Planning programs

• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-13 (published on www.congress.gov on 08/07/2023)

(a) STATE DEFINED.-In this section, the term "State" means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.-

(1) GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS.-Under criteria established by the Secretary, the Secretary may award grants to States, authorities of the States, metropolitan planning organizations, and local governmental authorities, and make agreements with other departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the Government to-

(A) develop transportation plans and programs;

(B) plan, engineer, design, and evaluate a public transportation project; and

(C) conduct technical studies relating to public transportation.

(2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.-Activities eligible under paragraph (1) include the following:

(A) Studies related to management, planning, operations, capital requirements, and economic feasibility.

(B) Evaluating previously financed projects.

(C) Peer reviews and exchanges of technical data, information, assistance, and related activities in support of planning and environmental analyses among metropolitan planning organizations and other transportation planners.

(D) Other similar and related activities preliminary to and in preparation for constructing, acquiring, or improving the operation of facilities and equipment.

(c) PURPOSE.-To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that amounts appropriated or made available under section 5338 to carry out this section and sections 5303, 5304, and 5306 are used to support balanced and comprehensive transportation planning that considers the relationships among land use and all transportation modes, without regard to the programmatic source of the planning amounts.

(d) METROPOLITAN PLANNING PROGRAM.-

(1) APPORTIONMENT TO STATES.-

(A) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary shall apportion 80 percent of the amounts made available under subsection (g)(1) among the States to carry out sections 5303 and 5306 in the ratio that-

(i) the population of urbanized areas in each State, as shown by the latest available decennial census of population; bears to

(ii) the total population of urbanized areas in all States, as shown by that census.

(B) MINIMUM APPORTIONMENT.-Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a State may not receive less than 0.5 percent of the amount apportioned under this paragraph.

(2) ALLOCATION TO MPO'S.-Amounts apportioned to a State under paragraph (1) shall be made available, not later than 30 days after the date of apportionment, to metropolitan planning organizations in the State designated under this section under a formula that-

(A) considers population of urbanized areas;

(B) provides an appropriate distribution for urbanized areas to carry out the cooperative processes described in this section;

(C) the State develops in cooperation with the metropolitan planning organizations; and

(D) the Secretary approves.

(3) SUPPLEMENTAL AMOUNTS.-

(A) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary shall apportion 20 percent of the amounts made available under subsection (g)(1) among the States to supplement allocations made under paragraph (1) for metropolitan planning organizations.