Six bills to keep an eye on at the federal level

Every six years, the federal transportation bill needs to be re-authorized. The current one is overdue to be reauthorized -- the vote on it was postponed from October to December 18. The following bills could move forward as their own pieces, or get bundled into the broader re-authorization. If any or all of them are of interest to you, it's absolutely worth a call to your legislators. For help finding your senators' and representative's contact information, click here.

Livable Communities Act (S. 1619 / H.R. 3734) – Gives local governments the tools to integrate their transportation, housing, economic development, energy and environment needs by authorizing $400 million in competitive planning grants and $3.75 billion over three years for implementation of sustainable development projects. The bill also creates an inter-departmental council responsible for coordinating sustainable development policies at Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency and others.

Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733) – Allocates 2.4% of the proceeds from auctioned emissions permits to fund clean transportation projects that help reduce carbon emissions. The Senate’s climate bill more than doubles the amount for clean transportation in the House version and substantially incorporates language from a separate marker bill known as CLEAN-TEA (S.575 / H.R. 1329).

Federal Assistance for Transit Operations (H.R. 2746) – Allow public transit agencies representing cities larger than 200,000 people to flex part of their capital transit funds for operating expenses, creating greater flexibility for use of federal dollars in urban areas.

Complete Streets (S.584 / H.R. 1443) – Ensures that all users of the transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, children, older individuals and individuals with disabilities are able to travel safely and conveniently on and across federally funded streets and highways.

Another goal included in the national transportation objectives bill is tripling transit use, cycling, and walking.

National Transportation Objectives (H.R. 2724) – Sets quantifiable national transportation objectives to ensure that federal transportation investments advance national purposes tied to health outcomes, improvements in the areas of energy efficiency, environmental protection, economic competitiveness, safety, safety, connectivity and equal access. This would be the first time the country has established a set of quantifiable national transportation objectives since the Eisenhower-era bill that appropriated money to build the interstate highway system. Some targets in the current version of the bill: reducing driving by 16% and reducing the average household’s combined housing and transportation costs by 25%, over a 20-year period.

Transportation Workforce Development Funding (H.R. 2444) – Requires that 0.5 percent of federal Surface Transportation Program and Highway Bridge funding go toward workforce development and job training. Dedicated funding for workforce development in transportation sector will greatly benefit communities that are currently left out of the labor force, especially low income communities and communities of color.