TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT AREAS.

SEC. 3006. TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT AREAS. (a) Designation.— Section 5305(a) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: “(2) any other area, if requested by the chief executive officer and the metropolitan planning organization designated for the area.”. (b) Transportation Plans and Programs.— Section 5305(b) is amended by inserting “affected” before “mass transportation operators”. (c) Congestion Management System.— Section 5305(c) is amended by striking “The Secretary” and all that follows through the final period. (d) Project Selection.— Section 5305(d)(1)(A) is amended by inserting “and any affected mass transportation operator” after “the State”. (e) Certification.— Section 5305(e) is amended— (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: “(2) (A) If a metropolitan planning process is not certified, the Secretary may withhold not more than 20 percent of the apportioned funds attributable to the transportation management area under this chapter and title 23. “(B) Any apportionments withheld under subparagraph (A) shall be restored to the metropolitan area at such time as the metropolitan planning organization is certified by the Secretary.”; and (2) by adding at the end the following: “(4) In making certification determinations under this subsection, the Secretary shall provide for public involvement appropriate to the metropolitan area under review.”. (f) Continuation of Current Review Practice.— Section 5305 is amended by adding at the end the following: “(h) Continuation of Current Review Practice.— Since plans and programs described in this section are subject to a reasonable opportunity for public comment, since individual projects included in the plans and programs are subject to review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and since decisions by the Secretary concerning plans and programs described in this section have not been reviewed under such Act as of January 1, 1997, any decision by the Secretary concerning a plan or program described in this section shall not 112 STAT. 347be considered to be a Federal action subject to review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).”.