Sec. 5005. Strengthening mobility and revolutionizing transportation grant program
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/bill/117/s/2016/is/section-5005·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In this section: The term eligible entity means— a State; a political subdivision of a State; a Tribal government; a public transit agency or authority; a public toll authority; a metropolitan planning organization; and a group of 2 or more eligible entities described in any of subparagraphs
(A)through
(F)applying through a single lead applicant. The term eligible project means a project described in subsection (e). The term large community means a community with a population of not less than 400,000 individuals, as determined under the most recent annual estimate of the Bureau of the Census. The term midsized community means any community that is not a large community or a rural community. The term regional partnership means a partnership composed of 2 or more eligible entities located in jurisdictions with a combined population that is equal to or greater than the population of any midsized community. The term rural community means a community that is located in an area that is outside of an urbanized area (as defined in section 5302 of title 49, United States Code). The term SMART grant means a grant provided to an eligible entity under the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation Grant Program established under subsection (b). The Secretary shall establish a program, to be known as the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation Grant Program , under which the Secretary shall provide grants to eligible entities to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart city or community technologies and systems in a variety of communities to improve transportation efficiency and safety. In determining the projects for which to provide a SMART grant, the Secretary shall consider contributions to geographical diversity among grant recipients, including the need for balancing the needs of rural communities, midsized communities, and large communities, consistent with the requirements of subparagraphs
(A)through
(C)of subsection (g)(1). An eligible entity may submit to the Secretary an application for a SMART grant at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. The Secretary shall include, in any notice of funding availability relating to SMART grants, a full description of the method by which applications under paragraph
(1)will be evaluated. The Secretary shall evaluate applications for SMART grants based on— the extent to which the eligible entity or applicable beneficiary community— has a public transportation system or other transit options capable of integration with other systems to improve mobility and efficiency; has a population density and transportation needs conducive to demonstrating proposed strategies; has continuity of committed leadership and the functional capacity to carry out the proposed project; is committed to open data sharing with the public; and is likely to successfully implement the proposed eligible project, including through technical and financial commitments from the public and private sectors; and the extent to which a proposed eligible project will use advanced data, technology, and applications to provide significant benefits to a local area, a State, a region, or the United States, including the extent to which the proposed eligible project will— reduce congestion and delays for commerce and the traveling public; improve the safety and integration of transportation facilities and systems for pedestrians, bicyclists, and the broader traveling public; improve access to jobs, education, and essential services, including health care; connect or expand access for underserved or disadvantaged populations and reduce transportation costs; contribute to medium- and long-term economic competitiveness; improve the reliability of existing transportation facilities and systems; promote connectivity between and among connected vehicles, roadway infrastructure, pedestrians, bicyclists, the public, and transportation systems; incentivize private sector investments or partnerships, including by working with mobile and fixed telecommunication service providers, to the extent practicable; improve energy efficiency or reduce pollution; increase the resiliency of the transportation system; and improve emergency response. In providing SMART grants, the Secretary shall give priority to applications for eligible projects that would— demonstrate smart city or community technologies in repeatable ways that can rapidly be scaled; encourage public and private sharing of data and best practices; encourage private-sector innovation by promoting industry-driven technology standards, open platforms, technology-neutral requirements, and interoperability; promote a skilled workforce that is inclusive of minority or disadvantaged groups; allow for the measurement and validation of the cost savings and performance improvements associated with the installation and use of smart city or community technologies and practices; encourage the adoption of smart city or community technologies by communities; promote industry practices regarding cybersecurity; and safeguard individual privacy. A SMART grant may be used to carry out a project that demonstrates at least 1 of the following: The use of automated transportation and autonomous vehicles, while working to minimize the impact on the accessibility of any other user group or mode of travel. Vehicles that send and receive information regarding vehicle movements in the network and use vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-everything communications to provide advanced and reliable connectivity. The deployment and use of a collective intelligent infrastructure that allows sensors to collect and report real-time data to inform everyday transportation-related operations and performance. The integration of intelligent transportation systems with other existing systems and other advanced transportation technologies. Innovative data and technological solutions supporting efficient goods movement, such as connected vehicle probe data, road weather data, or global positioning data to improve on-time pickup and delivery, improved travel time reliability, reduced fuel consumption and emissions, and reduced labor and vehicle maintenance costs. Leveraging the use of innovative aviation technologies, such as unmanned aircraft systems, to support transportation safety and efficiencies, including traffic monitoring and infrastructure inspection. Development of a programmable and efficient energy transmission and distribution system to support the adoption or expansion of energy capture, electric vehicle deployment, or freight or commercial fleet fuel efficiency. A SMART grant may be used for— development phase activities, including— planning; feasibility analyses; revenue forecasting; environmental review; permitting; preliminary engineering and design work; systems development or information technology work; and acquisition of real property (including land and improvements to land relating to an eligible project); and construction phase activities, including— construction; reconstruction; rehabilitation; replacement; environmental mitigation; construction contingencies; and acquisition of equipment, including vehicles. A SMART grant shall not be used— to reimburse any preaward costs or application preparation costs of the SMART grant application; for any traffic or parking enforcement activity; or to purchase or lease a license plate reader. Not later than 2 years after the date on which an eligible entity receives a SMART grant, and annually thereafter until the date on which the SMART grant is expended, the eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an implementation report that describes— the deployment and operational costs of each eligible project carried out by the eligible entity, as compared to the benefits and savings from the eligible project; and the means by which each eligible project carried out by the eligible entity has met the original expectation, as projected in the SMART grant application, including— data describing the means by which the eligible project met the specific goals for the project, such as— reducing traffic-related fatalities and injuries; reducing traffic congestion or improved travel-time reliability; providing the public with access to real-time integrated traffic, transit, and multimodal transportation information to make informed travel decisions; or reducing barriers or improved access to jobs, education, or various essential services; the effectiveness of providing to the public real-time integrated traffic, transit, and multimodal transportation information to make informed travel decisions; and lessons learned and recommendations for future deployment strategies to optimize transportation efficiency and multimodal system performance. Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct, and submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report describing the results of, a review of the SMART grant program under this section. Not later than 2 years after the date on which the initial SMART grants are provided under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that— describes each eligible entity that received a SMART grant; identifies the amount of each SMART grant provided; summarizes the intended uses of each SMART grant; describes the effectiveness of recipient eligible entities in meeting the goals described in the SMART grant application of the eligible entity, including an assessment or measurement of the realized improvements or benefits resulting from each SMART grant; and describes lessons learned and recommendations for future deployment strategies to optimize transportation efficiency and multimodal system performance. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $100,000,000 for each of the first 5 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, of which— not more than 40 percent shall be used to provide SMART grants for eligible projects that primarily benefit large communities; not more than 30 percent shall be provided for eligible projects that primarily benefit midsized communities; and not more than 30 percent shall be used to provide SMART grants for eligible projects that primarily benefit rural communities or regional partnerships. Of the amounts made available under paragraph
(1)for each fiscal year, not more than 2 percent shall be used for administrative costs of the Secretary in carrying out this section. An eligible entity may not use more than 3 percent of the amount of a SMART grant for each fiscal year to achieve compliance with applicable planning and reporting requirements. The amounts made available for a fiscal year pursuant to this subsection shall be available for obligation during the 2-fiscal-year period beginning on the first day of the fiscal year for which the amounts were appropriated.