PLANNING AND RESEARCH.

SEC. 3030. PLANNING AND RESEARCH. The Act is amended by inserting after section 25 the following: “SEC. 26. PLANNING AND RESEARCH PROGRAM. “(a) State Program.— The funds made available under section 21(c)(3) shall be available for State programs as follows: “(1) Transit cooperative research program.— 50 percent of that amount shall be available for the transit cooperative research program to be administered as follows: “(A) Independent governing board.— The Secretary shall establish an independent governing board for such program to recommend mass transportation research, development, and technology transfer activities as the Secretary deems appropriate. “(B) National academy of sciences.— The Secretary may make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, the National Academy of Sciences to carry out such activities as the Secretary determines are appropriate. “(2) State planning and research.— The remaining 50 percent of that amount shall be apportioned to the States for 105 STAT. 2118grants and contracts consistent with the purposes of sections 6, 8,10,11, and 20 of this Act. “(A) Apportionment formula.— Amounts shall be apportioned to the States in the ratio which the population in urbanized areas in each State bears to the total population in urbanized areas, in all the States as shown by the latest available decennial census, except that no State shall receive less than Vi of 1 percent of the amount apportioned under this section. “(B) Allocation within a state.— A State may authorize a portion of its funds made available under this subsection to be used to supplement funds available under subsection (a)(1), as the State deems appropriate. “(b) National Program.— “(1) In general.— The funds made available under section 21(c)(4), shall be available to the Secretary for grants or contracts for the purposes of section 6, 8, 10,11, or 20 of this Act, as the Secretary deems appropriate. “(2) Compliance with ada.— Of the amounts available under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make available not less than $2,000,000 to provide transit-related technical assistance, demonstration programs, research, public education, and other activities that the Secretary deems appropriate to help transit providers achieve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall carry out this subsection through contract with a national nonprofit organization serving persons with disabilities with demonstrated capacity to carry out these activities. “(3) Special initiatives.— Of the amounts available under paragraph (1), an amount not to exceed 25 percent shall be available to the Secretary for special demonstration initiatives subject to such terms, conditions, requirements, and provisions as the Secretary deems consistent with the requirements of this Act, except that the provisions of section 3(e)(4) shall apply to operational grants funded for purposes of section 6. For nonrenewable grants that do not exceed $100,000, the Secretary shall provide expedited procedures governing compliance with requirements of this Act. “(4) Technology development.— “(A) Program.— The Secretary is authorized to undertake a program of transit technology development in co-ordination with affected entities. “(B) Industry technical panel.— The Secretary shall establish an Industry Technical Panel consisting of representatives of transportation suppliers and operators and others involved in technology development. A majority of the Panel members shall represent the supply industry. The Panel shall assist the Secretary in the identification of priority technology development areas and in establishing guidelines for project development, project cost sharing, and prqject execution. “(C) Guidelines.— The Secretary shall develop guidelines for cost sharing in technology development projects funded under this section. Such guidelines shall be flexible in nature and reflect the extent of technical risk, market risk, and anticipated supplier benefits and pay back periods. 105 STAT. 2119 “(5) Advanced fare collection technology pilot project.— From amounts authorized under section 21(c)(4), the Secretary shall make available $1,000,000 in fiscal year 1992 for the purpose of conducting a pilot project to evaluate, develop, and test advanced fare technology systems. Such project shall be carried out by the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority. “(6) Inertial navigation technology transfer.— “(A) Project.— There is authorized to be appropriated from amounts made available under section 21(c), $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1992 to support an inertial navigation system demonstration project for the purpose of determining the safety, economic, and environmental benefits of deploying inertial navigation tracking and control systems in urban and rural environments. “(B) Public-private sector participants.— The project described in subparagraph (A) shall be conducted by the Transit Safety Research Alliance, a nonprofit public-private sector consortium based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “(7) Supplementary funds.— The Secretary may use funds appropriated under this subsection to supplement funds available under subsection (a)(1), as the Secretary deems appropriate. “(8) Federal share.— Where there would be a clear and direct financial benefit to an entity under a grant or contract funded under this subsection or subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall establish a Federal share consistent with that benefit. “(c) Suspended Light Rail System Technology Pilot Project.— “(1) Full funding grant agreement.— Not later than 60 days after the fulfillment of the requirements under paragraph (5), the Secretary shall negotiate and enter into a full funding grant agreement under section 3 with a public entity selected under paragraph (4) for construction of a suspended light rail system technology pilot project. “(2) Project purpose.— The purpose of the project under this subsection shall be to assess the state of new technology for a suspended light rail system and to determine the feasibility and costs and benefits of using such a system for transporting passengers. “(3) Project description.— The project under this subsection shall— “(A) utilize new rail technology with individual vehicles on a prefabricated, elevated steel guideway; “(B) be stability seeking with a center of gravity for the detachable passenger vehicles located below the point of wheel-rail contact; and “(C) utilize vehicles which are driven by overhead bogies with high efficiency, low maintenance electric motors for each wheel, operating in a slightly sloped plane from vertical for both the wheels and the running rails, to further increase stability, acceleration, and braking performance. “(4) Competition.— “(A) In general.— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall conduct a national competition to select a public entity with which to enter into a full funding grant agreement under paragraph (1) for construction of the project under this subsection. “(B) Publication of notice.— Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 105 STAT. 2120shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the competition to be conducted under this paragraph, together with procedures for public entities to participate in the competition. “(C) Selection of finalists.— Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall select 3 public entities to be finalists in the competition under this paragraph. “(D) Award of grants.— The Secretary shall award grants to each of the finalists selected under subparagraph (C). Such grants shall be used by the finalists to participate in the final phase of the competition under this paragraph in accordance with procedures to be established by the Secretary. The amount of such grants shall not exceed 80 percent of the costs of such participation. No finalists may receive more than 1/3 of the amount made available under paragraph (9)(C). “(E) Selection of winner.— Not later than 210 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall select from among the finalists selected under subparagraph (C) the public entity with which to enter into a full funding grant agreement under paragraph (1). “(F) Considerations.— In conducting the competition and selecting public entities under this paragraph, the Secretary shall consider the following: “(i) The public entity’s demonstrated understanding and knowledge of the project under this section. “(ii) The public entity’s technical, managerial, and financial capacity to undertake construction, management, and operation of the project. “(iii) Maximization of potential contributions to the cost of the project by State, local, and private sector entities, including the donation of in-kind services and materials. “(5) Expedited procedures.— Not later than 270 days after the date of selection of a public entity under paragraph (4), the Secretary shall approve and publish in the Federal Register a notice announcing either (A) a finding of no significant impact, or (B) a draft environmental impact statement for the project under this subsection. The alternative analysis for the project shall include a determination as to whether or not to actually construct such project. If a draft environmental impact statement is published, the Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the date of such publication, approve and publish in the Federal Register a notice of completion of a final environmental impact statement. The project shall not be subject to the major capital investment policy of the Federal Transit Administration. “(6) Notice to proceed with construction.— Not later than 30 days following the execution of the full funding grant agreement under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall issue a notice to proceed with construction. “(7) Option not to construct.— Not later than the 30th day following the completion of preliminary engineering and design for the project, the public entity selected under paragraph (1) will make a determination on whether or not to proceed to 105 STAT. 2121actual construction of the project. If such public entity makes a determination not to proceed to such actual construction— “(A) the Secretary shall not enter into the grant agreement under paragraph (1); “(B) any remaining sums received shall be returned to the Secretary and credited to the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund; and “(C) the Secretary shall use the amount so credited and all other amounts to be provided under this section to award to entities selected under paragraph (4)(E) wants under section 3 for construction of the project described in paragraph (1). Any grants under subparagraph (C) shall be awarded after completion of a competitive process for selection of a grant recipient. Such process shall be completed not later than the 60th day following the date of the determination under this subsection. “(8) Operating cost deficits.— The full funding grant agreement under paragraph (1) shall provide that— “(A) the system vendor for the project under this section shall fund 100 percent of any deficit incurred in operating the project in the first two years of revenue operations of the project; and “(B) the system vendor for the project under this section shall fund 50 percent of any deficit incurred in operating the project in the third year of revenue operations of the project. “(9) Funding.— “(A) Preconstruction.— If the systems planning, alternatives analysis, preliminary engineering, and design and environmental impact statement are required by law for the project under this subsection, the Secretary shall pay by grant the Federal share of such costs (as determined under section 3) from amounts provided under such section as follows: not less than $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1993. Such funds shall remain available until expended. “(B) Construction.— The grant agreement under paragraph (1) shall provide that the Federal share of the construction costs of the project under this section shall be paid by the Secretary from amounts provided under section 3 as follows: not less than $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1994. Such funds shall remain available until expended. “(C) Grants.— Grants under paragraph (4) shall be paid by the Secretary from amounts provided under section 3 as follows: not less than $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1992. Any amounts not expended for such grants shall be available for the Federal share of costs described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). “(D) Operation.— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the grant agreement under paragraph (1) shall provide with respect to the third year of revenue operations of the project under this subsection that the Federal share of operating costs of the project shall be paid by the Secretary from amounts provided under this section in a sum equal to 50 percent of any deficit incurred in operating the project in such year of revenue operations or $300,000, whichever is less. 105 STAT. 2122 “(10) Federal share.— The Federal share of the cost of construction of the project under this subsection shall be 80 percent of the net cost of the project. “(11) Report.— Not later than January 30, 1993, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report on the progress and results of the project under this subsection.”.