Availability of amounts

§ 31104. Availability of amounts (a) General.—Subject to section 9503(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9503(c)(1), the following amounts are available from the Highway Trust Fund (except the Mass Transit Account) for the Secretary of Transportation to incur obligations to carry out section 31102 of this title: (1) not more than $76,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1993. (2) not more than $80,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1994. (3) not more than $83,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1995. (4) not more than $85,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1996. (5) not more than $90,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997. (b) Availability and Reallocation of Amounts.—(1) Amounts made available under subsection (a) of this section remain available until expended. Allocations to a State remain available for expenditure in the State for the fiscal year in which they are allocated and for the next fiscal year. Amounts not expended 108 STAT. 988by a State during those 2 fiscal years are released to the Secretary for reallocation. (2) Amounts made available under section 404(a)(2) of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 before October 1, 1991, that are not obligated on October 1, 1992, are available for reallocation and obligation under paragraph (1) of this subsection. (c) Reimbursement for Government’s Share of Costs.—Amounts made available under subsection (a) of this section shall be used to reimburse States proportionately for the United States Government’s share of costs incurred. (d) Grants as Contractual Obligations.—Approval by the Secretary of a grant to a State under section 31102 of this title is a contractual obligation of the Government for payment of the Government’s share of costs incurred by the State in developing, implementing, or developing and implementing programs to enforce commercial motor vehicle regulations, standards, and orders. (e) Deduction for Administrative Expenses.—On October 1 of each fiscal year or as soon after that date as practicable, the Secretary may deduct, from amounts made available under subsection (a) of this section for that fiscal year, not more than 1.25 percent of those amounts for administrative expenses incurred in carrying out section 31102 of this title in that fiscal year. The Secretary shall use at least 75 percent of those deducted amounts to train non-Government employees and to develop related training materials in carrying out section 31102. (f) Allocation Criteria.—On October 1 of each fiscal year or as soon after that date as practicable, the Secretary, after making the deduction described in subsection (e) of this section, shall allocate under criteria the Secretary establishes the amounts available for that fiscal year among the States with plans approved under section 31102 of this title. However, the Secretary may designate specific eligible States among which to allocate those amounts in allocating amounts available— (1) for research, development, and demonstration under subsection (g)(1)(F) of this section; and (2) for public education under subsection (g)(1)(G) of this section. (g) Specific Allocations.—(1) Of amounts made available under subsection (a) of this section— (A) for each fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1992, the Secretary shall obligate at least $1,500,000 to make grants to States for training inspectors to enforce regulations prescribed by the Secretary related to the transportation of hazardous material by commercial motor vehicles; (B) for each of the fiscal years ending September 30, 19931997, the Secretary may obligate not more than $2,000,000 to carry out section 31106 of this title; (C) for each of the fiscal years ending September 30, 1993–1997, the Secretary may obligate not more than $2,000,000 to carry out section 31107 of this title; (D) for each of the fiscal years ending September 30, 19931995, the Secretary shall obligate at least $4,250,000, and for each of the fiscal years ending September 30, 1996, and 1997, the Secretary shall obligate at least $5,000,000, for traffic enforcement activities related to commercial motor vehicle drivers that are carried out in conjunction with an appropriate 108 STAT. 989inspection of a commercial motor vehicle for compliance with Government or State commercial motor vehicle safety regulations; (E) for each of the fiscal years ending September 30, 1993–1995, the Secretary shall obligate at least $1,000,000 to increase enforcement of the licensing requirements of chapter 313 of this title by motor carrier safety assistance program officers and employees, including the cost of purchasing equipment for, and conducting, inspections to check the current status of licenses issued under chapter 313; (F) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall obligate at least $500,000 for research, development, and demonstration of technologies, methodologies, analyses, or information systems designed to carry out section 31102 of this title and that are beneficial to all jurisdictions; and (G) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall obligate at least $350,000 to educate the motoring public on how to share the road safely with commercial motor vehicles. (2) The Secretary shall announce publicly amounts obligated under paragraph (1)(F) of this subsection and award those amounts competitively, when practicable, to any eligible State for up to 100 percent of the State costs or to other persons as the Secretary decides. (3) In carrying out educational activities referred to in paragraph (1)(G) of this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with appropriate industry representatives. (h) Payment to States for Costs.—Each State shall submit vouchers for costs the State incurs under this section and section 31102 of this title. The Secretary shall pay the State an amount not more than the Government share of costs incurred as of the date of the vouchers. (i) Improved Allocation Formula.—The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to develop an improved formula and process for allocating amounts made available for grants under section 31102(a) of this title among States eligible for those amounts. In prescribing those regulations, the Secretary shall— (1) consider ways to provide incentives to States that demonstrate innovative, successful, cost-efficient, or cost-effective programs to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and hazardous material transportation safety; (2) place special emphasis on incentives to States that conduct traffic safety enforcement activities that are coupled with motor carrier safety inspections; and (3) consider ways to provide incentives to States that increase compatibility of State commercial motor vehicle safety and hazardous material transportation regulations with Government safety regulations and promote other factors intended to promote effectiveness and efficiency the Secretary decides are appropriate. (j) Intrastate Compatibility.—The Secretary shall prescribe regulations specifying tolerance guidelines and standards for ensuring compatibility of intrastate commercial motor vehicle safety laws and regulations with Government motor carrier safety regulations to be enforced under section 31102(a) of this title. To the extent practicable, the guidelines and standards shall allow for maximum flexibility while ensuring the degree of uniformity that will not diminish transportation safety. In reviewing State plans and allocat-108 STAT. 990ing amounts or making grants under section 153 of title 23, the Secretary shall ensure that the guidelines and standards are applied uniformly.