To amend the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to make certain amendments with respect to Indian tribes, to provide for training and technical assistance to Native Americans who are interested in commercial vehicle driving careers, and for other purposes.

February 4, 2003

Mr. CAMPBELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

To amend the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to make certain amendments with respect to Indian tribes, to provide for training and technical assistance to Native Americans who are interested in commercial vehicle driving careers, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Indian Tribal Surface Transportation Improvement Act of 2003'.

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS- The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I--INDIAN TRIBAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION

Sec. 101. Short title.

Sec. 102. Amendments relating to Indian tribes.

TITLE II--TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR NATIVE AMERICANS

Sec. 201. Short title.

Sec. 202. Purposes.

Sec. 203. Definitions.

Sec. 204. Commercial vehicle driving training program.

TITLE I--INDIAN TRIBAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION

SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the `Indian Tribal Surface Transportation Act of 2003'.

SEC. 102. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO INDIAN TRIBES.

(a) OBLIGATION LIMITATION- Section 1102(c)(1) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (23 U.S.C. 104 note; 112 Stat. 116) is amended--

(1) by striking `Code, and' and inserting `Code,'; and

(2) by inserting before the semicolon the following: `, and for each of fiscal years 2003 and 2004, amounts authorized for Indian reservation roads under section 204 of title 23, United States Code'.

(b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT- Section 202(d)(3) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(C) FEDERAL LANDS HIGHWAY PROGRAM DEMONSTRATION PROJECT-

`(i) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall establish a demonstration project under which all funds made available under this title for Indian reservation roads and for highway bridges located on Indian reservation roads as provided for in subparagraph (A) shall be made available, on the request of an affected Indian tribal government, to the Indian tribal government for use in carrying out, in accordance with the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), contracts and agreements for the planning, research, engineering, and construction described in that subparagraph.

`(ii) EXCLUSION OF AGENCY PARTICIPATION- In accordance with subparagraph (B), all funds for Indian reservation roads and for highway bridges located on Indian reservation roads to which clause (i) applies shall be paid without regard to the organizational level at which the Federal lands highway program has previously

carried out the programs, functions, services, or activities involved.

`(iii) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING TRIBES-

`(I) PARTICIPANTS-

`(aa) IN GENERAL- For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall select 12 geographically diverse Indian tribes from the applicant pool described in subclause (II) to participate in the demonstration project carried out under clause (i).

`(bb) CONSORTIA- Two or more Indian tribes that are otherwise eligible to participate in a program or activity to which this title applies may form a consortium to be considered as a single tribe for the purpose of becoming part of the applicant pool under subclause (II).

`(cc) FUNDING- An Indian tribe participating in the pilot program under this subparagraph shall receive funding in an amount equal to the sum of the funding that the Indian tribe would otherwise receive in accordance with the funding formula established under the other provisions of this subsection, and an additional percentage of that amount equal to the percentage of funds withheld during the applicable fiscal year for the road program management costs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs under subsection (f)(1).

`(II) APPLICANT POOL- The applicant pool described in this subclause shall consist of each Indian tribe (or consortium) that--

`(aa) has successfully completed the planning phase described in subclause (III);

`(bb) has requested participation in the demonstration project under this subparagraph through the adoption of a resolution or other official action by the tribal governing body; and

`(cc) has demonstrated financial stability and financial management capability in accordance with subclause (III) during the 3-fiscal year period immediately preceding the fiscal year for which participation under this subparagraph is being requested.

`(III) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING FINANCIAL STABILITY AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT CAPACITY- For the purpose of subclause (II), evidence that, during the 3-year period referred to in subclause (II)(cc), an Indian tribe had no uncorrected significant and material audit exceptions in the required annual audit of the Indian tribe's self-determination contracts or self-governance funding agreements with any Federal agency shall be conclusive evidence of the required stability and capability.

`(IV) PLANNING PHASE-

`(aa) IN GENERAL- An Indian tribe (or consortium) requesting participation in the demonstration project under this subparagraph shall complete a planning phase that shall include legal and budgetary research and internal tribal government and organization preparation.

`(bb) ELIGIBILITY- A tribe (or consortium) described in item (aa) shall be eligible to receive a grant under this subclause to plan and negotiate participation in a project described in that item.'.

(c) ADMINISTRATION- Section 202 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(f) ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS-

`(1) CONTRACT AUTHORITY-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for any fiscal year, not more than 6 percent of the contract authority amounts made available from the Highway Trust Fund to the Bureau of Indian Affairs under this title shall be used to pay the administrative expenses of the Bureau for the Indian reservation roads program (including the administrative expenses relating to individual projects that are associated with the program).

`(B) AVAILABILITY- Amounts made available to pay administrative expenses under subparagraph (A) shall be made available to an Indian tribal government, on the request of the government, to be used for the associated administrative functions assumed by the Indian tribe under contracts and agreements entered into under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).

`(2) HEALTH AND SAFETY ASSURANCES- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an Indian tribe or tribal organization may commence road and bridge construction under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (Public Law 105-178) that is funded through a contract or agreement under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance

Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) if the Indian tribe or tribal organization has--

`(A) provided assurances in the contract or agreement that the construction will meet or exceed proper health and safety standards;

`(B) obtained the advance review of the plans and specifications from a licensed professional who has certified that the plans and specifications meet or exceed the proper health and safety standards; and

`(C) provided a copy of the certification under subparagraph (B) to the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

`(g) SAFETY INCENTIVE GRANTS-

`(1) SEAT BELT SAFETY INCENTIVE GRANT ELIGIBILITY- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an Indian tribe that is eligible to participate in the Indian reservation roads program under subsection (d) shall be deemed to be a State for the purpose of being eligible for safety incentive allocations under section 157 to assist Indian communities in developing innovative programs to promote increased seat belt use rates.

`(2) INTOXICATED DRIVER SAFETY INCENTIVE GRANT ELIGIBILITY- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an Indian tribe that is eligible to participate in the Indian reservation roads program under subsection (d) shall be deemed to be a State for the purpose of being eligible for safety incentive grants under section 163 to assist Indian communities in the prevention of the operation of motor vehicles by intoxicated persons.

`(3) FUNDING PROCEDURES AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, in consultation with Indian tribal governments, may develop funding procedures and eligibility criteria applicable to Indian tribes with respect to allocations or grants described in paragraphs (1) and (2).

`(B) PUBLICATION- The Secretary shall ensure that procedures or criteria developed under subparagraph (A) are published annually in the Federal Register.'.

TITLE II--TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR NATIVE AMERICANS

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the `Native American Commercial Driving Training and Technical Assistance Act'.

SEC. 202. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this title are--

(1) to foster and promote job creation and economic opportunities for Native Americans; and

(2) to provide education, technical, and training assistance to Native Americans who are interested in commercial vehicle driving careers.

SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS.

In this title:

(1) COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVING- The term `commercial vehicle driving' means the driving of--

(A) a vehicle that is a tractor-trailer truck; or

(B) any other vehicle (such as a bus or a vehicle used for the purpose of construction) the driving of which requires a commercial license.

(2) INDIAN TRIBE- The term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).

(3) NATIVE AMERICAN- The term `Native American' means an individual who is a member of--

(A) an Indian tribe; or

(B) any people or culture that is indigenous to the United States, as determined by the Secretary.

(4) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Labor.

SEC. 204. COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVING TRAINING PROGRAM.

(a) GRANTS- The Secretary may provide grants, on a competitive basis, to entities described in subsection (b) to support programs providing training and certificates leading to the licensing of Native Americans with respect to commercial vehicle driving.

(b) ELIGIBILITY- To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall--

(1) be a tribal college or university (as defined in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1059(b)(3)); and

(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

(c) PRIORITY- In providing grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to grant applications that--

(1) propose training that exceeds proposed minimum standards for training tractor-trailer drivers of the Department of Transportation;

(2) propose training that exceeds the entry level truck driver certification standards set by the Professional Truck Driver Institute; and

(3) propose an education partnership with a private trucking firm, trucking association, or similar entity in order to ensure the effectiveness of the grant program under this section.

(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this title.

END