H.R. 8870
BUILD America 250 Act
Sponsor: Sam Graves
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America's 250th Act or the BUILD America 250 Act
This bill authorizes federal surface transportation (highway, public transportation, and rail) programs and activities through FY2031. The bill also establishes or modifies Department of Transportation (DOT) programs and policies that are a part of the federal-aid highway, transit, highway safety, motor carrier, research, hazardous materials, and rail programs.
For example, the bill authorizes appropriations through FY2031 out of the Highway Trust Fund for the federal-aid highway program, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, highway safety programs, and bridge programs. The bill also authorizes funding through FY2031 for Amtrak. Current authorization for these programs expires on September 30, 2026.
Among other provisions, the bill
- establishes a Surface Transportation Accelerator Grant (STAG) discretionary program to fund surface transportation projects in rural, urban, local, and regional communities;
- requires the Federal Highway Administration to impose a new annual electric vehicle (EV) registration fee, starting at $130 for a covered EV and $35 for a covered plug-in hybrid vehicle;
- exempts automated driving system technology and equipment from vehicle width requirements;
- establishes a consolidated state block grant program that allows DOT to allocate a lump sum to participating states to fund public transportation services in rural and urbanized areas;
- allows state rail safety inspectors to conduct railroad bridge inspections; and
- establishes a system for state, local, and tribal governments to report safety concerns about the condition of railroad bridges.
Text of the bill
I Federal-Aid Highways
A Authorizations and Programs
B Improved Project Delivery and Environmental Streamlining
C Miscellaneous
II Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
III Public Transportation
A Reforms
B Miscellaneous
(a) Bus driver safety working group
(1) Establishment. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a working group (in this section referred to as the Working Group) to review—
(A) transit bus design and safety standards; and
(B) transit agency practices and protocols relating to the retrofitting and procurement of transit buses with workstation barriers to protect operators from the risk of assault on a transit worker.
(2) Membership. The Secretary shall appoint a Chair and members of the Working Group, which shall be comprised of at least 1 representative from the constituencies of—
(A) transit bus manufacturers, including original equipment manufacturers;
(B) rural transit agencies;
(C) urban transit agencies;
(D) transit bus workers;
(E) transit bus maintenance technicians;
(F) labor unions representing transit workers; and
(G) other stakeholders the Secretary determines appropriate.
(3) Duties and recommendations. The Working Group shall—
(A) evaluate workstation barrier designs, including factors relating to—
(i) the airflow and ventilation of fully enclosed workstation barrier designs;
(ii) the development, certification, testing, manufacturing, installation, and training associated with various designs of such barriers;
(iii) the safe egress of operators and passengers in the event of an emergency;
(iv) the accessibility of workstation areas for operators with disabilities when such barriers are installed;
(v) the cost of procuring and installing various designs of such barriers—
(I) on newly manufactured vehicles; and
(II) to retrofit existing vehicles; and
(vi) any other workstation barrier design factors the Secretary determines appropriate;
(B) solicit feedback and insights from transit agencies and operators that use or are testing workstation barriers to mitigate assault on a transit worker, including transit agencies that have retrofitted existing vehicles with workstation barriers;
(C) assess a random sample of safety management systems required pursuant to part 673 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, and developed by transit agencies of various sizes, to determine the efficacy of such systems in successfully identifying the risk of assault on a transit worker and applying mitigations, including workstation barrier vehicle retrofits, to reduce the likelihood and severity of occurrences of such assault;
(D) review and assess other optional physical features of transit buses, including television monitors in the passenger area of the bus that displays the security monitor feed of such area, to determine whether such features improve transit worker or passenger safety;
(E) evaluate the cost, feasibility, and safety benefits associated with requiring the installation of workstation barriers on fixed route transit buses less than 30 feet in length; and
(F) make recommendations to the Secretary on requiring—
(i) the Secretary to develop performance specifications, in addition to the specifications referenced in subsection (b)(1), for driver workstation barriers installed on fixed route transit buses 30 feet or more in length to protect operators from the risk of assault on a transit worker; and
(ii) as appropriate, transit agencies to retrofit vehicles in revenue service with workstation barriers to protect transit bus operators from such risk.
(4) Reports to Congress
(A) Working Group findings. Not later than 12 months after the Working Group is established, the Chair of such group shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report—
(i) detailing all findings and recommendations of the Working Group; and
(ii) summarizing any dissenting positions of individual Working Group members, if applicable, on the final findings and recommendations issued by such group.
(B) DOT response. Not later than 3 months after the date on which the Chair submits the report under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress the position of the Administration with regards to each of the recommendations in such report, including the rationale for disagreement, if applicable.
(5) Support. The Secretary shall seek to enter into the appropriate arrangements with the National Academies to support the activities of the Working Group.
(b) Bus operator safety and security requirement
(1) In general. Beginning 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the operator workstation of a newly manufactured fixed route transit bus which is 30 feet or more in length and purchased with Federal funds by a recipient of assistance under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, shall be equipped with a workstation barrier that, at a minimum—
(A) reaches from the bus floor to the bus ceiling;
(B) is capable of fully enclosing the operator workstation and preventing the unwanted entry of unauthorized persons, fluids, and objects into the workstation; and
(C) does not impede the lines of sight of the operator from the workstation to the exterior of the bus.
(2) Policy guidance. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue policy guidance requiring the installation of workstation barriers to protect operators from the risk of assault on such transit buses in accordance with the requirement under paragraph (1), and in doing so, to the extent practicable, take into consideration the findings and recommendations of the Working Group under subsection (a)(3)(F).
(3) Updates. The Secretary may update the guidance required under this subsection as determined necessary to protect operators from the risk of such assault.
(c) Definitions. In this section:
(1) Assault on a transit worker. The term assault on a transit worker has the meaning given such term in section 5302 of title 49, United States Code.
(2) Workstation barrier. The term workstation barrier means a physical barrier that separates a transit operator workstation area from the passenger area on a public transportation vehicle.
C Reorganization and Consolidation of Chapter 53
IV Highway Safety
V Motor Carriers
A General Provisions
B Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators
C Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
D Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Reform
E Safe Integration of Autonomous Commercial Motor Vehicles
VI Innovation
VII Freight and Multimodal Transportation Programs
A Freight Policy
B Multimodal Policy and Programs
VIII Miscellaneous
IX Sport Fishing and Recreational Boating Safety
X Railroads and Hazardous Materials
A Authorization of Appropriations and Grant Reforms
B Amtrak Reforms
C Passenger Rail Policy
D Rail Safety and Innovation
E Project Delivery
F Hazardous Materials Transportation