GENERAL PROVISIONS ON ASSISTANCE.

SEC. 3023. GENERAL PROVISIONS ON ASSISTANCE.(a) Interests in Property.—Section 5323(a) is amended—(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:“(1) In general.—Financial assistance provided under this chapter to a State or a local governmental authority may be used to acquire an interest in, or to buy property of, a private company engaged in public transportation, for a capital project for property acquired from a private company engaged in public transportation after July 9, 1964, or to operate a public transportation facility or equipment in competition with, or in addition to, transportation service provided by an existing public transportation company, only if—“(A) the Secretary determines that such financial assistance is essential to a program of projects required under sections 5303, 5304, and 5306;“(B) the Secretary determines that the program provides for the participation of private companies engaged in public transportation to the maximum extent feasible; and“(C) just compensation under State or local law will be paid to the company for its franchise or property.”; and(2) in paragraph (2) by striking “(2) A governmental authority” and inserting the following:“(2) Limitation.—A governmental authority”.(b) Notice and Public Hearing.—Section 5323(b) is amended to read as follows:“(b) Notice and Public Hearing.—“(1) In general.—For a capital project that will substantially affect a community, or the public transportation service of a community, an applicant shall—“(A) provide an adequate opportunity for public review and comment on the project;“(B) after providing notice, hold a public hearing on the project if the project affects significant economic, social, or environmental interests;“(C) consider the economic, social, and environmental effects of the project; and“(D) find that the project is consistent with official plans for developing the community.“(2) Notice.—Notice of a hearing under this subsection—“(A) shall include a concise description of the proposed project; and“(B) shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the geographic area the project will serve.“(3) Application requirements.—An application for a grant under this chapter for a capital project described in paragraph (1) shall include—“(A) a certification that the applicant has complied with the requirements of this subsection; and“(B) in the environmental record for the project, evidence that the applicant has complied with the requirements of this subsection.”.119 STAT. 1616(c) Fares not Required.—Section 5323(c) is amended to read as follows:“(c) Fares not Required.—This chapter does not require that elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities be charged a fare.”.(d) Condition on Charter Bus Transportation Service.—Section 5323(d) is amended—(1) by striking “(1) Financial assistance” and inserting the following:“(1) Agreements.—Financial assistance”; and(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:“(2) Violations.—“(A) Investigations.—On receiving a complaint about a violation of the agreement required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall investigate and decide whether a violation has occurred.“(B) Enforcement of agreements.—If the Secretary decides that a violation has occurred, the Secretary shall correct the violation under terms of the agreement.“(C) Additional remedies.—In addition to any remedy specified in the agreement, the Secretary shall bar a recipient or an operator from receiving Federal transit assistance in an amount the Secretary considers appropriate if the Secretary finds a pattern of violations of the agreement.”.(e) Bond Proceeds Eligible for Local Share.—Section 5323(e) is amended to read as follows:“(e) Bond Proceeds Eligible for Local Share.—“(1) Use as local matching funds.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a recipient of assistance under section 5307 or 5309 may use the proceeds from the issuance of revenue bonds as part of the local matching funds for a capital project.“(2) Maintenance of effort.—The Secretary shall approve of the use of the proceeds from the issuance of revenue bonds for the remainder of the net project cost only if the Secretary finds that the aggregate amount of financial support for public transportation in the urbanized area provided by the State and affected local governmental authorities during the next 3 fiscal years, as programmed in the State transportation improvement program under section 5304, is not less than the aggregate amount provided by the State and affected local governmental authorities in the urbanized area during the preceding 3 fiscal years.“(3) Debt service reserve.—The Secretary may reimburse an eligible recipient for deposits of bond proceeds in a debt service reserve that the recipient establishes pursuant to section 5302(a)(1)(K) from amounts made available to the recipient under section 5309.“(4) Pilot program for urbanized areas.—“(A) In general.—The Secretary shall establish a pilot program to reimburse not to exceed 10 eligible recipients for deposits of bond proceeds in a debt service reserve that the recipient establishes pursuant to section 5302(a)(1)(K) from amounts made available to the recipient under section 5307.“(B) Report.—Not later than July 31, 2008, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 119 STAT. 1617 and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report on the status and effectiveness of the pilot program established under subparagraph (A).”.(f) Schoolbus Transportation.—Section 5323(f) is amended—(1) by striking “(1) Financial assistance” and inserting the following:“(1) Agreements.—Financial assistance”;(2) in paragraph (1) by moving subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) 2 ems to the right; and(3) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:“(2) Violations.—If the Secretary finds that an applicant, governmental authority, or publicly owned operator has violated the agreement required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall bar a recipient or an operator from receiving Federal transit assistance in an amount the Secretary considers appropriate.”.(g) Buying Buses Under Other Laws.—Section 5323(g) is amended by striking “103(e)(4) and 142(a) or (c)” each place it appears and inserting “133 and 142”.(h) Government’s Share of Costs for Certain Projects.—Section 5323(i) is amended—(1) in the subsection heading by striking “Government” and inserting “Government’s”;(2) by striking “A grant” and inserting the following:“(1) Equipment for ada and clean air act compliance.—A grant”;(3) by inserting “or facilities” after “equipment” each place it appears; and(4) by adding at the end the following:“(2) Certain state owned railroads.—The Government share for financial assistance under this chapter to a State-owned railroad (as defined in section 603 of the Rail Safety and Service Improvement Act of 1982 (45 U.S.C. 1202)) shall be the same as the Government share under section 120(b) of title 23 for Federal-aid highway funds apportioned to the State in which the railroad operates.”.(i) Buy America.—(1) Public interest waiver.—Section 5323(j) is amended—(A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (7) as paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively; and(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:“(3) Written justification for public interest waiver.—When issuing a waiver based on a public interest determination under paragraph (2)(A), the Secretary shall issue a detailed written justification as to why the waiver is in the public interest. The Secretary shall publish such justification in the Federal Register and provide the public with a reasonable period of time for notice and comment.”.(2) Ineligibility for contracts.—Section 5323(j)(6) (as so redesignated) is amended by striking “Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240, 105 Stat. 1914)” and inserting “Federal Public Transportation Act of 2005”.(3) Administrative review.—Section 5323(j) is amended by adding at the end the following:119 STAT. 1618 “(9) Administrative review.—A party adversely affected by an agency action under this subsection shall have the right to seek review under section 702 of title 5.”.(4) Repeal of general waiver.—Subsections (b) and (c) of Appendix A of section 661.7 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall cease to be in effect beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.(5) Rulemaking.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a final rule on implementation of the requirements of section 5323(j) of title 49, United States Code (in this paragraph referred to as the “Buy America requirements”). The purposes of the regulations shall be as follows:(A) Microprocessor waiver.—To clarify that any waiver from the Buy America requirements issued under section 5323(j)(2) of such title for a microprocessor, computer, or microcomputer applies only to a device used solely for the purpose of processing or storing data and does not extend to a product containing a microprocessor, computer, or microcomputer.(B) Definitions.—To define the terms “end product”, “negotiated procurement”, and “contractor” for purposes of part 661 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. In defining the terms, the Secretary shall develop a list of representative items that are subject to the Buy America requirements, and shall address the procurement of systems under the definition to ensure that major system procurements are not used to circumvent the Buy America requirements.(C) Post-award waivers.—To permit a grantee to request a non-availability waiver from the Buy America requirements under section 661.7c of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, after contract award in any case in which the contractor has made a certification of compliance with the requirements in good faith.(D) Certification under negotiated procurement process.—In any case in which a negotiated procurement process is used, compliance with the Buy America requirements shall be determined on the basis of the certification submitted with the final offer.(j) Relationship to Other Laws.—Section 5323(l) is amended to read as follows:“(l) Relationship to Other Laws.—Section 1001 of title 18 applies to a certificate, submission, or statement provided under this chapter. The Secretary may terminate financial assistance under this chapter and seek reimbursement directly, or by offsetting amounts, available under this chapter if the Secretary determines that a recipient of such financial assistance has made a false or fraudulent statement or related act in connection with a Federal transit program.”.(k) Preaward and Postdelivery Review of Rolling Stock Purchases.—Section 5323(m) is amended by adding at the end the following: “Rolling stock procurements of 20 vehicles or fewer made for the purpose of serving other than urbanized areas and urbanized areas with populations of 200,000 or fewer shall be subject to the same requirements as established for procurements 119 STAT. 1619 of 10 or fewer buses under the post-delivery purchaser’s requirements certification process under section 663.37(c) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.”.(l) Grant Requirements.—Section 5323(o) is amended by striking “the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998” and inserting “chapter 6 (other than section 609) of title 23”.(m) Alternative Fueling Facilities.—Section 5323 is amended by adding at the end the following:“(p) Alternative Fueling Facilities.—A recipient of assistance under this chapter may allow the incidental use of federally funded alternative fueling facilities and equipment by nontransit public entities and private entities if—“(1) the incidental use does not interfere with the recipient’s public transportation operations;“(2) all costs related to the incidental use are fully recaptured by the recipient from the nontransit public entity or private entity;“(3) the recipient uses revenues received from the incidental use in excess of costs for planning, capital, and operating expenses that are incurred in providing public transportation; and“(4) private entities pay all applicable excise taxes on fuel.”.