49 U.S.C. § 5316 : US Code - Section 5316: Job access and reverse commute formula grants

Search 49 U.S.C. § 5316 : US Code - Section 5316: Job access and reverse commute formula grants

(a) Definitions. - In this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) Access to jobs project. - The term "access to jobs project"
means a project relating to the development and maintenance of
transportation services designed to transport welfare recipients
and eligible low-income individuals to and from jobs and
activities related to their employment, including -
(A) transportation projects to finance planning, capital, and
operating costs of providing access to jobs under this chapter;
(B) promoting public transportation by low-income workers,
including the use of public transportation by workers with
nontraditional work schedules;
(C) promoting the use of transit vouchers for welfare
recipients and eligible low-income individuals; and
(D) promoting the use of employer-provided transportation,
including the transit pass benefit program under section 132 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(2) Eligible low-income individual. - The term "eligible low-
income individual" means an individual whose family income is at
or below 150 percent of the poverty line (as that term is defined
in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42
U.S.C. 9902(2)), including any revision required by that section)
for a family of the size involved.
(3) Recipient. - The term "recipient" means a designated
recipient (as defined in section 5307(a)(2)) and a State that
receives a grant under this section directly.
(4) Reverse commute project. - The term "reverse commute
project" means a public transportation project designed to
transport residents of urbanized areas and other than urbanized
areas to suburban employment opportunities, including any
projects to -
(A) subsidize the costs associated with adding reverse
commute bus, train, carpool, van routes, or service from
urbanized areas and other than urbanized areas to suburban
workplaces;
(B) subsidize the purchase or lease by a nonprofit
organization or public agency of a van or bus dedicated to
shuttling employees from their residences to a suburban
workplace; or
(C) otherwise facilitate the provision of public
transportation services to suburban employment opportunities.
(5) Subrecipient. - The term "subrecipient" means a State or
local governmental authority, nonprofit organization, or operator
of public transportation services that receives a grant under
this section indirectly through a recipient.
(6) Welfare recipient. - The term "welfare recipient" means an
individual who has received assistance under a State or tribal
program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act at any time during the 3-year period before the date on which
the applicant applies for a grant under this section.
(b) General Authority. -
(1) Grants. - The Secretary may make grants under this section
to a recipient for access to jobs and reverse commute projects
carried out by the recipient or a subrecipient.
(2) Administrative expenses. - A recipient may use not more
than 10 percent of the amounts apportioned to the recipient under
this section to administer, plan, and provide technical
assistance for a project funded under this section.
(c) Apportionments. -
(1) Formula. - The Secretary shall apportion amounts made
available for a fiscal year to carry out this section as follows:
(A) 60 percent of the funds shall be apportioned among
designated recipients (as defined in section 5307(a)(2)) for
urbanized areas with a population of 200,000 or more in the
ratio that -
(i) the number of eligible low-income individuals and
welfare recipients in each such urbanized area; bears to
(ii) the number of eligible low-income individuals and
welfare recipients in all such urbanized areas.
(B) 20 percent of the funds shall be apportioned among the
States in the ratio that -
(i) the number of eligible low-income individuals and
welfare recipients in urbanized areas with a population of
less than 200,000 in each State; bears to
(ii) the number of eligible low-income individuals and
welfare recipients in urbanized areas with a population of
less than 200,000 in all States.
(C) 20 percent of the funds shall be apportioned among the
States in the ratio that -
(i) the number of eligible low-income individuals and
welfare recipients in other than urbanized areas in each
State; bears to
(ii) the number of eligible low-income individuals and
welfare recipients in other than urbanized areas in all
States.
(2) Use of apportioned funds. - Except as provided in paragraph
(3) -
(A) funds apportioned under paragraph (1)(A) shall be used
for projects serving urbanized areas with a population of
200,000 or more;
(B) funds apportioned under paragraph (1)(B) shall be used
for projects serving urbanized areas with a population of less
than 200,000; and
(C) funds apportioned under paragraph (1)(C) shall be used
for projects serving other than urbanized areas.
(3) Exceptions. - A State may use funds apportioned under
paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C) -
(A) for projects serving areas other than the area specified
in paragraph (2)(B) or (2)(C), as the case may be, if the
Governor of the State certifies that all of the objectives of
this section are being met in the specified area; or
(B) for projects anywhere in the State if the State has
established a statewide program for meeting the objectives of
this section.
(d) Competitive Process for Grants to Subrecipients. -
(1) Areawide solicitations. - A recipient of funds apportioned
under subsection (c)(1)(A) shall conduct, in cooperation with the
appropriate metropolitan planning organization, an areawide
solicitation for applications for grants to the recipient and
subrecipients under this section.
(2) Statewide solicitation. - A recipient of funds apportioned
under subsection (c)(1)(B) or (c)(1)(C) shall conduct a statewide
solicitation for applications for grants to the recipient and
subrecipients under this section.
(3) Application. - Recipients and subrecipients seeking to
receive a grant from funds apportioned under subsection (c) shall
submit to the recipient an application in the form and in
accordance with such requirements as the recipient shall
establish.
(4) Grant awards. - The recipient shall award grants under
paragraphs (1) and (2) on a competitive basis.
(e) Transfers. -
(1) In general. - A State may transfer any funds apportioned to
it under subsection (c)(1)(B) or (c)(1)(C), or both, to an
apportionment under section 5311(c) or 5336, or both.
(2) Limited to eligible projects. - Any apportionment
transferred under this subsection shall be made available only
for eligible job access and reverse commute projects as described
in this section.
(3) Consultation. - A State may make a transfer of an amount
under this subsection only after consulting with responsible
local officials and publicly owned operators of public
transportation in each area for which the amount originally was
awarded under subsection (d)(4).
(f) Grant Requirements. -
(1) In general. - A grant under this section shall be subject
to the requirements of section 5307.
(2) Fair and equitable distribution. - A recipient of a grant
under this section shall certify to the Secretary that
allocations of the grant to subrecipients are distributed on a
fair and equitable basis.
(g) Coordination. -
(1) In general. - The Secretary shall coordinate activities
under this section with related activities under programs of
other Federal departments and agencies.
(2) With nonprofit providers. - A State that transfers funds to
an apportionment under section 5336 pursuant to subsection (e)
shall certify to the Secretary that any project for which the
funds are requested under this section has been coordinated with
nonprofit providers of services.
(3) Project selection and planning. - A recipient of funds
under this section shall certify to the Secretary that -
(A) the projects selected were derived from a locally
developed, coordinated public transit-human services
transportation plan; and
(B) the plan was developed through a process that included
representatives of public, private, and nonprofit
transportation and human services providers and participation
by the public.
(h) Government's Share of Costs. -
(1) Capital projects. - A grant for a capital project under
this section may not exceed 80 percent of the net capital costs
of the project, as determined by the Secretary.
(2) Operating assistance. - A grant made under this section for
operating assistance may not exceed 50 percent of the net
operating costs of the project, as determined by the Secretary.
(3) Remainder. - The remainder of the net project costs -
(A) may be provided from an undistributed cash surplus, a
replacement or depreciation cash fund or reserve, a service
agreement with a State or local social service agency or a
private social service organization, or new capital; and
(B) may be derived from amounts appropriated to or made
available to a department or agency of the Government (other
than the Department of Transportation) that are eligible to be
expended for transportation.
(4) Use of certain funds. - For purposes of paragraph (3)(B),
the prohibitions on the use of funds for matching requirements
under section 403(a)(5)(C)(vii) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 603(a)(5)(C)(vii)) shall not apply to Federal or State
funds to be used for transportation purposes.
(5) Limitation on operating assistance. - A recipient carrying
out a program of operating assistance under this section may not
limit the level or extent of use of the Government grant for the
payment of operating expenses.
(i) Program Evaluation. -
(1) Comptroller general. - Beginning one year after the date of
enactment of the Federal Public Transportation Act of 2005, and
every 2 years thereafter, the Comptroller General shall -
(A) conduct a study to evaluate the grant program authorized
by this section; and
(B) transmit to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate
a report describing the results of the study under subparagraph
(A).
(2) Department of transportation. - Not later than 3 years
after the date of enactment of (!1) Federal Public Transportation
Act of 2005, the Secretary shall -
(A) conduct a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the
grant program authorized by this section and the effectiveness
of recipients making grants to subrecipients under this
section; and
(B) transmit to the committees referred to in paragraph
(1)(B) a report describing the results of the study under
subparagraph (A).