Sec. 310. Data and analysis
301 words·~1 min read·
/bill/114/s/1626/is/section-310A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Surface Transportation Board, Amtrak, freight railroads, State and local governments, and regional business, tourism and economic development agencies shall conduct a data needs assessment— to support the development of an efficient and effective intercity passenger rail network; to identify the data needed to conduct cost-effective modeling and analysis for intercity passenger rail development programs; to determine limitations to the data used for inputs; to develop a strategy to address such limitations; to identify barriers to accessing existing data; to develop recommendations regarding whether the authorization of additional data collection for intercity passenger rail travel is warranted; and to determine which entities will be responsible for generating or collecting needed data.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enhance the usefulness of assessments of benefits and costs, for intercity passenger rail and freight rail projects— by providing ongoing guidance and training on developing benefit and cost information for rail projects; by providing more direct and consistent requirements for assessing benefits and costs across transportation funding programs, including the appropriate use of discount rates; by requiring applicants to clearly communicate the methodology used to calculate the project benefits and costs, including non-proprietary information on— assumptions underlying calculations; strengths and limitations of data used; and the level of uncertainty in estimates of project benefits and costs; and by ensuring that applicants receive clear and consistent guidance on values to apply for key assumptions used to estimate potential project benefits and costs.
The Secretary shall protect sensitive or confidential to the greatest extent permitted by law. Nothing in this section shall require any entity to provide information to the Secretary in the absence of a voluntary agreement.