Surface Transportation Amendments of 1984

(Measure passed Senate, amended)

Surface Transportation Amendments of 1984 - Approves the interstate highway cost estimate for FY 1985 and 1986 and the interstate substitute cost estimate for FY 1984 and 1985. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to adjust and reallocate the minimum allocation made on March 9, 1984, to reflect the apportionments made under this Act. Revises the procedures for releasing interstate construction funds and interstate substitute funds, including allowing the Secretary to release such funds without congressional approval.

Decreases the Federal share payable for emergency relief funds for repair projects on the Federal-aid highway system and the Interstate System, unless such emergency repairs are to minimize damage, protect facilities, or restore essential traffic and are accomplished within 30 days after the occurrence.

Provides for the funding of certain highway projects with interstate discretionary funds.

Requires that a specified percentage of State withdrawal funds be available to the Secretary for State highway research and planning.

Authorizes Federal matching funds for bridge replacement and rehabilitation for specified bridges not on the Federal-aid highway system.

Amends the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 to include small business concerns owned and controlled by women among such concerns that are eligible for a specified percentage of expenditures under such Act.

Amends the General Bridge Act of 1906, the General Bridge Act of 1946, the International Bridge Act of 1972, the Department of Transportation Act, and various other Acts to repeal provisions which regulate toll facilities. Requires toll increases on such facilities to be just and reasonable.

Declares that no report, list, schedule, or survey compiled by a State concerning the evaluation of hazardous roadway conditions or rail-highway crossings in order to plan and prioritize safety projects shall be required to be admitted into evidence or used for any other purpose in a Federal or State court.

Requires toll authorities to certify to the State Governor that such facilities are adequately maintained and that funding is available for the replacement or repair of such facilities. Provides that if funds from the Highway Trust Fund are used for such repairs, then such State's apportionment for the next fiscal year shall be reduced by such amount. Exempts international toll facilities and such facilities on the Federal-aid system from such requirement.

Provides for: (1) crediting the fair market value of right-of-way donations for highway projects to the State matching share when such donations are made to the State; and (2) revesting such property to the donor if it is not required after environmental assessments.

Directs the Secretary to reserve amounts expended for right-of-way for a route withdrawal until the right-of-way disposition decision has been made.

Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program. Sets forth the following items for inclusion in such study: (1) an analysis of the progress made toward replacing and rehabilitating inadequate bridges on or off the Federal-aid system; (2) a review of the bridge inspection program; (3) an analysis of the effectiveness of the bridge discretionary program; and (4) a review of the bridge program's effect on the rehabilitation of historic bridges.

Requires the Transportation Research Board of the National Research Council to carry out a study of the bridge formula with respect to vehicle weights and the life span of bridges.

Makes costs incurred to mitigate harm to historic bridges as a result of Federal-aid projects, eligible for Federal-aid highway funds. Permits States to use demolition funds for preservation of historic bridges.

Requires (currently, authorizes) States to inventory bridges on the Federal-aid system for historic significance.

Directs the Secretary to approve the planting of native wildflowers for landscaping and scenic enhancement of Federal-aid highways.

Makes the repair or reconstruction of a Federal-aid primary route in the vicinity of Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, which has experienced slide damage, eligible for emergency relief funds.

Requires an annual minimum allocation of 85 percent of estimated tax payments attributable to States in the Highway Trust Fund. Specifies the programs applicable to such requirement.

Permits an interstate transfer project in Maryland to be completed in increments.

Requires the Secretary to assist the District of Columbia and Virginia in carrying out a demonstration project on Interstate 95 and 395 which restricts the use of express lanes during certain rush hours after the District of Columbia completes reconstruction of a specified bridge. (Currently, the Secretary is required to carry out such demonstration project after the District of Columbia begins actual reconstruction.)

Provides that the Federal share payable for individual projects authorized by statute after September 30, 1983, and for which authorizations are provided out of the Highway Trust Fund, shall not exceed 50 percent of the total costs or a specified amount, whichever is less.

Directs the Secretary to carry out the following demonstration projects: (1) in Cattaraugus County, New York, to demonstrate the extent to which the economy of an Indian reservation can be improved by completion of key elements of a modern, grade-separated access controlled highway which serves the reservation; (2) in the vicinity of Buckhannon, West Virginia, to demonstrate the efficient movement of traffic around an area of active coal mining and industrial development; (3) in Montana, to demonstrate the improved serviceability of rural roads when provided with specified reconstruction; (4) in the vicinity of Cleveland, Texas, to demonstrate the reduction in congestion by providing a four-line divided highway with interchanges in an area with at-grade crossings; (5) in the vicinity of Knoxville, Tennessee, to demonstrate the benefits of a high technology developmental highway project; (6) in Idaho, to determine the economic and social impact of controlled-access highway services on a redeveloping central business district of a certain population; (7) in Manchester, New Hampshire, to demonstrate the feasibility of replacing a functionally obsolete and structurally deficient bridge located in a historic district, with a modern structure while preserving the integrity of the district; (8) in the State of Washington, to determine the economic and social impact of utilizing the air space above a controlled-access highway to mitigate the impact on a major urban area of construction of the highway and for other transportation uses; (9) in the area of Brunswick-Topsham, Maine, to demonstrate increased access to defense related facilities by the construction of a limited access highway connecting a major interstate highway corridor with a naval air station and a shipyard engaged in defense production activities; (10) in Honolulu, Hawaii, to demonstrate the benefits of constructing a causeway in Pearl Harbor to connect to the highway system; (11) in Savannah, Georgia, to demonstrate the best method for replacing an obsolete bridge to improve traffic safety; (12) in Arizona, to demonstrate transportation efficiencies gained by upgrading a highway which connects two Indian reservations; (13) in Dubuque, Iowa, to demonstrate the benefits of connecting an area of highway unemployment to the Federal system; and (14) in Sparks, Nevada, to demonstrate the economic and social impact of construction of an interchange.

Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out such projects and sets forth reporting dates after the completion of such projects.

Authorizes appropriations for continued work on the demonstration project near Devils Lake, North Dakota.

Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to carryout a demonstration project connecting the Isle of Palms to the South Carolina mainland. Authorizes appropriations.

Makes "Buy American" provisions applicable to projects whose total costs exceed $500,000.

Authorizes appropriations for the upgrading of certain highways in New Mexico for the transportation of nuclear waste generated during defense-related activities.

Sets forth obligation limitations for Federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs for FY 1985. Makes certain limitations inapplicable to States which returned unused obligations.

Declares the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike free of restrictions on the imposition of tolls upon the repayment by the Commonwealth of Virginia of certain Federal-aid highway funds relating to such turnpike.

Provides for the apportionment of funds for forest highways.

Makes sums apportioned or allocated for highway substitute projects available for constructing bicycle facilities.

Authorizes States to adjust their interstate substitution programs which were approved in concept by the Secretary on or before September 30, 1983. Authorizes States to add and delete projects until September 30, 1985, without altering the existing entitlement.

Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility of constructing a New East-West Highway linking the Delaware Memorial Bridge with the Atlantic City Expressway and other north-south arteries in southern New Jersey. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 for such study.

Extends the authority for States to utilize certain highway rehabilitation funds for specified projects until the date of enactment of this Act.

Declares that the Secretary of the Interior shall not be required to convey to Maryland any portion of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway located in such State upon completion of the reconstruction of the parkway as authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1970.

Authorizes Virginia to relocate and reconstruct a navigation project at Newport News Creek upon approval of such plans by the Secretary of the Army.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation, within nine months of enactment of this Act, to submit to Congress a study on the impact of prison industries which furnish convict-produced materials for Federal highways on private industries which produce similar materials. Requires the study to examine the socio-economic effects of prison industry programs in the rehabilitation and job training of convict participants.

Directs the Secretary, in allocating discretionary funds, to give priority to those States which have had highway fund reductions of over 45 percent during FY 1984, exceeding $100,000,000.

Directs the Secretary to waive the alternate design requirements for a certain bridge in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Title II: Uniform Relocation Act Amendments - Amends the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to expand the definition of the term "State agency" for purposes of such Act to include any entity having eminent domain authority under State law.

Revises the definition of "Federal assistance" to exclude mortgage interest subsidies.

Revises the definition of "displaced person" to provide that: (1) any residential tenant, farm operation, or small business which is permanently displaced as a direct result of Federal or federally-assisted rehabilitation or demolition projects shall be entitled to moving expenses and relocation advisory services under such Act; (2) any such entity which is permanently displaced as a direct result of a Federal or federally-funded program or project shall be entitled to moving expenses; (3) any entity which occupied the displacement dwelling illegally or solely for the purpose of obtaining relocation benefits shall not be eligible for relocation benefits; and (4) any utility required to move its facilities from public lands shall be entitled to be relocated or to receive a relocation payment from the Federal Government or the appropriate State or local government.

Sets forth the requirements for a "suitable" replacement dwelling, which shall be used in such Act in place of a "comparable" replacement dwelling.

Defines a "displacing agency" as any Federal agency, State, or State agency utilizing Federal assistance which causes a person to be displaced.

Requires the payment to displaced persons of actual expenses, not exceeding $10,000, necessary to reestablish a displaced small business or nonprofit organization at its new site.

Removes the limitation on the moving expense allowance and the fixed amount of the dislocation allowance that a person displaced from a dwelling may elect to receive in lieu of itemized expenses. Declares that such allowances shall be determined according to a schedule established by a lead agency designated by the President.

Increases the maximum and decreases the minimum limitations on the payment a person displaced from a business or farm operation may elect to receive in lieu of itemized deductions. Declares that such amount shall be determined according to criteria established by the lead agency. (Currently, such amount is based on the annual earnings of the farm or business.) Excludes from entitlement to such payment a displaced person whose sole business was the rental of the displacement property.

Entitles a utility (including any transportation or communications system) that is displaced from property owned or controlled by a State or local agency as a result of a federally-assisted program, to a payment (not exceeding its actual reasonable relocation costs) as provided by State or local law or by a contract, if any, between the utility and the agency. Entitles a utility that is displaced from property owned or controlled by a State or local agency as a result of the acquisition of such property by a Federal agency, to relocation or payment of its actual reasonable relocation costs by the Federal agency, except as provided otherwise by a Federal law, a Federal regulation promulgated before March 17, 1983, or a contract between the utility and the Federal agency.

Authorizes the head of an agency responsible for a program resulting in the displacement of a utility or cable television facilities from public property to provide a payment to such utility or cable operation not to exceed moving expenses.

Increases the maximum amount of assistance that a displacing agency may provide to a displaced homeowner for replacement housing. Requires such assistance to include an amount necessary to: (1) meet the reasonable cost of a suitable replacement dwelling as defined in this Act; and (2) compensate the displaced person for any increased financing costs.

Authorizes a displacing agency to extend the one-year period, following payment for an acquired home, during which the displaced person must purchase and occupy a replacement dwelling in order to qualify for housing replacement payments, but limits such payments to the costs of relocating such person within that one-year period.

Revises the method of determining the amount of rental housing replacement assistance to be provided to displaced tenants. Eliminates the $4,000 rental assistance limitation and establishes the amount of such assistance for a person whose income exceeds 50 percent of the median area income at the lesser of: (1) $4,500; or (2) 36 times the difference between the monthly cost of a suitable replacement dwelling and the monthly cost of the displacement dwelling. Permits eligible displaced tenants to elect to: (1) receive Federal, State, or local low-income housing assistance in lieu of such rental housing replacement assistance; or (2) apply such rental assistance toward the downpayment on a decent, safe, and sanitary replacement dwelling. Declares that displaced homeowners who meet the residency requirement for rental housing replacement assistance but not for homeowner's housing replacement assistance may qualify for rental assistance, at the discretion of the lead agency.

Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to give displaced persons priority for assistance under public housing programs. Directs the Small Business Administration and other Federal agencies to provide technical assistance to such persons applying for assistance and to expedite their applications.

Requires that all relocation assistance advisory programs: (1) provide information on suitable locations for displaced farming operations; (2) assure that no person is required to move before being given a reasonable choice of suitable replacement dwellings; and (3) assure that a 180-day homeowner occupant is given a reasonable opportunity to remain in such occupancy status.

Provides for the designation of a single, cognizant Federal agency to establish procedures to be used by a non-Federal displacing agency to implement related activities funded by two or more Federal agencies.

Directs the lead agency to require that provisions authorizing a displacing agency to use project funds to provide dwellings for displaced persons (if the project would be delayed because suitable replacement housing is not otherwise available) be used to exceed housing replacement assistance ceilings only on a case-by-case basis and for good cause. Authorizes a displacing agency to provide replacement housing for persons eligible for low-income housing assistance through public housing programs.

Permits a Federal agency to discharge its responsibilities by accepting the certification by a State agency that it will implement State law to carry out the Federal relocation assistance program, provided that the lead agency determines that such State law will accomplish the purpose and effect of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Directs the head of the lead agency to monitor and report biennially to Congress on State agency implementation of such certification. Permits an agency to withdraw acceptance of a certification after providing the State government with notice and an opportunity to demonstrate why such action is inappropriate. Permits a Federal agency to withhold approval of any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with any displacing agency found to have intentionally circumvented such State law.

Provides that any payment a displaced person receives under State law shall replace a housing replacement or real property acquisition payment for substantially the same purpose under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act.

Requires the President to designate a lead agency which shall: (1) promulgate rules to carry out such Act; (2) coordinate relocation assistance activities with Federal and federally-financed low-income housing programs; (3) monitor the implementation of such Act; and (4) report any major problems under such Act to Congress.

Requires a State agency to pay the United States all net amounts (currently all amounts) received from the sale of surplus Federal property transferred to the agency for the purpose of providing replacement housing.

Repeals the authority of any displacing agency to make loans to various organizations for planning and obtaining federally-insured mortgage financing for housing for displaced persons.

Authorizes the lead agency to prescribe a procedure under which Federal agencies may acquire real property without having it appraised.

Permits a displaced person to donate the real property being acquired or any of the compensation paid for such property to the acquiring agency.

Prohibits a Federal agency from approving any acquisition of real property involving Federal financial assistance unless the acquiring agency assures that: (1) it will be guided, to the greatest extent possible under State law, by the land acquisition policies of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act; and (2) property owners will be paid for necessary expenses as provided in such Act. Permits a Federal agency to discharge its acquisition responsibilities under such Act by accepting a certification by a State agency, which must be verified by the lead agency, that it will implement State law in a manner that will accomplish the acquisition policies and objectives of such Act. Directs the lead agency to monitor State agency implementation of such certification.

Authorizes the sale or lease of the Fairley Group Building in King County, Washington, if the transfer provides for the continued use of such building as a public market.

Extends the authority of the Secretary, from September 30, 1985, to September 30, 1986, to increase Federal assistance for highway projects which utilize innovative technologies.

Declares that the fair market value of any lands that have been or are donated to California for the right-of-way for relocation and construction of a certain highway in Orange County, shall be credited to the non-Federal share of such project costs.

Authorizes States to use bridge construction funds to replace ferryboat operations in existence on January 1, 1984.

Sets forth effective dates for specified provisions of this Act.