Freedom to Move Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1282 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a grant program to support efforts to provide fare-free transit service, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 25, 2023 Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Hous- ing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a grant program to support efforts to provide fare-free transit service, 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 ‘‘Freedom to Move Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 5 The purposes of this Act are— 6 (1) to invest in the efforts of States, counties, 7 and local municipalities to provide fare-free public 8 transportation; and 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1282 IS (2) to support States, counties, and local mu- 1 nicipalities in improving and expanding access to 2 safe, accessible, and reliable mass transit systems in 3 order to improve the livability of communities. 4 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT FARE-FREE TRANSIT. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the 7 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 8 (A) a State, a political subdivision of a 9 State, or an Indian Tribe; 10 (B) a transit agency; 11 (C) a private nonprofit organization en- 12 gaged in public transportation in a rural area; 13 or 14 (D) a partnership between 2 or more enti- 15 ties described in subparagraphs (A) through 16 (C). 17 (2) FOSTER CARE YOUTH.—The term ‘‘foster 18 care youth’’— 19 (A) means children and youth whose care 20 and placement are the responsibility of the 21 State or Tribal agency that administers a State 22 or Tribal plan under part B or E of title IV of 23 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 24 670 et seq.), without regard to whether foster 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1282 IS care maintenance payments are made under 1 section 472 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on be- 2 half of such children and youth; and 3 (B) includes individuals who were age 13 4 or older when their care and placement were 5 the responsibility of a State or Tribal agency 6 that administered a State or Tribal plan under 7 part B or E of title IV of the Social Security 8 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 et seq.) and 9 who are no longer under the care and responsi- 10 bility of such a State or Tribal agency, without 11 regard to any such individual’s subsequent 12 adoption, guardianship arrangement, or other 13 form of permanency outcome. 14 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 15 means an Indian tribe, as that term is used in chap- 16 ter 53 of title 49, United States Code. 17 (4) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘low- 18 income individual’’ means an individual whose family 19 income is at or below 150 percent of the poverty line 20 (as that term is defined in section 673(2) of the 21 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 22 9902(2)), including any revision required by that 23 section) for a family of the size involved. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1282 IS (5) MASS TRANSIT; PUBLIC TRANSIT; TRAN- 1 SIT.—The terms ‘‘mass transit’’, ‘‘public transit’’, 2 and ‘‘transit’’ mean public transportation. 3 (6) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.—The term 4 ‘‘public transportation’’— 5 (A) means regular, continuing shared-ride 6 surface transportation services that are open to 7 the general public or open to a segment of the 8 general public defined by age, disability, or low 9 income; and 10 (B) does not include— 11 (i) intercity passenger rail transpor- 12 tation provided by the entity described in 13 chapter 243 of title 49, United States 14 Code (or a successor to that entity); 15 (ii) intercity bus service; 16 (iii) charter bus service; 17 (iv) school bus service; 18 (v) sightseeing service; 19 (vi) courtesy shuttle service for pa- 20 trons of 1 or more specific establishments; 21 or 22 (vii) intra-terminal or intra-facility 23 shuttle services. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1282 IS (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Transportation. 2 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 3 ing given the term in section 5302 of title 49, 4 United States Code. 5 (9) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 6 ‘‘underserved community’’ means— 7 (A) a community that— 8 (i) is not served by any existing bus 9 route; or 10 (ii) receives infrequent bus service; 11 and 12 (B) a community located in an area within 13 a census tract that is identified as— 14 (i) a low-income community; and 15 (ii) a community of color. 16 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 360 days 17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 18 award grants (which shall be known as ‘‘Freedom to Move 19 Grants’’) to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, to 20 cover the lost fare revenue for fare-free public transpor- 21 tation and improve public transportation. 22 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 23 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 24 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1282 IS and containing such information as the Secretary may re- 1 quire, including, at a minimum, the following: 2 (1) A description of how the eligible entity 3 plans to implement fare-free transit access. 4 (2) A description of how the eligible entity will 5 work to expand and improve bus service, which may 6 include— 7 (A) a bus network redesign; 8 (B) how the bus network redesign will 9 prioritize consistent and reliable service for low- 10 income and underserved communities; 11 (C) how the bus network redesign will 12 prioritize connectivity to critical services and 13 improve community livability; and 14 (D) how the eligible entity will meaning- 15 fully consult with members of the community, 16 community leaders, local stakeholders and advo- 17 cates (including transit advocates and disability 18 advocates), local education agencies and institu- 19 tions of higher education, community devel- 20 opers, labor unions, public housing agencies, 21 and workforce development boards, while facili- 22 tating the bus network redesign. 23 (3) A description of how the eligible entity will 24 meaningfully partner and collaborate with members 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1282 IS of the community, community leaders, local stake- 1 holders and advocates (including transit advocates 2 and disability advocates), local education agencies 3 and institutions of higher education, community de- 4 velopers, labor unions, public housing agencies and 5 workforce development boards to support outreach 6 efforts to increase awareness of fare-free transit pro- 7 grams, including fare-free bus programs. 8 (4) A description of the eligible entity’s equity 9 evaluation examining any equity and mobility gaps 10 within each transit system operated by the eligible 11 entity or within the geographic area under the juris- 12 diction of the eligible entity, and how the eligible en- 13 tity plans to significantly close those gaps, includ- 14 ing— 15 (A) the average commute time for driver 16 commuters and non-driver commuters; 17 (B) public transit ridership rates 18 disaggregated by— 19 (i) mode of transportation; and 20 (ii) demographic group, including 21 youth (including foster care youth), sen- 22 iors, individuals with disabilities, and low- 23 income individuals; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1282 IS (C) average length of bus routes and aver- 1 age delay times. 2 (5) A description of the eligible entity’s fare 3 evasion enforcement policies, including— 4 (A) the cost of the fine, if any, and wheth- 5 er the infraction is considered a civil offense or 6 a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment; 7 (B) the number of individuals charged with 8 violating a fare evasion policy, disaggregated by 9 age, race, gender, and disability status; and 10 (C) how the eligible entity plans to elimi- 11 nate fare evasion policies and end the criminal- 12 ization of individuals evading fares. 13 (6) An estimate of additional costs that the eli- 14 gible entity will incur as a result of increased rider- 15 ship, including— 16 (A) fuel costs; 17 (B) personnel costs; 18 (C) maintenance costs; and 19 (D) other operational costs. 20 (7) Information and statistics on assaults on 21 transit employees and a description of each training 22 or policy used or intended to be used to protect em- 23 ployees, which may include de-escalation training. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1282 IS (d) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this section 1 shall be for a 5-year period. 2 (e) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In carrying 3 out the grant program under this section, the Secretary 4 shall award grants to eligible entities located in both rural 5 and urbanized areas. 6 (f) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 7 a grant under this section shall use the grant to support— 8 (1) implementing a fare-free transit program; 9 and 10 (2) efforts to improve public transportation, 11 particularly in underserved communities, including 12 costs associated with efforts to provide more safe, 13 frequent, and reliable bus service, including— 14 (A) bus stop safety and accessibility im- 15 provements; 16 (B) pedestrian and bike shelters; 17 (C) signage; 18 (D) painted bus lanes; 19 (E) signal priority systems; 20 (F) street redesign; 21 (G) operational costs to meet demands of 22 increased ridership, including hiring and train- 23 ing of personnel; and 24 (H) conducting a bus network redesign. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1282 IS (g) REPORT.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 2 the date on which funds are made available to carry 3 out this section, the Secretary shall— 4 (A) collect data from each eligible entity 5 receiving a grant under this section on the 6 progress of the entity in meeting the targets de- 7 scribed in the application of the entity; and 8 (B) publish and submit to Congress a re- 9 port containing the data collected under sub- 10 paragraph (A). 11 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The report required 12 under paragraph (1) shall— 13 (A) include data on demographics of com- 14 munities served under this section, 15 disaggregated and cross-tabulated by— 16 (i) race; 17 (ii) ethnicity; 18 (iii) sex; and 19 (iv) household median income; and 20 (B) assess the progress of eligible entities 21 towards significantly closing transit equity and 22 mobility gaps as described in subsection (c)(4). 23 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 24 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1282 IS $5,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 1 2028. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1282.IS S1282 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB