- 1 metric design standards based on— 2 ‘‘(aa) the current use of the 3 bridge; or 4 ‘‘(bb) load and traffic re- 5 quirements typical of the regional 6 corridor or local network in 7 which the bridge is located; or 8 ‘‘(III) does not meet current seis- 9 mic design standards. 10 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 11 shall— 12 ‘‘(i) give priority to an application for 13 an eligible project that is located within a 14 State for which— 15 ‘‘(I) 2 or more applications for 16 eligible projects within the State were 17 submitted for the current fiscal year 18 and an average of 2 or more applica- 19 tions for eligible projects within the 20 State were submitted in prior fiscal 21 years of the program; and 22 ‘‘(II) fewer than 2 grants have 23 been awarded for eligible projects 24 within the State under the program; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5745 IH ‘‘(ii) during the period of fiscal years 1 2021 through 2025, for each State de- 2 scribed in clause (i), select— 3 ‘‘(I) not fewer than 1 large 4 project that the Secretary determines 5 is justified under the evaluation under 6 subsection (g)(4); or 7 ‘‘(II) 2 eligible projects that are 8 not large projects that the Secretary 9 determines are justified under the 10 evaluation under subsection (f)(3); 11 and 12 ‘‘(iii) not be required to award a grant 13 for an eligible project that the Secretary 14 does not determine is justified under an 15 evaluation under subsection (f)(3) or 16 (g)(4). 17 ‘‘(6) CULVERT LIMITATION.—Not more than 5 18 percent of the amounts made available for each fis- 19 cal year for grants under the program may be used 20 for eligible projects that consist solely of culvert re- 21 placement or rehabilitation. 22 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The Secretary may make 23 a grant under the program to any of the following: 24 ‘‘(1) A State or a group of States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5745 IH ‘‘(2) A metropolitan planning organization that 1 serves an urbanized area (as designated by the Bu- 2 reau of the Census) with a population of over 3 200,000. 4 ‘‘(3) A unit of local government or a group of 5 local governments. 6 ‘‘(4) A political subdivision of a State or local 7 government. 8 ‘‘(5) A special purpose district or public author- 9 ity with a transportation function. 10 ‘‘(6) A Federal land management agency. 11 ‘‘(7) A Tribal government or a consortium of 12 Tribal governments. 13 ‘‘(8) A multistate or multijurisdictional group 14 of entities described in paragraphs (1) through (7). 15 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec- 16 retary may make a grant under the program only to an 17 eligible entity for an eligible project that— 18 ‘‘(1) in the case of a large project, the Sec- 19 retary recommends for funding in the annual report 20 on funding recommendations under subsection 21 (g)(6); 22 ‘‘(2) is reasonably expected to begin construc- 23 tion not later than 18 months after the date on 24 which funds are obligated for the project; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5745 IH ‘‘(3) is based on the results of preliminary engi- 1 neering. 2 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE PROCESS AND EVALUATION OF 3 ELIGIBLE PROJECTS OTHER THAN LARGE PROJECTS.— 4 ‘‘(1) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 6 ‘‘(i) for the first fiscal year for which 7 funds are made available for obligation 8 under the program, not later than 60 days 9 after the date on which the template under 10 subparagraph (B)(i) is developed, and in 11 subsequent fiscal years, not later than 60 12 days after the date on which amounts are 13 made available for obligation under the 14 program, solicit grant applications for eli- 15 gible projects other than large projects; 16 and 17 ‘‘(ii) not later than 120 days after the 18 date on which the solicitation under clause 19 (i) expires, conduct evaluations under 20 paragraph (3). 21 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out 22 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 23 ‘‘(i) develop a template for applicants 24 to use to summarize project needs and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 5745 IH benefits, including benefits described in 1 paragraph (3)(B)(i); and 2 ‘‘(ii) enable applicants to use data 3 from the National Bridge Inventory under 4 section 144(b) to populate templates de- 5 scribed in clause (i), as applicable. 6 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity shall 7 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 8 in such manner, and containing such information as 9 the Secretary may require. 10 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to providing a 12 grant under this subsection, the Secretary 13 shall— 14 ‘‘(i) conduct an evaluation of each eli- 15 gible project for which an application is re- 16 ceived under this subsection; and 17 ‘‘(ii) assign a quality rating to the eli- 18 gible project on the basis of the evaluation 19 under clause (i). 20 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out an 21 evaluation under subparagraph (A), the Sec- 22 retary shall— 23 ‘‘(i) consider information on project 24 benefits submitted by the applicant using 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5745.IH H5745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 57 [Text truncated for display. 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