Transit to Trails Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1440 To establish a program to award grants to entities that provide transportation connectors from critically underserved communities to green spaces, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 4, 2023 Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To establish a program to award grants to entities that provide transportation connectors from critically under- served communities to green spaces, and for other pur- poses. 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 ‘‘Transit to Trails Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. TRANSIT TO TRAILS GRANT PROGRAM. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1440 IS (1) COMMUNITY OF COLOR.—The term ‘‘com- 1 munity of color’’ means a geographically distinct 2 area in which the population of any of the following 3 categories of individuals is higher than the average 4 population of that category for the State in which 5 the community is located: 6 (A) Black. 7 (B) African American. 8 (C) Asian. 9 (D) Pacific Islander. 10 (E) Other non-White race. 11 (F) Hispanic. 12 (G) Latino. 13 (H) Linguistically isolated. 14 (I) Middle Eastern and North African. 15 (2) CRITICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.— 16 The term ‘‘critically underserved community’’ 17 means— 18 (A) a community that can demonstrate to 19 the Secretary that the community has inad- 20 equate, insufficient, or no park space or recre- 21 ation facilities, including by demonstrating— 22 (i) quality concerns relating to the 23 available park space or recreation facilities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1440 IS (ii) the presence of recreational facili- 1 ties that do not serve the needs of the com- 2 munity; or 3 (iii) the inequitable distribution of 4 park space for high-need populations, 5 based on income, age, or other measures of 6 vulnerability and need; 7 (B) a community in which at least 50 per- 8 cent of the population is not located within 1⁄2 9 mile of park space; 10 (C) an environmental justice community; 11 or 12 (D) any other community that the Sec- 13 retary determines to be appropriate. 14 (3) DESIGNATED SERVICE AREA.—The term 15 ‘‘designated service area’’ means a geographical area 16 recommended by a designated official planning agen- 17 cy that defines the community in which coordinated 18 transportation services are provided to the transpor- 19 tation disadvantaged. 20 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 21 ty’’ means— 22 (A) a State; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1440 IS (B) a political subdivision of a State (in- 1 cluding a city or a county) that represents or 2 otherwise serves an urban area or a rural area; 3 (C) a special purpose district (including a 4 park district); 5 (D) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 6 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 7 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) that 8 represents or otherwise serves an urban area or 9 a rural area; or 10 (E) a metropolitan planning organization 11 (as defined in section 134(b) of title 23, United 12 States Code). 13 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 14 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 15 a community with significant representation of com- 16 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 17 and Indigenous communities that experiences, or is 18 at risk of experiencing, a disproportionate burden of 19 adverse human health or environmental effects. 20 (6) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 21 income community’’ means any census block group 22 in which 30 percent or more of the population are 23 individuals with an annual household income equal 24 to, or less than, the greater of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1440 IS (A) an amount equal to 80 percent of the 1 median income of the area in which the house- 2 hold is located, as reported by the Department 3 of Housing and Urban Development; and 4 (B) 200 percent of the Federal poverty 5 line. 6 (7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 7 the Transit to Trails Grant Program established 8 under subsection (b)(1). 9 (8) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ 10 means a community that is not an urban area. 11 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 12 the Secretary of Transportation. 13 (10) TRANSPORTATION CONNECTOR.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘transpor- 15 tation connector’’ means a system that— 16 (i) connects 2 ZIP Codes or commu- 17 nities within a 175-mile radius of a des- 18 ignated service area; and 19 (ii) offers rides available to the public. 20 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘transpor- 21 tation connector’’ includes microtransit, bus 22 lines, bus rails, light rail, rapid transit, and per- 23 sonal rapid transit. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1440 IS (11) URBAN AREA.—The term ‘‘urban area’’ 1 means a community that— 2 (A) is densely developed; 3 (B) has residential, commercial, and other 4 nonresidential areas; and 5 (C)(i) is an urbanized area with a popu- 6 lation of 50,000 or more; or 7 (ii) is an urban cluster with a population 8 of— 9 (I) not less than 2,500; and 10 (II) not more than 50,000. 11 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 12 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es- 13 tablish a grant program, to be known as the ‘‘Tran- 14 sit to Trails Grant Program’’, under which the Sec- 15 retary shall award grants to eligible entities for— 16 (A) projects that develop transportation 17 connectors or routes in or serving, and related 18 culturally and linguistically appropriate edu- 19 cation materials for, critically underserved com- 20 munities to increase access and mobility to Fed- 21 eral or non-Federal public land, waters, park- 22 land, or monuments; or 23 (B) projects that facilitate transportation 24 improvements to enhance access to Federal or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1440 IS non-Federal public land and recreational oppor- 1 tunities in critically underserved communities. 2 (2) ADMINISTRATION.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ad- 4 minister the program to assist eligible entities 5 in the development of transportation connectors 6 or routes in or serving, and related culturally 7 and linguistically appropriate education mate- 8 rials for, critically underserved communities and 9 Federal or non-Federal public land, waters, 10 parkland, and monuments. 11 (B) JOINT PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary 12 shall encourage joint partnership projects under 13 the program, if available, among multiple agen- 14 cies, including school districts, nonprofit organi- 15 zations, metropolitan planning organizations, 16 regional transportation authorities, transit 17 agencies, and State and local governmental 18 agencies (including park and recreation agen- 19 cies and authorities) to enhance investment of 20 public sources. 21 (C) ANNUAL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL 22 SOLICITATION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL.— 23 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 24 shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1440 IS (I) annually solicit the submis- 1 sion of project proposals for grants 2 from eligible entities under the pro- 3 gram; and 4 (II) review each project proposal 5 submitted under subclause (I) on a 6 timeline established by the Secretary. 7 (ii) REQUIRED ELEMENTS FOR 8 PROJECT PROPOSAL.—A project proposal 9 submitted under clause (i)(I) shall in- 10 clude— 11 (I) a statement of the purposes 12 of the project; 13 (II) the name of the entity or in- 14 dividual with overall responsibility for 15 the project; 16 (III) a description of the quali- 17 fications of the entity or individuals 18 identified under subclause (II); 19 (IV) a description of— 20 (aa) staffing and stake- 21 holder engagement for the 22 project; 23 (bb) the logistics of the 24 project; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1440 IS (cc) anticipated outcomes of 1 the project; 2 (V) a proposed budget for the 3 funds and time required to complete 4 the project; 5 (VI) information regarding the 6 source and amount of matching fund- 7 ing available for the project; 8 (VII) information that dem- 9 onstrates the clear potential of the 10 project to contribute to increased ac- 11 cess to parkland for critically under- 12 served communities; and 13 (VIII) any other information that 14 the Secretary considers to be nec- 15 essary for evaluating the eligibility of 16 the project for funding under the pro- 17 gram. 18 (D) PRIORITY.—To the extent practicable, 19 in determining whether to approve project pro- 20 posals under the program, the Secretary shall 21 prioritize projects that— 22 (i) are designed to increase access and 23 mobility to local or neighborhood Federal 24 or non-Federal public land, waters, park- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1440 IS land, monuments, or recreational opportu- 1 nities; 2 (ii) use low- or no-emission vehicles; 3 (iii) provide free or discounted rates 4 for low-income riders; 5 (iv) provide opportunities for youth 6 engagement; 7 (v) provide employment preference to 8 individuals who reside in the community in 9 which the project is located; 10 (vi) are established in communities of 11 color, low-income communities, Tribal or 12 indigenous communities, or rural areas; 13 (vii) would capitalize on existing es- 14 tablished public-private partnerships; and 15 (viii) comply with applicable provi- 16 sions of the Americans with Disabilities 17 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 18 (3) TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCE- 19 DURES.— 20 (A) PROCEDURES.—In consultation with 21 the head of each appropriate Federal land man- 22 agement agency, the Secretary shall develop, by 23 rule, transportation planning procedures for 24 projects conducted under the program that are 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1440 IS consistent with metropolitan and statewide 1 planning processes. 2 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the 3 program, the Secretary shall ensure the fol- 4 lowing: 5 (i) All projects carried out under the 6 program shall comply with sections 5303 7 and 5304 of title 49, United States Code. 8 (ii) All new transportation connectors 9 and routes established under a project car- 10 ried out under the program shall be acces- 11 sible in accordance with the accessibility 12 specifications for transportation vehicles 13 under the Americans with Disabilities Act 14 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 15 (iii) State department of transpor- 16 tation agencies shall engage with relevant 17 stakeholders consistent with subsections 18 (f)(3) and (g)(3) of section 5304 of title 19 49, United States Code, and metropolitan 20 planning organizations shall engage with 21 relevant stakeholders consistent with sub- 22 sections (g)(3)(B), (i)(5), and (i)(6) of sec- 23 tion 5303 of that title, in addition to faith- 24 based and community-based organizations. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1440 IS (iv) Except as otherwise provided 1 under this section, a grant provided under 2 this section shall be subject to the require- 3 ments of section 5307 of title 49, United 4 States Code. 5 (4) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 7 the cost of an eligible project provided a grant 8 under the program shall not exceed 80 percent. 9 (B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Fed- 10 eral share of the cost of an eligible project pro- 11 vided a grant under the program may be in the 12 form of in-kind contributions. 13 (5) ELIGIBLE USES.—Grant funds provided 14 under the program may be used— 15 (A) to develop transportation connectors or 16 routes in or serving, and related culturally and 17 linguistically appropriate education materials 18 for, critically underserved communities to in- 19 crease access and mobility to Federal and non- 20 Federal public land, waters, parkland, and 21 monuments; and 22 (B) to create or significantly enhance ac- 23 cess to Federal or non-Federal public land and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1440.IS S1440 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 1440 IS recreational opportunities in an urban area or 1 a rural area. 2 (6) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant provided under 3 the program shall be in an amount that is— 4 (A) not less than $25,000; and 5 (B) not more than $500,000. 6 (7) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—It is the intent 7 of Congress that grants provided under the program 8 deliver project funds to areas of greatest need while 9 offering technical assistance to all applicants and po- 10 tential applicants for grant preparation to encourage 11 full participation in the program. 12 (8) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The Secretary 13 shall ensure that current schedules and routes for 14 transportation systems developed with funds from a 15 grant under the program are available to the public, 16 including on a website maintained by the eligible en- 17 tity. 18 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 19 (1) REPORTS BY GRANT RECIPIENTS.—The 20 Secretary shall require an eligible entity that re- 21 ceives a grant under the program to submit to the 22 Secretary not less than 1 performance and financial 23 report that— 24 (A) includes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfm [Text truncated for display. 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