H.R. 8870

BUILD America 250 Act

Sponsor: Sam Graves

5 cosponsors
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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

Expand all

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

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

Sec. 9003. Boating infrastructure priorities

(a) In general. Section 8(g) of the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777g(g) is amended to read as follows:

Text this section adds to the law

(g) Boating infrastructure grants

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide funds to States for the development and maintenance of facilities for transient nontrailerable recreational vessels.

(2) Plan. A State may develop and submit to the Secretary a plan for the construction, renovation, and maintenance of facilities for transient nontrailerable recreational vessels, and access to such facilities, to meet the needs of nontrailerable recreational vessels operating on navigable waters in the State.

(3) Grants

(A) Matching grants. The Secretary of the Interior shall obligate amounts made available under section 777c(a)(4) 1 of this title to make grants to any State to pay not more than 75 percent of the cost to a State of constructing, renovating, or maintaining facilities for transient nontrailerable recreational vessels.

(B) Priorities. In awarding grants under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall give priority to projects that—

(i) consist of the construction, renovation, or maintenance of facilities for transient nontrailerable recreational vessels in accordance with a plan submitted by a State under paragraph (2);

(ii) provide for public-private partnership efforts to develop, maintain, and operate facilities for transient nontrailerable recreational vessels;

(iii) propose innovative ways to increase the availability of facilities for transient nontrailerable recreational vessels; and

(iv)

(I) construct, renovate, or maintain a strategic maritime fuels station; or

(II) transport strategic maritime fuels to a strategic maritime fuels station for use by transient nontrailerable recreational vessels.

(4) Definitions. In this section:

(A) Nontrailerable recreational vessel. The term nontrailerable recreational vessel means a recreational vessel 26 feet in length or longer—

(i) operated primarily for pleasure; or

(ii) leased, rented, or chartered to another for the latter's pleasure.

(B) Facilities for transient nontrailerable recreational vessels. The term facilities for transient nontrailerable recreational vessels includes mooring buoys, day-docks, navigational aids, seasonal slips, safe harbors, or similar structures located on navigable waters, that are available to the general public (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior) and designed for temporary use by nontrailerable recreational vessels.

(C) State. The term State means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

(D) Strategic maritime fuel station. The term strategic maritime fuel station means a facility that has a bulk fuel storage tank to dispense drop-in alternative marine fuels into marine vessels.

(E) Strategic maritime fuels. The term strategic maritime fuels means motor fuels derived from cooking oil waste, animal fats, plant-based materials or other production methods that meet the requirements of a drop-in fuel for gasoline or diesel marine engines.

(F) Drop-in fuels. The term drop-in fuels means finished gasoline with renewable content of at least 12.5 percent by volume not exceeding 3.7 percent oxygen by weight for use in marine applications meeting ASTM D4814 specifications. Renewable diesel up to 100 percent by volume and biodiesel blends up to 5 percent by volume meeting ASTM D975 paraffinic fuel specifications.

(b) Conforming amendment. Section 7404 of the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 777g–1) is repealed.

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