BUILDS Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4726 To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require the Secretary of Transportation to develop and carry out a program to improve energy efficiency in transportation. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 Mrs. SHAHEEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require the Secretary of Transportation to de- velop and carry out a program to improve energy effi- ciency in transportation. 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 ‘‘Better Utilizing Inno- 4 vative Low-emission Development Strategies Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘BUILDS Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4726 IS SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE ENERGY EFFI- 1 CIENCY. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XI of the Energy Independ- 3 ence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–140; 121 4 Stat. 1756) is amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘Subtitle E—Energy Efficiency 6 ‘‘SEC. 1141. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE ENERGY EFFI- 7 CIENCY IN TRANSPORTATION. 8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this subtitle: 9 ‘‘(1) DYNAMIC TRANSPORTATION AND DEMAND 10 MANAGEMENT PROJECT.—The term ‘dynamic trans- 11 portation and demand management project’ means a 12 project for the dynamic management, control, and 13 influence of travel demand, traffic demand, and traf- 14 fic flow relating to a transportation facility. 15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 16 tity’ means— 17 ‘‘(A) a State; 18 ‘‘(B) a unit of Tribal or local government; 19 and 20 ‘‘(C) a public entity with jurisdiction over, 21 or expertise relating to, infrastructure in a re- 22 gion, State, or locality (including a transit 23 agency). 24 ‘‘(3) ENERGY EFFICIENT.—The term ‘energy 25 efficient’, with respect to a mode of transportation, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4726 IS means that the mode of transportation uses a sys- 1 tem of infrastructure and vehicles in transporting in- 2 dividuals or goods that requires a quantity of energy 3 consumption (as measured per person-mile or per 4 ton-mile of freight) equal to less than 2⁄3 of the 5 quantity of energy consumed by other modes of 6 transportation in the United States (calculated 7 based on the average person-mile or ton-mile of 8 freight). 9 ‘‘(4) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 10 means an area located outside of an urbanized area, 11 which urbanized area has a population of more than 12 150,000 residents, as determined by the Bureau of 13 the Census. 14 ‘‘(5) RURAL STATE.—The term ‘rural State’ 15 means a State with a population density of 50 or 16 fewer residents per square mile, based on the most 17 recent decennial census. 18 ‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 19 the Secretary of Transportation. 20 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in co- 22 ordination with the Secretary of Energy and other 23 appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall 24 establish a program under which the Secretary shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4726 IS provide discretionary grants, on a competitive basis, 1 to eligible entities to carry out projects that the Sec- 2 retary determines will promote reductions in trans- 3 portation energy use, accelerate the adoption of new 4 and existing energy efficient technologies for trans- 5 portation applications, and significantly enhance 6 transportation infrastructure in the United States, 7 including by accelerating the application of informa- 8 tion and communications technology to increase the 9 availability and competitiveness of energy efficient 10 modes for transporting passengers or freight. 11 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re- 13 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 14 entity shall submit to the Secretary an applica- 15 tion at such time, in such manner, and con- 16 taining such information as the Secretary deter- 17 mines to be appropriate. 18 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—An application under 19 this paragraph shall include a description of the 20 means by which the proposed project of an eli- 21 gible entity will, with respect to the area pro- 22 posed to be served by the project— 23 ‘‘(i) promote a major reduction in 24 transportation energy use; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4726 IS ‘‘(ii) otherwise enhance energy effi- 1 ciency. 2 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA FOR PROJECT EVALUATION 3 AND SELECTION.— 4 ‘‘(i) PRIMARY FACTORS FOR CONSID- 5 ERATION.—The Secretary shall evaluate 6 applications submitted under this para- 7 graph primarily— 8 ‘‘(I) on the basis of the benefits 9 of the proposed project with respect 10 to— 11 ‘‘(aa) enhanced energy effi- 12 ciency; 13 ‘‘(bb) economic competitive- 14 ness; 15 ‘‘(cc) environmental sustain- 16 ability; and 17 ‘‘(dd) such other benefits as 18 the Secretary determines to be 19 appropriate; and 20 ‘‘(II) in a manner that ensures, 21 to the maximum extent practicable— 22 ‘‘(aa) an equitable geo- 23 graphical distribution of funds; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4726 IS ‘‘(bb) an appropriate bal- 1 ance in addressing the needs of 2 urban and rural areas. 3 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL CONSIDER- 4 ATIONS.—In addition to the criteria de- 5 scribed in clause (i), the Secretary shall 6 take into consideration the extent to which 7 a proposed project— 8 ‘‘(I) leverages Federal investment 9 by encouraging non-Federal contribu- 10 tions to the project, including con- 11 tributions from public-private partner- 12 ships; 13 ‘‘(II) supports the rehabilitation 14 of existing assets; 15 ‘‘(III) improves resilience to ex- 16 treme weather events; and 17 ‘‘(IV) improves technology inno- 18 vation and the use of information and 19 communication technologies. 20 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may 21 use a grant provided under this subsection to carry 22 out a project described in paragraph (1), includ- 23 ing— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4726 IS ‘‘(A) a dynamic transportation and de- 1 mand management project to reduce recurring 2 and nonrecurring congestion; 3 ‘‘(B) a program based on mobile com- 4 puting to facilitate the use of transit, carshar- 5 ing, ridesharing, or bikesharing; 6 ‘‘(C) an improvement to a multimodal 7 freight facility to permit the use of information 8 and communications technology to facilitate 9 shared use of vehicles; 10 ‘‘(D) a roadway improvement to permit ve- 11 hicle-to-infrastructure communications that will 12 help to reduce energy consumption; 13 ‘‘(E) a public transportation project eligi- 14 ble under chapter 53 of title 49, United States 15 Code (including investment in a project partici- 16 pating in the New Starts or Small Starts pro- 17 grams that will expedite the completion of that 18 project and entry of the project into revenue 19 service); 20 ‘‘(F) a passenger or freight rail transpor- 21 tation project; 22 ‘‘(G) port infrastructure investment (in- 23 cluding a project that connects a port to an- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4726 IS other mode of transportation and improves the 1 efficiency of freight movement); 2 ‘‘(H) the construction or expansion of an 3 electric charging or hydrogen fueling station or 4 other related infrastructure; 5 ‘‘(I) an infrastructure project that pro- 6 motes the efficient use of aircraft; 7 ‘‘(J) a project that promotes walking, bike 8 transit, and other nonmotorized modes of trans- 9 portation; 10 ‘‘(K) a project to deploy automation tech- 11 nology in personal vehicles to achieve a net re- 12 duction in energy consumption; and 13 ‘‘(L) such other projects as the Secretary 14 determines to be eligible. 15 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.— 16 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of 17 a grant provided under this subsection shall be 18 not more than $50,000,000. 19 ‘‘(B) TERM.—The term of a grant pro- 20 vided under this subsection shall not exceed 5 21 years. 22 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal 23 share of the cost of a project carried out using 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4726 IS a grant provided under this subsection shall be 1 not more than 80 percent. 2 ‘‘(D) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.—Not later 3 than the date that is 5 years, 10 years, and 20 4 years after the date of completion of a project 5 for which a grant is provided under this sub- 6 section, the applicable eligible entity shall— 7 ‘‘(i) reassess system performance to 8 determine whether the outcomes of the 9 project have met the preconstruction pro- 10 jections for— 11 ‘‘(I) reduction in transportation 12 energy use; and 13 ‘‘(II) enhancement of energy effi- 14 ciency; and 15 ‘‘(ii) submit to the Secretary a report 16 describing those determinations. 17 ‘‘(5) STATE LIMITATION.—In selecting projects 18 to receive grants under this subsection, the Sec- 19 retary shall ensure that not more than 20 percent of 20 the funds made available to carry out this subsection 21 may be awarded to projects in a single State. 22 ‘‘(6) RURAL PROJECTS.—Not less than 20 per- 23 cent of the amounts made available to carry out this 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4726 IS subsection for a fiscal year shall be allocated for 1 projects in rural areas or rural States. 2 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amounts 3 made available under subsection (d), the Secretary may 4 use not more than 4 percent for administrative expenses 5 of carrying out the program under subsection (b). 6 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 7 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 8 out this section $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 9 through 2025.’’. 10 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 11 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 12 U.S.C. 17001 note; Public Law 110–140) is amended by 13 adding at the end of the items relating to title XI the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘Subtitle E—Energy Efficiency ‘‘Sec. 1141. Grant program to promote energy efficiency in transportation.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4726.IS S4726 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS