§22301 — Title 49 Transportation | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of Transportation must create a program to give capital grants to class II and class III railroads for projects that benefit the public. Grants can pay to repair, preserve, or improve freight track and related structures; help keep or increase freight moved by rail instead of less fuel-efficient ways; or test new technologies that save fuel, cut greenhouse gases, and lower operating costs. Grants can go directly to the railroad or, if the railroad agrees, to a State or local government. Railroads are encouraged to get help from State transportation agencies. Final rules had to be issued by October 1, 2008. The federal share of a project can be no more than 80 percent. Non-federal money can be cash, equipment, or supplies, and other in-kind help may be approved case-by-case. Grant money must be contractually committed by the end of the third federal fiscal year after the award, or it must be returned. Recipients must give affected employees a fair arrangement at least as protective as section 11326(a) as of the law’s enactment. Construction workers paid with grant funds must receive Davis‑Bacon prevailing wages; wages in Railway Labor Act agreements are treated as meeting that rule. The Secretary must study the program’s fuel and technology effects and report to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation by March 31, 2009. Congress authorized $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.

Title 49, §22301

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a program for making capital grants to class II and class III railroads. Such grants shall be for projects in the public interest that—

(A)(i)rehabilitate, preserve, or improve railroad track (including roadbed, bridges, and related track structures) used primarily for freight transportation;

(ii)facilitate the continued or greater use of railroad transportation for freight shipments; and

(iii)reduce the use of less fuel efficient modes of transportation in the transportation of such shipments; or

(B)demonstrate innovative technologies and advanced research and development that increase fuel economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lower the costs of operation.

(2)Grants may be provided under this chapter—

(A)directly to the class II or class III railroad; or

(B)with the concurrence of the class II or class III railroad, to a State or local government.

(3)Class II and class III railroad applicants for a grant under this chapter are encouraged to utilize the expertise and assistance of State transportation agencies in applying for and administering such grants. State transportation agencies are encouraged to provide such expertise and assistance to such railroads.

(4)Not later than October 1, 2008, the Secretary shall issue final regulations to implement the program under this section.

(b)The maximum Federal share for carrying out a project under this section shall be 80 percent of the project cost. The non-Federal share may be provided by any non-Federal source in cash, equipment, or supplies. Other in-kind contributions may be approved by the Secretary on a case-by-case basis consistent with this chapter.

(c)Grants provided under this section shall be used to implement track capital projects as soon as possible. In no event shall grant funds be contractually obligated for a project later than the end of the third Federal fiscal year following the year in which the grant was awarded. Any funds not so obligated by the end of such fiscal year shall be returned to the Secretary for reallocation.

(d)The Secretary shall require as a condition of any grant made under this section that the recipient railroad provide a fair arrangement at least as protective of the interests of employees who are affected by the project to be funded with the grant as the terms imposed under section 11326(a), as in effect on the date of the enactment of this chapter.

(e)(1)The Secretary shall ensure that laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors in construction work financed by a grant made under this section will be paid wages not less than those prevailing on similar construction in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor under subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40 (commonly known as the “Davis-Bacon Act”). The Secretary shall make a grant under this section only after being assured that required labor standards will be maintained on the construction work.

(2)Wage rates in a collective bargaining agreement negotiated under the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) are deemed for purposes of this subsection to comply with the 11 So in original. The word “the” probably should not appear. subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40.

(f)The Secretary shall conduct a study of the projects carried out with grant assistance under this section to determine the extent to which the program helps promote a reduction in fuel use associated with the transportation of freight and demonstrates innovative technologies that increase fuel economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lower the costs of operation. Not later than March 31, 2009, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the study, including any recommendations the Secretary considers appropriate regarding the program.

(g)There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011 for carrying out this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of the enactment of this chapter, referred to in subsec. (d), probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–140, which amended this chapter generally and was approved Dec. 19, 2007. The Railway Labor Act, referred to in subsec. (e)(2), is act May 20, 1926, ch. 347, 44 Stat. 577, which is classified principally to chapter 8 (§ 151 et seq.) of Title 45, Railroads. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 151 of Title 45 and Tables.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 22301, added Pub. L. 105–178, title VII, § 7202(a), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 470, related to grants for light density rail line pilot projects, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 110–140.

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (a)(1)(A)(iii). Pub. L. 110–432 substituted “or” for “and”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the date that is 1 day after Dec. 19, 2007, see section 1601 of Pub. L. 110–140, set out as a note under section 1824 of Title 2, The Congress.

§22301 Capital grants for class II and class III railroads