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
(a) Metropolitan transportation planning. Section 134 of title 23, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)—
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (7) as paragraphs (6) through (8), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
(5) Primary urbanized area. The term primary urbanized area means an urbanized area that—
(A) has a population of at least 3,500,000 individuals, as determined by the Bureau of Census; or
(B) extends into more than 1 State and has a population of at least 200,000, as determined by the Bureau of Census.
(2) in subsection (f)(1) by striking metropolitan area and and inserting metropolitan area, including primary urbanized areas that extend into more than 1 State in accordance with section 5308 of title 49, and;
(3) in subsection (j)—
(A) in paragraph (1) by adding at the end the following:
(E) Exception. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amendment of an approved TIP to add a project or an identified phase of a project shall not require public review and comment if the added project or the identified phase—
(i) was in the approved TIP that immediately preceded the current TIP; and
(ii) is unchanged from the project or the identified phase in the preceding TIP.
; and
(B) in paragraph (5)(A) by striking subsection (k)(4) and inserting subsection (k)(5);
(4) in subsection (k)(4)—
(A) in subparagraph (A) by striking In general. and inserting Housing coordination process.;
(B) by striking subparagraph (B);
(C) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) by striking Plan and all that follows through A metropolitan planning organization and inserting Plan.—A metropolitan planning organization; and
(ii) by striking clause (ii); and
(D) by redesignating subparagraph (C), as amended, as subparagraph (B); and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
(s) Additional uses of metropolitan planning funding. In addition to carrying out the purposes of this section, funds apportioned under section 104(b)(6) of this title and section 5313(f) of title 49 to States and metropolitan planning organizations may be used for—
(1) fiscal administration of local projects;
(2) preliminary design;
(3) local technical assistance;
(4) studies directly linked to transportation; and
(5) critical data procurement.
(b) Statewide and nonmetropolitan transportation planning. Section 135 of title 23, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (e)(3) by striking the period at the end and inserting , including primary urbanized areas that extend to more than 1 State in accordance with section 5308 of title 49.; and
(2) in subsection (g)—
(A) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
(9) Exception. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amendment of an approved transportation improvement program to add a project or an identified phase of a project shall not require public review and comment if the added project or the identified phase—
(A) was in the approved transportation improvement program that immediately preceded the current transportation improvement program; and
(B) is unchanged from the project or the identified phase in the preceding transportation improvement program.
(c) Travel demand data modeling. Section 11205(b) of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021 (23 U.S.C. 134 note) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and inserting Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of BUILD America 250 Act,;
(2) in paragraph (3) by striking The Secretary and inserting Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of BUILD America 250 Act, the Secretary; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
(4) Notification to Congress. The Secretary shall notify the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate when the requirements of this subsection have been met.
(5) Report on delay. If the Secretary will not meet the deadline under paragraph (1) or paragraph (3), before the date on which such deadline has not been met, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report stating the reason for the delay and actions taken to meet the requirements of this subsection.
(d) Direct recipient status of metropolitan planning organizations
(1) Direct recipient status. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a process by which a metropolitan planning organization may qualify as a direct recipient of funds apportioned or made available under section 104(b)(6) of title 23, United States Code.
(2) Process. The process under paragraph (1)—
(A) shall ensure metropolitan planning organizations may apply on a rolling basis to become direct recipients under this subsection;
(B) shall evaluate whether a metropolitan planning organization qualifies as a direct recipient based on the legal, technical, and financial capacity of such organization to receive and appropriately manage Federal funding and funding requirements;
(C) may occur concurrently with the recertification process under section 134(k)(6) of title 23, United States Code; and
(D) shall, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the BUILD America 250 Act, establish a process to enable a direct recipient designated under this subsection to use a Federal-aid financial management system, subject to paragraph (4), in a manner similar to a State.
(3) Direct allocation of Federal planning funds. When the Secretary annually apportions or makes available funds described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall directly allocate to any direct recipient designated under this subsection—
(A) contract authority apportioned under section 104(b)(6) of title 23, United States Code, in an amount consistent with the allocation process under section 104(d)(2) of such title for such direct recipient; and
(B) an amount of obligation authority distributed to the State for Federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs that is equal to the amounts specified in subparagraph (A).
(4) Responsibilities. As determined to be appropriate by the Secretary, a direct recipient of funds under this subsection shall be responsible for compliance with all legal requirements associated with such funding, including any requirements applicable to a State under section 106 of title 23, United States Code.
B Improved Project Delivery and Environmental Streamlining
C Miscellaneous
II Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
III Public Transportation
A Reforms
B Miscellaneous
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