Sec. 12004. Researching surface transportation system funding alternatives
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The Secretary shall promote the research of user-based alternative revenue mechanisms that preserve a user fee structure to maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. The objectives of the research described in subsection
(a)shall be— to study uncertainties relating to the design, acceptance, and implementation of 2 or more future user-based alternative revenue mechanisms; to define the functionality of those user-based alternative revenue mechanisms; to conduct or promote research activities to demonstrate and test those user-based alternative revenue mechanisms, including by conducting field trials, by partnering with individual States, groups of States, or other appropriate entities to conduct the research activities; to conduct outreach to increase public awareness regarding the need for alternative funding sources for surface transportation programs and provide information on possible approaches; to provide recommendations regarding adoption and implementation of those user-based alternative revenue mechanisms; and to minimize the administrative cost of any potential user-based alternative revenue mechanisms. The Secretary shall provide grants to individual States, groups of States, or other appropriate entities to conduct research that addresses— the implementation, interoperability, public acceptance, and other potential hurdles to the adoption of a user-based alternative revenue mechanism; the protection of personal privacy; the use of independent and private third-party vendors to collect fees and operate the user-based alternative revenue mechanism; equity concerns, including the impacts of the user-based alternative revenue mechanism on differing income groups, various geographic areas, and the relative burdens on rural and urban drivers; ease of compliance for different users of the transportation system; the reliability and security of technology used to implement the user-based alternative revenue mechanism; the flexibility and choices of user-based alternative revenue mechanisms, including the ability of users to select from various technology and payment options; the cost of administering the user-based alternative revenue mechanism; and the ability of the administering entity to audit and enforce user compliance. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall establish and lead a Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Advisory Council (referred to in this subsection as the Council ) to inform the selection and evaluation of user-based alternative revenue mechanisms. The members of the Council shall— be appointed by the Secretary; and include, at a minimum— representatives with experience in user-based alternative revenue mechanisms, of which— not fewer than 1 shall be from the Department; not fewer than 1 shall be from the Department of the Treasury; and not fewer than 2 shall be from State departments of transportation; representatives from applicable users of the surface transportation system; and appropriate technology and public privacy experts. The Secretary shall consider geographic diversity when selecting members under this paragraph. Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Council is established, the Council shall, at a minimum— define the functionality of 2 or more user-based alternative revenue mechanisms; identify technological, administrative, institutional, privacy, and other issues that— are associated with the user-based alternative revenue mechanisms; and may be researched through research activities; conduct public outreach to identify and assess questions and concerns about the user-based alternative revenue mechanisms for future evaluation through research activities; and provide recommendations to the Secretary on the process and criteria used for selecting research activities under subsection (c). The Council shall conduct periodic evaluations of the research activities that have received assistance from the Secretary under this section. The Council shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter until the completion of the research activities under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report describing the progress of the research activities. On the completion of the research activities under this section, the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury, acting jointly, shall submit to the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report describing the results of the research activities and any recommendations. Of the funds authorized to carry out section 503(b) of title 23, United States Code— $15,000,000 shall be used to carry out this section in fiscal year 2016; and $20,000,000 shall be used to carry out this section in each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021.