49 U.S.C. § 5301 — Policies and purposes

Page 234 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 5301 areas’’ for ‘‘Formula grants for other than urbanized areas’’ in item 5311, ‘‘Technical assistance and stand- ards development’’ for ‘‘National research programs’’ in item 5314, ‘‘Private sector participation’’ for ‘‘National transit institute’’ in item 5315, ‘‘Human resources and training’’ for ‘‘Human resource programs’’ in item 5322, ‘‘General provisions’’ for ‘‘General provisions on assist- ance’’ in item 5323, ‘‘Public transportation emergency relief program’’ for ‘‘Special provisions for capital projects’’ in item 5324, ‘‘Public transportation safety program’’ for ‘‘Investigations of safety hazards and se- curity risks’’ in item 5329, ‘‘State of good repair grants’’ for ‘‘Apportionment based on fixed guideway factors’’ in item 5337, and ‘‘Bus and bus facilities for- mula grants’’ for ‘‘Alternatives analysis program’’ in item 5339, and striking out items 5308 ‘‘Clean fuels grant program’’, 5316 ‘‘Job access and reverse commute formula grants’’, 5317 ‘‘New freedom program’’, 5320 ‘‘Alternative transportation in parks and public lands, and 5328 ‘‘Project review’’. 2005—Pub. L. 109–59, title III, §§ 3002(b)(1), 3005(c), 3006(c), 3007(b), 3010(b), 3011(b), 3012(c), 3013(i), 3014(e)(2), 3015(b)(2), 3016(d), 3018(b), 3019(b), 3021(b), 3024(b), 3025(b), 3028(d), 3029(b), 3033(b), 3035(b), 3038(b), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1544, 1559, 1566, 1568, 1573, 1588, 1593, 1596, 1597, 1600, 1605, 1608, 1614, 1620, 1622, 1625, 1627, 1629, 1638, sub- stituted ‘‘PUBLIC’’ for ‘‘MASS’’ in chapter heading, substituted ‘‘transportation planning’’ for ‘‘planning’’ in item 5303, ‘‘Statewide transportation planning’’ for ‘‘Transportation improvement program’’ in item 5304, ‘‘Planning programs’’ for ‘‘Transportation management areas’’ in item 5305, ‘‘grant program’’ for ‘‘formula grant program’’ in item 5308, ‘‘grants’’ for ‘‘grants and loans’’ in item 5309, ‘‘Formula grants’’ for ‘‘Formula grants and loans’’ in item 5310, ‘‘grants’’ for ‘‘grant’’ in item 5311, ‘‘deployment’’ for ‘‘training’’ in item 5312, ‘‘Transit cooperative research program’’ for ‘‘State planning and research programs’’ in item 5313, ‘‘re- search programs’’ for ‘‘planning and research pro- grams’’ in item 5314, ‘‘Alternative transportation in parks and public lands’’ for ‘‘Suspended light rail sys- tem technology pilot project’’ in item 5320, ‘‘Special provisions for capital projects’’ for ‘‘Limitations on discretionary and special needs grants and loans’’ in item 5324, ‘‘Investigations of safety hazards and secu- rity risks’’ for ‘‘Investigation of safety hazards’’ in item 5329, ‘‘State safety oversight’’ for ‘‘Withholding amounts for noncompliance with safety requirements’’ in item 5330, ‘‘National transit database’’ for ‘‘Reports and audits’’ in item 5335, and ‘‘Apportionment based on fixed guideway factors’’ for ‘‘Apportionment of appro- priations for fixed guideway modernization’’ in item 5337, added items 5316, 5317, and 5340, and struck out item 5326 ‘‘Special procurements’’. Pub. L. 109–59, title III, § 3037(b), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1636, which directed amendment of the analysis for chapter 53 by striking the item relating to section 5339 and inserting a new item 5339, was executed by adding the new item 5339 after item 5338 to reflect the probable intent of Congress, because no item for sec- tion 5339 had been enacted. 1998—Pub. L. 105–178, title III, §§ 3007(a)(2), 3008(b), 3009(b), 3014(b), 3017(b), 3025(b)(2), title V, § 5110(c), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 347, 352, 359, 361, 365, 444, substituted ‘‘Urbanized area formula grants’’ for ‘‘Block grants’’ in item 5307, ‘‘Clean fuels formula grant program’’ for ‘‘Mass Transit Account block grants’’ in item 5308, ‘‘Capital investment’’ for ‘‘Discretionary’’ in item 5309, ‘‘Formula grant’’ for ‘‘Financial assistance’’ in item 5311, and ‘‘transit’’ for ‘‘mass transportation’’ in item 5315, struck out items 5316 ‘‘University research insti- tutes’’ and 5317 ‘‘Transportation centers’’, and inserted ‘‘provisions’’ after ‘‘Administrative’’ in item 5334. Pub. L. 105–178, title III, § 3013(b), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 359, which directed insertion of ‘‘formula’’ before ‘‘grants’’ in item 5310, was executed by substituting ‘‘Formula grants’’ for ‘‘Grants’’ to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Pub. L. 105–178, title III, § 3027(d), as added by Pub. L. 105–206, title IX, § 9009(o)(2), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 858, substituted ‘‘formula grants’’ for ‘‘block grants’’ in item 5336. § 5301. Policies and purposes (a) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—It is in the inter- est of the United States, including the economic interest of the United States, to foster the de- velopment and revitalization of public transpor- tation systems with the cooperation of both public transportation companies and private companies engaged in public transportation. (b) GENERAL PURPOSES.—The purposes of this chapter are to— (1) provide funding to support public trans- portation; (2) improve the development and delivery of capital projects; (3) establish standards for the state of good repair of public transportation infrastructure and vehicles; (4) promote continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive planning that improves the performance of the transportation network; (5) establish a technical assistance program to assist recipients under this chapter to more effectively and efficiently provide public transportation service; (6) continue Federal support for public transportation providers to deliver high qual- ity service to all users, including individuals with disabilities, seniors, and individuals who depend on public transportation; (7) support research, development, dem- onstration, and deployment projects dedicated to assisting in the delivery of efficient and ef- fective public transportation service; and (8) promote the development of the public transportation workforce. (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(d), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 785; Pub. L. 109–59, title III, §§ 3002(b)(4), 3003, Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1545; Pub. L. 112–141, div. B, § 20003, July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 622.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 5301(a) ........ 49 App.:1607(a) (1st sentence). July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, 78 Stat. 302, § 8(a) (1st sen- tence); added Nov. 6, 1978, Pub. L. 95–599, § 305(b), 92 Stat. 2743; Apr. 2, 1987, Pub. L. 100–17, § 310, 101 Stat. 227; restated Dec. 18, 1991, Pub. L. 102–240, § 3012, 105 Stat. 2098. 5301(b) ........ 49 App.:1601(a). July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, § 2, 78 Stat. 302; Dec. 18, 1991, Pub. L. 102–240, § 3005, 105 Stat. 2088. 49 App.:1601b. Nov. 26, 1974, Pub. L. 93–503, § 2, 88 Stat. 1566. 5301(c) ........ 49 App.:1601a (1st sentence). Oct. 15, 1970, Pub. L. 91–453, § 1, 84 Stat. 962. 5301(d) ........ 49 App.:1612(a). July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, 78 Stat. 302, § 16(a); added Oct. 15, 1970, Pub. L. 91–453, § 8, 84 Stat. 967; Dec. 18, 1991, Pub. L. 102–240, § 3021(1), 105 Stat. 2110. 5301(e) ........ 49 App.:1610(a) (1st sentence). July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, § 14(a) (1st sentence), 78 Stat. 308; Sept. 8, 1966, Pub. L. 89–562, § 2(a)(1), 80 Stat. 715; restated Oct. 15, 1970, Pub. L. 91–453, § 6, 84 Stat. 966. 5301(f) ........ 49 App.:1601(b). 49 App.:1601a (last sentence). In subsection (b)(1), the words ‘‘the predominant part’’ in 49 App.:1601(a)(1) and ‘‘lives in urban areas’’ in Page 235 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 5301 49 App.:1601b(1) are omitted because of the restatement. The words ‘‘metropolitan and other’’ in 49 App.:1601(a)(1) are omitted as surplus. In subsection (b)(2), the words ‘‘housing, urban re- newal, highway, and other’’, ‘‘being’’, ‘‘the . . . provi- sion of’’, and ‘‘transportation and other’’ in 49 App.:1601(a)(2) are omitted as surplus. In subsection (b)(4), the words ‘‘the early 1970’s’’ are substituted for ‘‘recent years’’ in 49 App.:1601b(4), and the words ‘‘minimal mass transportation service’’ are substituted for ‘‘this essential public service’’, for clar- ity. In subsection (b)(5), the word ‘‘particularly’’ in 49 App.:1601b(5) is omitted as surplus. In subsection (b)(6), the words ‘‘were . . . in the early 1970’s’’ are substituted for ‘‘now’’ in 49 App.:1601b(6) for clarity. The words ‘‘engaged in’’, ‘‘actually’’, and ‘‘com- prehensive’’ in 49 App.:1601b(6) are omitted as surplus. In subsection (b)(9), the word ‘‘many’’ in 49 App.:1601(b)(7) is omitted as surplus. In subsection (c), the text of 49 App.:1601a (1st sen- tence words after semicolon) is omitted as executed. In subsections (d) and (e), the words ‘‘hereby declared to be’’ are omitted as surplus. In subsection (d), the words ‘‘to ensure that mass transportation can be used by elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities’’ are substituted for ‘‘in the planning and design of mass transportation facili- ties and services so that the availability to elderly per- sons and persons with disabilities of mass transpor- tation which they can effectively utilize will be as- sured’’ to eliminate unnecessary words. The words ‘‘the field of’’ and ‘‘(including the programs under this chap- ter) . . . contain provisions’’ are omitted as surplus. In subsection (e), the words ‘‘carrying out’’ are sub- stituted for ‘‘construction of’’, and the word ‘‘capital’’ is added, for consistency in the revised chapter. The reference to section 5310 of the revised title is added for clarity because a loan or grant made under section 5310 is deemed to have been made under section 5309. In subsection (f)(5), the words ‘‘local’’ and ‘‘to exer- cise the initiative necessary’’ are omitted as surplus. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2012—Pub. L. 112–141 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to policies, findings, and purposes. 2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–59, § 3003(a), amended heading and text of subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘It is in the interest of the United States to encourage and promote the de- velopment of transportation systems that embrace var- ious modes of transportation and efficiently maximize mobility of individuals and goods in and through ur- banized areas and minimize transportation-related fuel consumption and air pollution.’’ Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 109–59, § 3003(b), substituted ‘‘two-thirds’’ for ‘‘70 percent’’ and ‘‘urbanized areas’’ for ‘‘urban areas’’. Subsecs. (b)(4), (6) to (9), (d). Pub. L. 109–59, § 3002(b)(4), substituted ‘‘public transportation’’ for ‘‘mass transportation’’ wherever appearing. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 109–59, § 3003(c), substituted ‘‘a’’ for ‘‘an urban’’ and struck out ‘‘under sections 5309 and 5310 of this title’’ before period at end. Pub. L. 109–59, § 3002(b)(4), substituted ‘‘public trans- portation’’ for ‘‘mass transportation’’. Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 109–59, § 3003(d)(1), substituted ‘‘public transportation equipment’’ for ‘‘mass transpor- tation equipment’’ and ‘‘both public transportation companies and private companies engaged in public transportation’’ for ‘‘public and private mass transpor- tation companies’’. Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 109–59, § 3003(d)(2), substituted ‘‘public transportation systems’’ for ‘‘urban mass transportation systems’’ and ‘‘both public transpor- tation companies and private companies engaged in public transportation’’ for ‘‘public and private mass transportation companies’’. Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 109–59, § 3003(d)(3), substituted ‘‘public transportation systems’’ for ‘‘urban mass transportation systems’’ and ‘‘public transportation companies or private companies engaged in public transportation’’ for ‘‘public or private mass transpor- tation companies’’. Subsec. (f)(5). Pub. L. 109–59, § 3003(d)(4), substituted ‘‘public’’ for ‘‘urban mass’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2012 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 112–141 effective Oct. 1, 2012, see section 3(a) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as an Effec- tive and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment note under section 101 of Title 23, Highways. FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION GRANTS Pub. L. 117–2, title III, § 3401, Mar. 11, 2021, 135 Stat. 72, provided that: ‘‘(a) FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION APPROPRIA- TION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts otherwise made available, there are appropriated for fiscal year 2021, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $30,461,355,534, to remain available until September 30, 2024, that shall— ‘‘(A) be for grants to eligible recipients under sec- tions 5307, 5309, 5310, and 5311 of title 49, United States Code, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus; and ‘‘(B) not be subject to any prior restriction on the total amount of funds available for implementation or execution of programs authorized under sections 5307, 5310, or 5311 of such title. ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR OPERATING EX- PENSES.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1) or (b) of section 5307 and section 5310(b)(2)(A) of title 49, United States Code, funds provided under this section, other than subsection (b)(4), shall be available for the operating expenses of transit agencies to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus public health emergency, including, be- ginning on January 20, 2020— ‘‘(i) reimbursement for payroll of public trans- portation (including payroll and expenses of pri- vate providers of public transportation); ‘‘(ii) operating costs to maintain service due to lost revenue due as a result of the coronavirus public health emergency, including the purchase of personal protective equipment; and ‘‘(iii) paying the administrative leave of oper- ations or contractor personnel due to reductions in service. ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds described in subpara- graph (A) shall be— ‘‘(i) available for immediate obligation, not- withstanding the requirement for such expenses to be included in a transportation improvement program, long-range transportation plan, state- wide transportation plan, or statewide transpor- tation improvement program under sections 5303 and 5304 of title 49, United States Code; ‘‘(ii) directed to payroll and operations of public transportation (including payroll and expenses of private providers of public transportation), unless the recipient certifies to the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration that the recipi- ent has not furloughed any employees; ‘‘(iii) used to provide a Federal share of the costs for any grant made under this section of 100 percent. ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— ‘‘(1) URBANIZED AREA FORMULA GRANTS.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made available under subsection (a), $26,086,580,227 shall be for Page 236 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 5301 grants to recipients and subrecipients under section 5307 of title 49, United States Code, and shall be ad- ministered as if such funds were provided under sec- tion 5307 of such title. ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION.—Amounts made available under subparagraph (A) shall be apportioned to urbanized areas based on data contained in the National Tran- sit Database such that— ‘‘(i) each urbanized area shall receive an appor- tionment of an amount that, when combined with amounts that were otherwise made available to such urbanized area for similar activities to pre- vent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, is equal to 132 percent of the urbanized area’s 2018 operating costs; and ‘‘(ii) for funds remaining after the apportion- ment described in clause (i), such funds shall be apportioned such that each urbanized area that did not receive an apportionment under clause (i) shall receive an apportionment equal to 25 per- cent of the urbanized area’s 2018 operating costs. ‘‘(2) FORMULA GRANTS FOR THE ENHANCED MOBILITY OF SENIORS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made available under subsection (a), $50,000,000 shall be for grants to recipients or subrecipients eligible under section 5310 of title 49, United States Code, and shall be ap- portioned in accordance with such section. ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION RATIO.—Amounts made available under subparagraph (A) shall be allocated in the same ratio as funds were provided under section 5310 of title 49, United States Code, for fiscal year 2020. ‘‘(3) FORMULA GRANTS FOR RURAL AREAS.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made available under subsection (a), $317,214,013 shall be for grants to recipients or subrecipients eligible under section 5311 of title 49, United States Code, and shall be ad- ministered as if the funds were provided under sec- tion 5311 of such title, and shall be apportioned in accordance with such section, except as described in paragraph (B). ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION RATIO.—Amounts made available under subparagraph (A) to States, as defined in sec- tion 5302 of title 49, United States Code, shall be al- located to such States based on data contained in the National Transit Database, such that— ‘‘(i) any State that received an amount for simi- lar activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus that is equal to or greater than 150 percent of the combined 2018 rural operating costs of the recipients and subrecipients in such State shall receive an amount equal to 5 percent of such State’s 2018 rural operating costs; ‘‘(ii) any State that does not receive an alloca- tion under clause (i) that received an amount for similar activities to prevent, prepare for, and re- spond to coronavirus that is equal to or greater than 140 percent of the combined 2018 rural oper- ating costs of the recipients and subrecipients in that State shall receive an amount equal to 10 percent of such State’s 2018 rural operating costs; and ‘‘(iii) any State that does not receive an alloca- tion under clauses (i) or (ii) shall receive an amount equal to 20 percent of such State’s 2018 rural operating costs. ‘‘(4) CAPITAL INVESTMENTS.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made available under subsection (a)— ‘‘(i) $1,425,000,000 shall be for grants adminis- tered under subsections (d) and (e) of section 5309 of title 49, United States Code; and ‘‘(ii) $250,000,000 shall be for grants administered under subsection (h) of section 5309 of title 49, United States Code. ‘‘(B) FUNDING DISTRIBUTION.— ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made avail- able in subparagraph (A)(i), $1,250,000,000 shall be provided to each recipient for all projects with existing full funding grant agreements that re- ceived allocations for fiscal year 2019 or 2020, ex- cept that recipients with projects open for rev- enue service are not eligible to receive a grant under this subparagraph. Funds shall be provided proportionally based on the non-capital invest- ment grant share of the amount allocated. ‘‘(ii) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts made avail- able in subparagraph (A)(i), $175,000,000 shall be provided to each recipient for all projects with existing full funding grant agreements that re- ceived an allocation only prior to fiscal year 2019, except that projects open for revenue service are not eligible to receive a grant under this subpara- graph and no project may receive more than 40 percent of the amounts provided under this clause. The Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration shall proportionally distribute funds in excess of such percent to recipients for which the percent of funds does not exceed 40 per- cent. Funds shall be provided proportionally based on the non-capital investment grant share of the amount allocated. ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—For amounts made available in subparagraph (A)(ii), eligible recipi- ents shall be any recipient of an allocation under subsection (h) of section 5309 of title 49, United States Code, or an applicant in the project devel- opment phase described in paragraph (2) of such subsection. ‘‘(iv) AMOUNT.—Amounts distributed under clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A) shall be provided notwithstanding the limitation of any calculation of the maximum amount of Fed- eral financial assistance for the project under subsection (k)(2)(C)(ii) or (h)(7) of section 5309 of title 49, United States Code. ‘‘(5) SECTION 5311(F) SERVICES.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made available under subsection (a) and in addition to the amounts made available under paragraph (3), $100,000,000 shall be available for grants to recipients for bus operators that partner with recipients or subrecipi- ents of funds under section 5311(f) of title 49, United States Code. ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION RATIO.—Notwithstanding para- graph (3), the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration shall allocate amounts under sub- paragraph (A) in the same ratio as funds were pro- vided under section 5311 of title 49, United States Code, for fiscal year 2020. ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—If a State or territory does not have bus providers eligible under section 5311(f) of title 49, United States Code, funds under this para- graph may be used by such State or territory for any expense eligible under section 5311 of title 49, United States Code. ‘‘(6) PLANNING.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made available under subsection (a), $25,000,000 shall be for grants to recipients eligible under section 5307 of title 49, United States Code, for the planning of public transportation associated with the restoration of services as the coronavirus public health emer- gency concludes and shall be available in accord- ance with such section. ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR ROUTE PLAN- NING.—Amounts made available under subparagraph (A) shall be available for route planning designed to— ‘‘(i) increase ridership and reduce travel times, while maintaining or expanding the total level of vehicle revenue miles of service provided in the planning period; or ‘‘(ii) make service adjustments to increase the quality or frequency of service provided to low-in- come riders and disadvantaged neighborhoods or communities. ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Amounts made available under subparagraph (A) shall not be used for route plan- Page 237 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 5302 ning related to transitioning public transportation service provided as of the date of receipt of funds to a transportation network company or other third- party contract provider, unless the existing pro- vider of public transportation service is a third- party contract provider. ‘‘(7) RECIPIENTS AND SUBRECIPIENTS REQUIRING ADDI- TIONAL ASSISTANCE.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made available under subsection (a), $2,207,561,294 shall be for grants to eligible recipients or subrecipients of funds under sections 5307 or 5311 of title 49, United States Code, that, as a result of COVID–19, require additional assistance for costs related to oper- ations, personnel, cleaning, and sanitization com- bating the spread of pathogens on transit systems, and debt service payments incurred to maintain op- erations and avoid layoffs and furloughs. ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION.—Funds made available under subparagraph (A) shall, after allocation, be administered as if provided under paragraph (1) or (3), as applicable. ‘‘(C) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.— ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Fed- eral Transit Administration may not allocate funds to an eligible recipient or subrecipient of funds under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, unless the recipient provides to the Admin- istrator— ‘‘(I) estimates of financial need; ‘‘(II) data on reductions in farebox or other sources of local revenue for sustained oper- ations; ‘‘(III) a spending plan for such funds; and ‘‘(IV) demonstration of expenditure of greater than 90 percent of funds available to the appli- cant from funds made available for similar ac- tivities in fiscal year 2020. ‘‘(ii) DEADLINES.—The Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration shall— ‘‘(I) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 11, 2021], issue a No- tice of Funding Opportunity for assistance under this paragraph; and ‘‘(II) not later than 120 days after the applica- tion deadline established in the Notice of Fund- ing Opportunity under subclause (I), make awards under this paragraph to selected appli- cants. ‘‘(iii) EVALUATION.— ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Applications for assistance under this paragraph shall be evaluated by the Administrator of the Federal Transit Adminis- tration based on the level of financial need dem- onstrated by an eligible recipient or sub- recipient, including projections of future finan- cial need to maintain service as a percentage of the 2018 operating costs that has not been re- placed by the funds made available to the eligi- ble recipient or subrecipient under paragraphs (1) through (5) of this subsection when combined with the amounts allocated to such eligible re- cipient or subrecipient from funds previously made available for the operating expenses of transit agencies related to the response to the COVID–19 public health emergency. ‘‘(II) RESTRICTION.—Amounts made available under this paragraph shall only be available for operating expenses. ‘‘(iv) STATE APPLICANTS.—A State may apply for assistance under this paragraph on behalf of an eligible recipient or subrecipient or a group of eli- gible recipients or subrecipients. ‘‘(D) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—If amounts made available under this paragraph remain unobligated on September 30, 2023, such amounts shall be avail- able for any purpose eligible under sections 5307 or 5311 of title 49, United States Code.’’ CONTRACTING OUT STUDY Pub. L. 105–178, title III, § 3032, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 385, as amended by Pub. L. 105–206, title IX, § 9009(v), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 861, provided that a study of the effect of contracting out mass transportation operation and administrative functions was to be arranged be- tween the Secretary of Transportation and the Trans- portation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences no later than 6 months after June 9, 1998, and made available funds for fiscal year 1999. COMMUTE-TO-WORK BENEFITS Pub. L. 102–240, title VIII, § 8004, Dec. 18, 1991, 105 Stat. 2206, provided that: ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— ‘‘(1) current Federal policy places commuter transit benefits at a disadvantage compared to drive-to-work benefits; ‘‘(2) this Federal policy is inconsistent with impor- tant national policy objectives, including the need to conserve energy, reduce reliance on energy imports, lessen congestion, and clean our Nation’s air; ‘‘(3) commuter transit benefits should be part of a comprehensive solution to national transportation and air pollution problems; ‘‘(4) current Federal law allows employers to pro- vide only up to $21 per month in employee benefits for transit or van pools; ‘‘(5) the current ‘cliff provision’, which treats an en- tire commuter transit benefit as taxable income if it exceeds $21 per month, unduly penalizes the most ef- fective employer efforts to change commuter behav- ior; ‘‘(6) employer-provided commuter transit incen- tives offer many public benefits, including increased access of low-income persons to good jobs, inexpen- sive reduction of roadway and parking congestion, and cost-effective incentives for timely arrival at work; and ‘‘(7) legislation to provide equitable treatment of employer-provided commuter transit benefits has been introduced with bipartisan support in both the Senate and House of Representatives. ‘‘(b) POLICY.—The Congress strongly supports Federal policy that promotes increased use of employer-pro- vided commuter transit benefits. Such a policy ‘levels the playing field’ between transportation modes and is consistent with important national objectives of en- ergy conservation, reduced reliance on energy imports, lessened congestion, and clean air.’’ § 5302. Definitions Except as otherwise specifically provided, in this chapter the following definitions apply: (1) ASSAULT ON A TRANSIT WORKER.—The term ‘‘assault on a transit worker’’ means a circumstance in which an individual know- ingly, without lawful authority or permission, and with intent to endanger the safety of any individual, or with a reckless disregard for the safety of human life, interferes with, disables, or incapacitates a transit worker while the transit worker is performing the duties of the transit worker. (2) ASSOCIATED TRANSIT IMPROVEMENT.—The term ‘‘associated transit improvement’’ means, with respect to any project or an area to be served by a project, projects that are de- signed to enhance public transportation serv- ice or use and that are physically or function- ally related to transit facilities. Eligible projects are— (A) historic preservation, rehabilitation, and operation of historic public transpor- tation buildings, structures, and facilities (including historic bus and railroad facili- ties) intended for use in public transpor- tation service; (B) bus shelters;