Reconnecting Communities Act
This bill establishes a grant program to remove, retrofit, or otherwise address infrastructural barriers (e.g., highways, railways, or viaducts) that impede mobility and connectivity, with a particular focus on communities of color and low-income communities.
Under this program, the Department of Transportation (DOT) must award three types of grants:
DOT must award the community engagement, education, and capacity-building grants and the planning and feasibility study grants to state, tribal, and local governments; metropolitan planning organizations; and nonprofits. An eligible entity may apply for and receive funding from more than one type of grant.
DOT must award the capital construction grants to the owner of an infrastructure barrier. The owner may, if applicable, partner with other eligible entities.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1202 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1202
To establish a program to improve community connectivity by identifying
and removing or mitigating infrastructural barriers that create
obstacles to mobility or economic development or expose the community
to pollution and other health and safety risks, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 19, 2021
Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Gillibrand,
Mr. Padilla, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Markey, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Coons)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a program to improve community connectivity by identifying
and removing or mitigating infrastructural barriers that create
obstacles to mobility or economic development or expose the community
to pollution and other health and safety risks, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reconnecting Communities Act''.
SEC. 2. CONNECTING COMMUNITIES GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Capital construction grant.--The term ``capital
construction grant'' means a capital construction grant under
subsection (f).
(2) Community engagement, education, and capacity building
grant.--The term ``community engagement, education, and
capacity building grant'' means a community engagement,
education, and capacity building grant under subsection (d).
(3) Community of color.--The term ``community of color''
means, in a State, a census block group for which the aggregate
percentage of residents who identify as Black, African-
American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian,
Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Latino, other nonwhite race,
or linguistically isolated is--
(A) not less than 50 percent; or
(B) significantly higher than the State average.
(4) Infrastructural barrier.--The term ``infrastructural
barrier'' means a highway (including a limited access highway),
a railway, a viaduct, a principal arterial facility, or any
other transportation facility for which the high speeds, grade
separation, or other design factors create an obstacle to
connectivity, including--
(A) obstacles to walking, biking, and mobility;
(B) diminished access to destinations across the
infrastructural barrier; or
(C) barriers to the economic development of the
surrounding neighborhood.
(5) Low-income community.--The term ``low-income
community'' means a census block group in which not less than
30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line (as
defined in section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant
Act (42 U.S.C. 9902)).
(6) Planning and feasibility study grant.--The term
``planning and feasibility study grant'' means a planning and
feasibility study grant under subsection (e).
(7) Program.--The term ``program'' means the program
established under subsection (b).
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Transportation.
(9) Tribal government.--The term ``Tribal government''
means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska
Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community,
component band, or component reservation, individually
identified (including parenthetically) in the list published
most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant
to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List
Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program to
help communities--
(A) identify infrastructural barriers within the
community that--
(i) create obstacles to mobility or
economic development; or
(ii) expose the community to high levels of
particulate matter, noise pollution, and other
public health and safety risks;
(B) study the feasibility of improving, and develop
plans to improve, community connectivity, including
through--
(i) removal or retrofit of an
infrastructural barrier; or
(ii) construction of facilities to mitigate
the obstacle created by the infrastructural
barrier by enhancing connectivity across the
infrastructural barrier;
(C) plan the redevelopment of any land made
available by the removal or retrofit of the
infrastructural barrier, with a focus on improvements
that will benefit the populations impacted by or
previously displaced by the infrastructural barrier;
(D) access funding to carry out the activities
described in subparagraphs (B) and (C); and
(E) require the equity of any activities carried
out under the program, including by garnering community
engagement, avoiding displacement, and ensuring local
participation in jobs created through those activities.
(2) Types of grants.--Under the program, the Secretary
shall award the following types of grants:
(A) Community engagement, education, and capacity
building grants.
(B) Planning and feasibility study grants.
(C) Capital construction grants.
(3) Multiple grants permitted.--An eligible entity may
apply for and receive funding from more than 1 type of grant
described in paragraph (2).
(c) Requirement for Project Selection.--To receive a grant under
the program, a project shall provide the majority of project benefits
to 1 or more communities of color or low-income communities.
(d) Community Engagement, Education, and Capacity Building
Grants.--
(1) Eligible entities.--The Secretary may award a community
engagement, education, and capacity building grant to carry out
community engagement, education, and capacity building
activities described in paragraph (2) to--
(A) a political subdivision of a State or local
government;
(B) a Tribal government;
(C) a metropolitan planning organization; and
(D) a nonprofit organization.
(2) Eligible activities.--A community engagement and
capacity building activity referred to in paragraph (1)
includes an activity--
(A) to educate community members about
opportunities to affect transportation and economic
development planning and investment decisions;
(B) to build organizational or community capacity
to engage in transportation and economic development
planning;
(C) to identify community needs and desires for
community improvements;
(D) to develop community-driven solutions to local
challenges;
(E) to conduct assessments of equity, mobility and
access, environmental justice, affordability, economic
opportunity, health outcomes, and other local goals;
(F) to form a community advisory board in
accordance with subsection (g); and
(G) to engage community members in scenario
planning.
(3) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of an
activity carried out with funds from a community engagement,
education, and capacity building grant may be up to 100
percent, at the discretion of the eligible entity.
(e) Planning and Feasibility Study Grants.--
(1) Eligible entities.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may award a planning
and feasibility study grant to carry out planning
activities described in paragraph (2) to--
(i) a State;
(ii) a political subdivision of a State or
local government;
(iii) a Tribal government;
(iv) a metropolitan planning organization;
and
(v) a nonprofit organization.
(B) Partnerships.--In the case of an eligible
entity that is not the owner of the infrastructural
barrier that is the subject of the planning and
feasibility study grant, the eligible entity shall
demonstrate the existence of a partnership with the
owner of the infrastructural barrier.
(2) Eligible activities.--A planning activity referred to
in paragraph (1)(A) includes--
(A) development of designs and artistic renderings
to facilitate community engagement;
(B) traffic studies, nonmotorized accessibility
analyses, equity needs analyses, and collection of
other relevant data;
(C) planning studies to evaluate the feasibility of
removing or retrofitting an infrastructural barrier, or
the construction of facilities to mitigate the obstacle
created by the infrastructural barrier by enhancing
connectivity across the infrastructural barrier;
(D) public engagement activities to provide
opportunities for public input into a plan to remove,
convert, or mitigate an infrastructural barrier;
(E) environmental review, consultation, or other
action required under any Federal environmental law
relating to the review or approval of a project to
remove, retrofit, or mitigate an existing
infrastructural barrier;
(F) establishment of a community land trust for the
development and use of real estate created by the
removal or capping of an infrastructural barrier; and
(G) other transportation planning activities
required in advance of a project to remove, retrofit or
mitigate an existing infrastructural barrier, as
determined by the Secretary.
(3) Technical assistance.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may provide to an
eligible entity technical assistance in building
organizational or community capacity--
(i) to engage in transportation planning;
and
(ii) to identify innovative solutions to
infrastructure challenges, including
reconnecting communities that--
(I) are bifurcated by eligible
facilities; or
(II) lack safe, reliable, and
affordable transportation choices.
(B) Priorities.--In selecting recipients of
technical assistance under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary shall give priority to an application from a
community that is economically disadvantaged.
(4) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of an
activity carried out with funds from a planning and feasibility
study grant shall be not more than 80 percent.
(f) Capital Construction Grants.--
(1) Eligible entities.--The Secretary may award a capital
construction grant to the owner of an infrastructural barrier
to carry out a project described in paragraph (3) for which all
necessary feasibility studies and other planning activities
have been completed.
(2) Partnerships.--For the purpose of submitting an
application for a capital construction grant, an owner of an
infrastructural barrier may, if applicable, partner with--
(A) a State;
(B) a unit of local government;
(C) a Tribal government;
(D) a metropolitan planning organization; or
(E) a nonprofit organization.
(3) Eligible projects.--
(A) In general.--A project eligible to be carried
out with a capital construction grant includes--
(i) the removal of an infrastructural
barrier;
(ii) the retrofit of an infrastructural
barrier in a way that enhances community
connectivity and is sensitive to the context of
the surrounding community, including retrofits
to a highway to cap the facility or replace the
facility with an at-grade arterial roadway;
(iii) the construction of facilities that
improve connectivity across the infrastructural
barrier;
(iv) the replacement of an infrastructural
barrier with a new use or facility that has
been identified by members of the community;
and
(v) the construction of other
transportation improvements that address the
mobility needs of the community.
(B) Exclusion.--Funds from a capital construction
grant shall not be used on a project that increases net
capacity for vehicular travel.
(4) Priority for capital construction grants.--In selecting
eligible entities to receive a capital construction grant, the
Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity that--
(A) has entered into a community benefits agreement
with representatives of the community;
(B) serves a community in which an anti-
displacement policy or a community land trust is in
effect;
(C) has formed a community advisory board under
subsection (g); or
(D) has demonstrated a plan for--
(i) employing residents in the area
impacted by the activity or project through
targeted hiring programs; and
(ii) contracting and subcontracting with
disadvantaged business enterprises.
(5) Requirement.--In order to receive a capital
construction grant, the owner of the infrastructural barrier
shall demonstrate that the project is supported by the
community in the immediate vicinity of the project.
(6) Federal share.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), the Federal share of the cost of a project carried
out with a capital construction grant may be not more
than 80 percent.
(B) Maximum federal involvement.--Federal
assistance other than a capital construction grant may
be used to satisfy the non-Federal share of the cost of
a project for which the grant is awarded.
(g) Community Advisory Board.--
(1) In general.--To help achieve inclusive economic
development benefits, an eligible entity may form a community
advisory board, which shall--
(A) facilitate community engagement with respect to
the activity or project proposed to be carried out; and
(B) track progress with respect to commitments of
the eligible entity to inclusive employment,
contracting, and economic development under the
activity or project.
(2) Membership.--If an eligible entity forms a community
advisory board under paragraph (1), the community advisory
board shall be composed of representatives of--
(A) the community;
(B) owners of businesses that serve the community;
(C) labor organizations that represent workers that
serve the community; and
(D) State and local government.
(h) Administrative Costs.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary may
use not more than 2 percent of the amounts made available for the
program for the costs of administering the program.
(i) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment
and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that--
(1) assesses the impacts and benefits of highway removals
on congestion, mobility, and safety in the project vicinity,
and the extent to which those impacts differ from projected
impacts;
(2) includes recommendations for how traffic forecasting
should--
(A) consider nonmotorized travel demand; and
(B) track and be updated in response to observed
travel behavior responses to changes in transportation
capacity and land use; and
(3) includes recommendations for how environmental reviews
for projects funded under the Federal-aid highway program
should consider, identify, and quantify, during project
development, any diminished access, including nonmotorized
access, that will result from the project.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit
Account) to carry out this section $3,000,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2026.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2036)
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported favorably.
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