Sec. 9001. National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau

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Chapter 1 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau in the Department. The purposes of the Bureau shall be— to administer the application processes for programs within the Department in accordance with subsection (d); to promote innovative financing best practices in accordance with subsection (e); to reduce uncertainty and delays with respect to environmental reviews and permitting in accordance with subsection (f); to reduce costs and risks to taxpayers in project delivery and procurement in accordance with subsection (g); and to carry out subtitle IX of this title.

The Bureau shall be headed by an Executive Director, who shall be appointed in the competitive service by the Secretary, with the approval of the President. The Executive Director shall— report to the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy; be responsible for the management and oversight of the daily activities, decisions, operations, and personnel of the Bureau; support the Council on Credit and Finance established under section 117 in accordance with this section; and carry out such additional duties as the Secretary may prescribe.

The Bureau shall administer the application processes for the following programs: The infrastructure finance programs authorized under chapter 6 of title 23. The railroad rehabilitation and improvement financing program authorized under sections 501 through 503 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 ( 45 U.S.C. 821–823 ). Amount allocations authorized under section 142(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The nationally significant freight and highway projects program under section 117 of title 23.

The Secretary shall ensure that the congressional notification requirements for each program referred to in paragraph

(1)are followed in accordance with the statutory provisions applicable to the program. The Secretary shall ensure that the reporting requirements for each program referred to in paragraph

(1)are followed in accordance with the statutory provisions applicable to the program. In administering the application processes for the programs referred to in paragraph (1), the Executive Director of the Bureau shall coordinate with appropriate officials in the Department and its modal administrations responsible for administering such programs. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report that— evaluates the application processes for the programs referred to in paragraph (1); identifies administrative and legislative actions that would improve the efficiency of the application processes without diminishing Federal oversight; and describes how the Secretary will implement administrative actions identified under subparagraph

(B)that do not require an Act of Congress. The Secretary shall, with respect to the programs referred to in paragraph (1)— establish procedures for analyzing and evaluating applications and for utilizing the recommendations of the Council on Credit and Finance; establish procedures for addressing late-arriving applications, as applicable, and communicating the Bureau’s decisions for accepting or rejecting late applications to the applicant and the public; and document major decisions in the application evaluation process through a decision memorandum or similar mechanism that provides a clear rationale for such decisions. The Comptroller General of the United States shall review the compliance of the Secretary with the requirements of this paragraph. The Comptroller General may make recommendations to the Secretary in order to improve compliance with the requirements of this paragraph. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the results of the review conducted under clause (i), including findings and recommendations for improvement. The Bureau shall work with the modal administrations within the Department, the States, and other public and private interests to develop and promote best practices for innovative financing and public-private partnerships. The Bureau shall carry out paragraph (1)— by making Federal credit assistance programs more accessible to eligible recipients; by providing advice and expertise to State and local governments that seek to leverage public and private funding; by sharing innovative financing best practices and case studies from State and local governments with other State and local governments that are interested in utilizing innovative financing methods; and by developing and monitoring— best practices with respect to standardized State public-private partnership authorities and practices, including best practices related to— accurate and reliable assumptions for analyzing public-private partnership procurements; procedures for the handling of unsolicited bids; policies with respect to noncompete clauses; and other significant terms of public-private partnership procurements, as determined appropriate by the Bureau; standard contracts for the most common types of public-private partnerships for transportation facilities; and analytical tools and other techniques to aid State and local governments in determining the appropriate project delivery model, including a value for money analysis. The Bureau shall— ensure transparency of a project receiving credit assistance under a program identified in subsection (d)(1) and procured as a public-private partnership by— requiring the project sponsor of such project to undergo a value for money analysis or a comparable analysis prior to deciding to advance the project as a public-private partnership; requiring the analysis required under subparagraph

(A)and other key terms of the relevant public-private partnership agreement, to be made publicly available by the project sponsor at an appropriate time; not later than 3 years after the completion of the project, requiring the project sponsor of such project to conduct a review regarding whether the private partner is meeting the terms of the relevant public private partnership agreement for the project; and providing a publicly available summary of the total level of Federal assistance in such project; and develop guidance to implement this paragraph that takes into consideration variations in State and local laws and requirements related to public-private partnerships. At the request of a State or local government, the Bureau shall provide technical assistance to the State or local government regarding proposed public-private partnership agreements for transportation facilities, including assistance in performing a value for money analysis or comparable analysis. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a report that— evaluates the differences between traditional design-bid-build, design-build, and public-private partnership procurements for projects carried out under the fixed guideway capital investment program authorized under section 5309; identifies, for project procured as public-private partnerships whether the review and approval process under the program requires modification to better suit the unique nature of such procurements; and describes how the Secretary will implement any administrative actions identified under subparagraph

(B)that do not require an Act of Congress. The Bureau shall take such actions as are appropriate and consistent with the goals and policies set forth in this title and title 23, including with the concurrence of other Federal agencies as required under this title and title 23, to improve delivery timelines for projects. The Bureau shall carry out paragraph (1)— by serving as the Department’s liaison to the Council on Environmental Quality; by coordinating Department-wide efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the environmental review and permitting process; by coordinating Department efforts under section 139 of title 23; by supporting modernization efforts at Federal agencies to achieve innovative approaches to the permitting and review of projects; by providing technical assistance and training to field and headquarters staff of Federal agencies on policy changes and innovative approaches to the delivery of projects; by identifying, developing, and tracking metrics for permit reviews and decisions by Federal agencies for projects under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; and by administering and expanding the use of Internet-based tools providing for— the development and posting of schedules for permit reviews and permit decisions for projects; and the sharing of best practices related to efficient permitting and reviews for projects. At the request of a State or local government, the Bureau, in coordination with the other appropriate modal agencies within the Department, shall provide technical assistance with regard to the compliance of a project sponsored by the State or local government with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act 1969 and relevant Federal environmental permits. The Bureau shall promote best practices in procurement for a project receiving assistance under a program identified in subsection (d)(1) by developing, in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration and other modal agencies as appropriate, procurement benchmarks in order to ensure accountable expenditure of Federal assistance over the life cycle of such project. The procurement benchmarks developed under paragraph

(1)shall, to the maximum extent practicable— establish maximum thresholds for acceptable project cost increases and delays in project delivery; establish uniform methods for States to measure cost and delivery changes over the life cycle of a project; and be tailored, as necessary, to various types of project procurements, including design-bid-build, design-build, and public private partnerships. The Secretary may eliminate any office within the Department if the Secretary determines that the purposes of the office are duplicative of the purposes of the Bureau, and the elimination of such office shall not adversely affect the obligations of the Secretary under any Federal law. The Secretary may consolidate any office within the Department into the Bureau that the Secretary determines has duties, responsibilities, resources, or expertise that support the purposes of the Bureau. The Secretary shall ensure that the Bureau is adequately staffed and funded. The Secretary may transfer to the Bureau a position within the Department from any office that is eliminated or consolidated under this subsection if the Secretary determines that the position is necessary to carry out the purposes of the Bureau. The Secretary may transfer to the Bureau funds allocated to any office that is eliminated or consolidated under this subsection to carry out the purposes of the Bureau. The Secretary shall transfer to the Bureau funds allocated to the administrative costs of processing applications for the programs referred to in subsection (d)(1). Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that— lists the offices eliminated under paragraph

(1)and provides the rationale for elimination of the offices; lists the offices consolidated under paragraph

(2)and provides the rationale for consolidation of the offices; and describes the actions taken under paragraph

(3)and provides the rationale for taking such actions. Nothing in this section may be construed to change a law or regulation with respect to a program referred to in subsection (d)(1). Nothing in this section may be construed to abrogate the responsibilities of an agency, operating administration, or office within the Department otherwise charged by a law or regulation with other aspects of program administration, oversight, and project approval or implementation for the programs and projects subject to this section. In this section, the following definitions apply: The term Bureau means the National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau of the Department. The term Department means the Department of Transportation. The term multimodal project means a project involving the participation of more than one modal administration or secretarial office within the Department. The term project means a highway project, public transportation capital project, freight or passenger rail project, or multimodal project. . The analysis for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following: 116. National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau. .

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45 USC 821–823

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Sec. 9001

National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau

Cite45 USC 821–823

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