Transit to Trails Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3092 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 5, 2023 Mr. GOMEZ (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. CHU, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PORTER, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. SAR- BANES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. TITUS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Mr. PANETTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3092 IH SEC. 2. TRANSIT TO TRAILS GRANT PROGRAM. 1 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 2 (1) COMMUNITY OF COLOR.—The term ‘‘com- 3 munity of color’’ means a geographically distinct 4 area in which the population of any of the following 5 categories of individuals is higher than the average 6 populations of such category for the State in which 7 the community is located: 8 (A) Black. 9 (B) African American. 10 (C) Asian. 11 (D) Pacific Islander. 12 (E) Other non-White race. 13 (F) Hispanic. 14 (G) Latino. 15 (H) Linguistically isolated. 16 (I) Middle Eastern and North African. 17 (2) CRITICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.— 18 The term ‘‘critically underserved community’’ 19 means— 20 (A) a community that can demonstrate to 21 the Secretary that the community has inad- 22 equate, insufficient, or no park space or recre- 23 ation facilities, including by demonstrating— 24 (i) quality concerns relating to the 25 available park space or recreation facilities; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3092 IH (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 based 5 on income, age, or other measures of vul- 6 nerability 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 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3092 IH (B) a political subdivision of a State (in- 1 cluding a city or a county) that represents or 2 otherwise serves an urban area or a rural area; 3 (C) a special purpose district (including a 4 park district); 5 (D) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 6 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 7 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) that 8 represents or otherwise serves an urban area or 9 a rural area; or 10 (E) a metropolitan planning organization 11 (as defined in section 134(b) of title 23, United 12 States Code). 13 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 14 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 15 a community with significant representation of com- 16 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 17 or indigenous communities that experiences, or is at 18 risk of experiencing, a disproportionate burden of 19 adverse human health or environmental effects. 20 (6) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 21 income community’’ means any census block group 22 in which 30 percent or more of the population are 23 individuals with an annual household income equal 24 to, or less than, the greater of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3092 IH (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; or 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 microtransits, bus 22 lines, bus rails, light rail, rapid transits, or per- 23 sonal rapid transits. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3092 IH (11) URBAN AREA.—The term ‘‘urban area’’ 1 means a community that— 2 (A) is densely developed; 3 (B) has residential, commercial, and other 4 nonresidential areas; and 5 (C) is— 6 (i) an urbanized area with a popu- 7 lation of 50,000 or more; or 8 (ii) an urban cluster with a population 9 of— 10 (I) not less than 2,500; and 11 (II) not more than 50,000. 12 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 13 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es- 14 tablish a grant program, to be known as the ‘‘Tran- 15 sit to Trails Grant Program’’, under which the Sec- 16 retary shall award grants to eligible entities for— 17 (A) projects that develop transportation 18 connectors or routes in or serving, and related 19 culturally and linguistically appropriate edu- 20 cation materials for, critically underserved com- 21 munities to increase access and mobility to Fed- 22 eral or non-Federal public land, waters, park- 23 land, or monuments; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3092 IH (B) projects that facilitate transportation 1 improvements to enhance access to Federal or 2 non-Federal public land and recreational oppor- 3 tunities in critically underserved communities. 4 (2) ADMINISTRATION.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ad- 6 minister the program to assist eligible entities 7 in the development of transportation connectors 8 or routes in or serving, and related culturally 9 and linguistically appropriate education mate- 10 rials for, critically underserved communities and 11 Federal or non-Federal public land, waters, 12 parkland, and monuments. 13 (B) JOINT PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary 14 shall encourage joint partnership projects under 15 the program, if available, among multiple agen- 16 cies, including school districts, nonprofit organi- 17 zations, metropolitan planning organizations, 18 regional transportation authorities, transit 19 agencies, and State and local governmental 20 agencies (including park and recreation agen- 21 cies and authorities) to enhance investment of 22 public sources. 23 (C) ANNUAL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL 24 SOLICITATION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3092 IH (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 1 shall— 2 (I) annually solicit the submis- 3 sion of project proposals for grants 4 from eligible entities under the pro- 5 gram; and 6 (II) review each project proposal 7 submitted under subclause (I) on a 8 timeline established by the Secretary. 9 (ii) REQUIRED ELEMENTS FOR 10 PROJECT PROPOSAL.—A project proposal 11 submitted under clause (i)(I) shall in- 12 clude— 13 (I) a statement of the purposes 14 of the project; 15 (II) the name of the entity or in- 16 dividual with overall responsibility for 17 the project; 18 (III) a description of the quali- 19 fications of the entity or individuals 20 identified under subclause (II); 21 (IV) a description of— 22 (aa) staffing and stake- 23 holder engagement for the 24 project; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3092 IH (bb) the logistics of the 1 project; and 2 (cc) anticipated outcomes of 3 the project; 4 (V) a proposed budget for the 5 funds and time required to complete 6 the project; 7 (VI) information regarding the 8 source and amount of matching fund- 9 ing available for the project; 10 (VII) information that dem- 11 onstrates the clear potential of the 12 project to contribute to increased ac- 13 cess to parkland for critically under- 14 served communities; and 15 (VIII) any other information that 16 the Secretary considers to be nec- 17 essary for evaluating the eligibility of 18 the project for funding under the pro- 19 gram. 20 (D) PRIORITY.—To the extent practicable, 21 in determining whether to approve project pro- 22 posals under the program, the Secretary shall 23 prioritize projects that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3092 IH (i) are designed to increase access and 1 mobility to local or neighborhood Federal 2 or non-Federal public land, waters, park- 3 land, monuments, or recreational opportu- 4 nities; 5 (ii) utilize low- or no-emission vehi- 6 cles; 7 (iii) provide free or discounted rates 8 for low-income riders; 9 (iv) provide opportunities for youth 10 engagement; 11 (v) provide employment preference to 12 individuals who reside in the community 13 where the project is granted; 14 (vi) are established in communities of 15 color, low-income communities, Tribal or 16 indigenous communities, or rural areas; 17 (vii) would capitalize on existing es- 18 tablished public-private partnerships; and 19 (viii) comply with relevant regulations 20 issued under the Americans with Disabil- 21 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 22 seq.). 23 (3) TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCE- 24 DURES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3092 IH (A) PROCEDURES.—In consultation with 1 the head of each appropriate Federal land man- 2 agement agency, the Secretary shall develop, by 3 rule, transportation planning procedures for 4 projects conducted under the program that are 5 consistent with metropolitan and statewide 6 planning processes. 7 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the 8 program, the Secretary shall ensure the fol- 9 lowing: 10 (i) All projects carried out under the 11 program shall comply with sections 5303 12 and 5304 of title 49, United States Code. 13 (ii) All new transportation connectors 14 and routes established under a project car- 15 ried out under the program shall be acces- 16 sible in accordance with the accessibility 17 specifications for transportation vehicles 18 under the Americans with Disabilities Act 19 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 20 (iii) State department of transpor- 21 tation agencies shall engage with relevant 22 stakeholders consistent with sections 23 5304(f)(3) and 5404(g)(3) of title 49, 24 United States Code, and metropolitan 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3092 IH planning organizations shall engage with 1 relevant stakeholders consistent with sec- 2 tions 5303(g)(3)(B), 5303(i)(5), and 3 5303(i)(6) of title 49, United States Code, 4 in addition to faith-based and community- 5 based organizations. 6 (iv) Except as otherwise provided 7 under this section, a grant provided under 8 this section shall be subject to the require- 9 ments of section 5307 of title 49, United 10 States Code. 11 (4) FEDERAL SHARE.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 13 the cost of a project carried out under the pro- 14 gram shall not exceed 80 percent. 15 (B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Fed- 16 eral share of the cost of a project carried out 17 under the program may be derived from in-kind 18 contributions. 19 (5) ELIGIBLE USES.—Grant funds provided 20 under the program may be used— 21 (A) to develop transportation connectors or 22 routes in or serving, and related culturally and 23 linguistically appropriate education materials 24 for, critically underserved communities to in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 May 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3092.IH H3092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 3092 IH crease access and mobility to Federal and non- 1 Federal public land, waters, parkland, and 2 monuments; and 3 (B) to create or significantly enhance ac- 4 cess to Federal or non-Federal public land and 5 recreational opportunities in an urban area or 6 a rural area. 7 (6) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant provided under 8 the program shall be— 9 (A) not less than $25,000; and 10 (B) not more than $500,000. 11 (7) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—It is the intent 12 of Congress that grants provided under the program 13 deliver project funds to areas of greatest need while 14 offering technical assistance to all applicants and po- 15 tential applicants for grant preparation to encourage 16 full participation in the program. 17 (8) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The Secretary 18 shall ensure that current schedules and routes for 19 transportation systems developed after the receipt of 20 a grant under the program are available to the pub- 21 lic, including [Text truncated for display. 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