To reauthorize funding for maintenance of public roads used by school buses serving certain Indian reservations.

March 5, 2003

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. MATHESON, and Mr. RENZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

To reauthorize funding for maintenance of public roads used by school buses serving certain Indian reservations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Indian School Bus Route Safety Reauthorization Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL CONTRACT AUTHORITY FOR STATES WITH INDIAN RESERVATIONS.

(a) AVAILABILITY TO STATES- Not later than October 1 of each fiscal year, funds made available under subsection (e) for the fiscal year shall be made available by the Secretary of Transportation, in equal amounts, to each State that has within the boundaries of the State all or part of an Indian reservation having a land area of 10,000,000 acres or more.

(b) AVAILABILITY TO ELIGIBLE COUNTIES-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each fiscal year, each county that is located in a State to which funds are made available under subsection (a), and that has in the county a public road described in paragraph (2), shall be eligible to apply to the State for all or a portion of the funds made available to the State under this section to be used by the county to maintain such public roads.

(2) ROADS- A public road referred to in paragraph (1) is a public road that--

(A) is within, is adjacent to, or provides access to an Indian reservation described in subsection (a);

(B) is used by a school bus to transport children to or from a school or Headstart program carried out under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.); and

(C) is maintained by the county in which the public road is located.

(3) ALLOCATION AMONG ELIGIBLE COUNTIES-

(A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each State that receives funds under subsection (a) shall provide directly to each county that applies for funds the amount that the county requests in the application.

(B) ALLOCATION AMONG ELIGIBLE COUNTIES- If the total amount of funds applied for under this section by eligible counties in a State exceeds the amount of funds available to the State, the State shall equitably allocate the funds among the eligible counties that apply for funds.

(c) SUPPLEMENTARY FUNDING- For each fiscal year, the Secretary of Transportation shall ensure that funding made available under this section supplements (and does not supplant)--

(1) any obligation of funds by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for road maintenance programs on Indian reservations; and

(2) any funding provided by a State to a county for road maintenance programs in the county.

(d) USE OF UNALLOCATED FUNDS- Any portion of the funds made available to a State under this section that is not made available to counties within 1 year after the funds are made available to the State shall be apportioned among the States in accordance with section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code.

(e) FUNDING-

(1) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out this section--

(A) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 and 2005;

(B) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007; and

(C) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

(2) CONTRACT AUTHORITY- Funds made available to carry out this section shall be available for obligation in the same manner as if the funds were apportioned under chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code.

END