Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House passed version is repeated here.)

Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015

(Sec. 1) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to reduce the amount apportioned for a surface transportation program, project, or activity for FY2015 by amounts apportioned or allocated under the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 for the period from October 1, 2014, through May 31, 2015.

TITLE I--SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM EXTENSION

Subtitle A--Federal-Aid Highways

(Sec. 1001) Amends the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 to continue from October 1, 2014, through July 31, 2015, and authorizes appropriations through that period for, specified federal-aid highway programs under:

• the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21),
• the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) Technical Corrections Act of 2008,
• SAFETEA-LU,
• the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21),
• the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995,
• the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), and
• other specified law.

Subjects funding for such programs generally to the same manner of distribution, administration, limitation, and availability for obligation, but at a specified pro rata of the total amount, as funds authorized for appropriation out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for such programs and activities for FY2014.

Amends the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) to authorize appropriations out of the general fund of the Treasury for the Tribal High Priority Projects program for the same period.

Prescribes an obligation ceiling of $33,528,284,932 for federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for the same period.

(Sec. 1002) Authorizes appropriations from the HTF (other than the Mass Transit Account) for administrative expenses of the federal-aid highway program for the same period.

Subtitle B--Extension of Highway Safety Programs

(Sec. 1101) Amends MAP-21 to extend for the same period the authorization of appropriations for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety programs, including:

• highway safety research and development,
• national priority safety programs,
• the National Driver Register,
• the High Visibility Enforcement Program, and
• NHTSA administrative expenses.

Amends SAFETEA-LU to extend for the same period high-visibility traffic safety law enforcement campaigns under the High Visibility Enforcement Program.

Sets aside a specified amount of the total apportionment to states for highway safety programs for a cooperative program to research and evaluate priority highway safety countermeasures for the same period.

(Sec. 1102) Extends for the same period the authorization of appropriations for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) programs, including:

• motor carrier safety grants,
• FMCSA administrative expenses,
• commercial driver's license program improvement grants,
• border enforcement grants,
• performance and registration information system management grants,
• commercial vehicle information systems and networks deployment grants,
• safety data improvement grants,
• a set-aside for high priority activities that improve commercial motor vehicle safety and compliance with commercial motor vehicle safety regulations,
• a set-aside for new entrant motor carrier audit grants,
• FMCSA outreach and education, and
• the commercial motor vehicle operators grant program.

(Sec. 1103) Amends the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act to continue, for the same period, the authorized distribution of funds for coastal wetlands, recreational boating safety, projects under the Clean Vessel Act of 19921, boating infrastructure projects, and the National Outreach and Communications Program.

Subtitle C--Public Transportation Programs

(Sec. 1201) Extends for the same period the apportionment of nonurbanized (rural) area formula grants for competitive grants and formula grants for public transportation on Indian reservations.

(Sec. 1202) Extends the apportionment of urbanized area formula grants for passenger ferry projects for the same period.

(Sec. 1203) Extends for the same period the authorization of appropriations from the HTF Mass Transit Account for:

• formula grants for public transportation, including allocations for specified projects;
• research, development demonstration, and deployment projects;
• the transit cooperative research program;
• technical assistance and standards development grants;
• human resources and training grants;
• capital investment grants; and
• administrative expenses.

(Sec. 1204) Allocates, for the same period, certain amounts to states and territories for formula bus and bus facilities grants.

Subtitle D--Hazardous Materials

(Sec. 1301) Authorizes appropriations for the same period for hazardous materials (hazmat) transportation safety projects.

Authorizes the Secretary to make certain expenditures, including an amount for hazmat training grants, from the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund for the same period.

TITLE II--REVENUE PROVISIONS

(Sec. 2001) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through July 31, 2015, the authority for expenditures from: (1) the HTF Highway and Mass Transit Accounts, (2) the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, and (3) the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov