49 U.S.C. § 70202 — State freight plans

Page 1815 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 70202 (8) the transportation department of the State; (9) metropolitan planning organizations; (10) local governments; (11) the environmental protection depart- ment of the State, if applicable; (12) the air resources board of the State, if applicable; (13) economic development agencies of the State; and (14) not-for-profit organizations or commu- nity organizations. (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each member of a freight advisory committee established under sub- section (a) shall have qualifications sufficient to serve on a freight advisory committee, includ- ing, as applicable— (1) general business and financial experience; (2) experience or qualifications in the areas of freight transportation and logistics; (3) experience in transportation planning; (4) experience representing employees of the freight industry; (5) experience representing a State, local government, or metropolitan planning organi- zation; or (6) experience representing the views of a community group or not-for-profit organiza- tion. (c) ROLE OF COMMITTEE.—A freight advisory committee of a State described in subsection (a) shall— (1) advise the State on freight-related prior- ities, issues, projects, and funding needs; (2) serve as a forum for discussion for State transportation decisions affecting freight mo- bility; (3) communicate and coordinate regional priorities with other organizations; (4) promote the sharing of information be- tween the private and public sectors on freight issues; and (5) participate in the development of the freight plan of the State described in section 70202, including by providing advice regarding the development of the freight investment plan. (Added Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title VIII, § 8001(a), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1610; amended Pub. L. 117–58, div. B, title I, § 21107, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 662.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21107(1), substituted ‘‘representatives of—’’ and pars. (1) to (14) for ‘‘rep- resentatives of ports, freight railroads, shippers, car- riers, freight-related associations, third-party logistics providers, the freight industry workforce, the transpor- tation department of the State, and local govern- ments.’’ Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21107(4), added subsec. (b). Former subsec. (b) redesignated (c). Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21107(2), substituted ‘‘70202, including by providing advice regarding the de- velopment of the freight investment plan.’’ for ‘‘70202.’’ Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21107(3), redesignated sub- sec. (b) as (c). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amend- ment note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Or- ganization and Employees. § 70202. State freight plans (a) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives funding under section 167 of title 23 shall de- velop a freight plan that provides a comprehen- sive plan for the immediate and long-range plan- ning activities and investments of the State with respect to freight. (b) PLAN CONTENTS.—A State freight plan de- scribed in subsection (a) shall include, at a min- imum— (1) an identification of significant freight system trends, needs, and issues with respect to the State; (2) a description of the freight policies, strategies, and performance measures that will guide the freight-related transportation investment decisions of the State; (3) when applicable, a listing of— (A) multimodal critical rural freight fa- cilities and corridors designated within the State under section 70103 of this title; and (B) critical rural and urban freight cor- ridors designated within the State under sec- tion 167 of title 23; (4) a description of how the plan will im- prove the ability of the State to meet the na- tional multimodal freight policy goals de- scribed in section 70101(b) of this title and the national highway freight program goals de- scribed in section 167 of title 23; (5) a description of how innovative tech- nologies and operational strategies, including freight intelligent transportation systems, that improve the safety and efficiency of freight movement, were considered; (6) in the case of roadways on which travel by heavy vehicles (including mining, agricul- tural, energy cargo or equipment, and timber vehicles) is projected to substantially deterio- rate the condition of the roadways, a descrip- tion of improvements that may be required to reduce or impede the deterioration; (7) an inventory of facilities with freight mo- bility issues, such as bottlenecks, within the State, and for those facilities that are State owned or operated, a description of the strate- gies the State is employing to address the freight mobility issues; (8) consideration of any significant conges- tion or delay caused by freight movements and any strategies to mitigate that congestion or delay; (9) a freight investment plan that, subject to subsection (c)(2), includes a list of priority projects and describes how funds made avail- able to carry out section 167 of title 23 would be invested and matched; (10) the most recent commercial motor vehi- cle parking facilities assessment conducted by the State under subsection (f); (11) the most recent supply chain cargo flows in the State, expressed by mode of transpor- tation; Page 1816 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 70203 (12) an inventory of commercial ports in the State; (13) if applicable, consideration of the find- ings or recommendations made by any multi- State freight compact to which the State is a party under section 70204; (14) the impacts of e-commerce on freight in- frastructure in the State; (15) considerations of military freight; (16) strategies and goals to decrease— (A) the severity of impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters on freight mo- bility; (B) the impacts of freight movement on local air pollution; (C) the impacts of freight movement on flooding and stormwater runoff; and (D) the impacts of freight movement on wildlife habitat loss; and (17) consultation with the State freight advi- sory committee, if applicable. (c) RELATIONSHIP TO LONG-RANGE PLAN.— (1) INCORPORATION.—A State freight plan de- scribed in subsection (a) may be developed sep- arately from or incorporated into the state- wide strategic long-range transportation plan required by section 135 of title 23. (2) FISCAL CONSTRAINT.—The freight invest- ment plan component of a freight plan shall include a project, or an identified phase of a project, only if funding for completion of the project can reasonably be anticipated to be available for the project within the time pe- riod identified in the freight investment plan. (d) PLANNING PERIOD.—A State freight plan de- scribed in subsection (a) shall address a 8-year forecast period. (e) UPDATES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall update a State freight plan described in subsection (a) not less frequently than once every 4 years. (2) FREIGHT INVESTMENT PLAN.—A State may update a freight investment plan described in subsection (b)(9) more frequently than is re- quired under paragraph (1). (f) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE PARKING FA- CILITIES ASSESSMENTS.—As part of the develop- ment or updating, as applicable, of a State freight plan under this section, each State that receives funding under section 167 of title 23, in consultation with relevant State motor carrier safety personnel, shall conduct an assessment of— (1) the capability of the State, together with the private sector in the State, to provide ade- quate parking facilities and rest facilities for commercial motor vehicles engaged in inter- state transportation; (2) the volume of commercial motor vehicle traffic in the State; and (3) whether there exist any areas within the State with a shortage of adequate commercial motor vehicle parking facilities, including an analysis (economic or otherwise, as the State determines to be appropriate) of the under- lying causes of such a shortage. (g) PRIORITY.—Each State freight plan under this section shall include a requirement that the State, in carrying out activities under the State freight plan— (1) enhance reliability or redundancy of freight transportation; or (2) incorporate the ability to rapidly restore access and reliability with respect to freight transportation. (h) APPROVAL.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor- tation shall approve a State freight plan de- scribed in subsection (a) if the plan achieves compliance with the requirements of this sec- tion. (2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub- section establishes new procedural require- ments for the approval of a State freight plan described in subsection (a). (Added Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title VIII, § 8001(a), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1610; amended Pub. L. 117–58, div. B, title I, § 21104(a), (c), Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 658, 659.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (b)(10) to (17). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21104(a)(1), added pars. (10) to (16) and redesignated former par. (10) as (17). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21104(c)(1), substituted ‘‘8- year’’ for ‘‘5-year’’. Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21104(c)(2), substituted ‘‘4 years’’ for ‘‘5 years’’. Subsecs. (f) to (h). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21104(a)(2), added subsecs. (f) to (h). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amend- ment note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Or- ganization and Employees. § 70203. Transportation investment data and planning tools (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec- retary of Transportation shall— (1) begin development of new tools and im- provement of existing tools to support an out- come-oriented, performance-based approach to evaluate proposed freight-related and other transportation projects, including— (A) methodologies for systematic analysis of benefits and costs on a national or re- gional basis; (B) tools for ensuring that the evaluation of freight-related and other transportation projects could consider safety, economic competitiveness, urban and rural access, en- vironmental sustainability, and system con- dition in the project selection process; (C) improved methods for data collection and trend analysis; (D) encouragement of public-private col- laboration to carry out data sharing activi- ties while maintaining the confidentiality of all proprietary data; and (E) other tools to assist in effective trans- portation planning; (2) identify transportation-related model data elements to support a broad range of evaluation methods and techniques to assist