Public Laws

SAFETEA-LU
Public Law 109-59

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users (Public Law 109-59) 119 Stat. 1144, 1915; Aug. 10, 2005; H.R. 3 (109th Congress)

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Long Title: Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users

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General  Information

Public Law: Pub. L. 109-59
Stat. At Large: 119 Stat. 1144
Enacted: Aug. 10, 2005
Bill Number: H.R. 3 (109th Congress)
Sponsor:Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large]
Note: This law includes statutory spending limits in section 251 (BBEDCA) providing for transportation caps. This was related to the House Rules and the concept of “revenue aligned budget authority”, which assured a minimum spending level for certain transportation programs.

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Background

H.R.3 — 109th Congress (2005-2006) SAFETEA-LU
Sponsor: Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large] (Introduced 02/09/2005)
Cosponsors: (79)
Committees: House – Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee Reports: H. Rept. 109-12,Part 1; H. Rept. 109-12,Part 2; H. Rept. 109-203 (Conference Report)
Latest Action: 08/10/2005 Became Public Law No: 109-59. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions)

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Applicable Text of Statute

TITLE VIII—TRANSPORTATION DISCRETIONARY SPENDING GUARANTEE

sec. 8001. discretionary spending limits for the highway and mass transit categories.

(a) Limits.—Redesignate paragraphs (2) through (9) of section 251(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 as paragraphs (6) through (13), respectively, and strike paragraph (1) of such section 251(c) and insert the following new paragraphs:

‘‘(1) with respect to fiscal year 2005—

‘‘(A) for the highway category: $31,277,000,000 in outlays;

‘‘(B) for the mass transit category: $955,792,000 in new budget authority and $6,674,000,000 in outlays;

‘‘(2) with respect to fiscal year 2006—

‘‘(A) for the highway category: $33,942,000,000 in outlays;

‘‘(B) for the mass transit category: $1,643,000,000 in new budget authority and $7,359,000,000 in outlays;

‘‘(3) with respect to fiscal year 2007—

‘‘(A) for the highway category: $36,960,000,000 in outlays;

‘‘(B) for the mass transit category: $1,712,000,000 in new budget authority and $8,120,000,000 in outlays;

‘‘(4) with respect to fiscal year 2008—

‘‘(A) for the highway category: $39,123,000,000 in outlays;

‘‘(B) for the mass transit category: $1,858,000,000 in new budget authority and $8,742,000,000 in outlays;

‘‘(5) with respect to fiscal year 2009—

‘‘(A) for the highway category: $40,660,000,000 in outlays;

‘‘(B) for the mass transit category: $1,977,500,000 in new budget authority and $9,180,000,000 in outlays;’’.

(b) Definitions.—Section 250(c)(4) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (B)—

(A) by striking ‘‘the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century’’ and all that follows through the colon and inserting: ‘‘the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users:’’; and

(B) by adding at the end thereof the following new clauses:

‘‘(v) 69–8362–0–7–401 (National Driver Registry).

‘‘(vi) 69–8159–0–7–401 (Motor Carrier Safety Operations and Programs).

‘‘(vii) 06–8158–0–7–401 (Motor Carrier Safety Grants).’’; and

(2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following:

‘‘(C) Mass transit category.—The term ‘mass transit category’ means the following budget accounts, or portions of the accounts, that are subject to the obligation limitations on contract authority provided in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users or for which appropriations are provided in accordance with authorizations contained in that Act:

‘‘(i) 69–1120–0–1–401 (Administrative Expenses).

‘‘(ii) 69–1134–0–1–401 (Capital Investment Grants).

‘‘(iii) 69–8191–0–7–401 (Discretionary Grants).

‘‘(iv) 69–1129–0–1–401 (Formula Grants).

‘‘(v) 69–1127–0–1–401 (Interstate Transfer Grants—Transit).

‘‘(vi) 69–1125–0–1–401 (Job Access and Reverse Commute).

‘‘(vii) 69–1122–0–1–401 (Miscellaneous Expired Accounts).

‘‘(viii) 69–1121–0–1–401 (Research, Training and Human Resources).

‘‘(ix) 69–8350–0–7–401 (Trust Fund Share of Expenses).

‘‘(x) 69–1137–0–1–401 (Transit Planning and Research).

‘‘(xi) 69–1136–0–1–401 (University Transportation Research).

‘‘(xii) 69–1128–0–1–401 (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority).’’.

sec. 8002. adjustments to align highway spending with revenues.

Subparagraphs (B) through (E) of section 251(b)(1) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 are amended to read as follows:

‘‘(B) Adjustment to align highway spending with revenues.—(i) When the President submits the budget under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, OMB shall calculate and the budget shall make adjustments to the highway category for the budget year and each outyear as provided in clause (ii)(I)(cc).

‘‘(ii)(I)(aa) OMB shall take the actual level of highway receipts for the year before the current year and subtract the sum of the estimated level of highway receipts in subclause (II) plus any amount previously calculated under item (bb) for that year.

‘‘(bb) OMB shall take the current estimate of highway receipts for the current year and subtract the estimated level of receipts for that year.

‘‘(cc) OMB shall add one-half of the sum of the amount calculated under items (aa) and (bb) to the obligation limitations set forth in the section 8003 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users and, using current estimates, calculate the outlay change resulting from the change in obligations for the budget year and the first outyear and the outlays flowing therefrom through subsequent fiscal years. After making the calculations under the preceding sentence, OMB shall adjust the amount of obligations set forth in that section for the budget year and the first outyear by adding one-half of the sum of the amount calculated under items (aa) and (bb) to each such year.

‘‘(II) The estimated level of highway receipts for the purposes of this clause are—

‘‘(aa) for fiscal year 2005, $31,562,000,000;

‘‘(bb) for fiscal year 2006, $33,712,000,000;

‘‘(cc) for fiscal year 2007, $34,623,000,000

‘‘(dd) for fiscal year 2008, $35,449,000,000; and

‘‘(ee) for fiscal year 2009, $36,220,000,000.

‘‘(III) In this clause, the term ‘highway receipts’ means the governmental receipts credited to the highway account of the Highway Trust Fund.

‘‘(C) In addition to the adjustment required by subparagraph (B), when the President submits the budget under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2007, 2008, or 2009, OMB shall calculate and the budget shall include for the budget year and each outyear an adjustment to the limits on outlays for the highway category and the mass transit category equal to—

‘‘(i) the outlays for the applicable category calculated assuming obligation levels consistent with the estimates prepared pursuant to subparagraph (D), as adjusted, using current technical assumptions; minus

‘‘(ii) the outlays for the applicable category set forth in the subparagraph (D) estimates, as adjusted.

‘‘(D)(i) When OMB and CBO submit their final sequester report for fiscal year 2006, that report shall include an estimate of the outlays for each of the categories that would result in fiscal years 2007 through 2010 from obligations at the levels specified in section 8003 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users using current assumptions.

‘‘(ii) When the President submits the budget under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010, OMB shall adjust the estimates made in clause (i) by the adjustments by subparagraphs (B) and (C).

‘‘(E) OMB shall consult with the Committees on the Budget and include a report on adjustments under subparagraphs (B) and (C) in the preview report.’’.

sec. 8003. level of obligation limitations.

(a) Highway Category.—For the purposes of section 251(b) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, the level of obligation limitations for the highway category is—

(1) for fiscal year 2005, $35,164,292,000;

(2) for fiscal year 2006, $37,220,843,903;

(3) for fiscal year 2007, $39,460,710,516;

(4) for fiscal year 2008, $40,824,075,404; and

(5) for fiscal year 2009, $42,469,970,178.

(b) Mass Transit Category.—For the purposes of section 251(b) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, the level of obligation limitations for the mass transit category is—

(1) for fiscal year 2005, $7,646,336,000;

(2) for fiscal year 2006, $8,622,931,000;

(3) for fiscal year 2007, $8,974,775,000;

(4) for fiscal year 2008, $9,730,893,000; and

(5) for fiscal year 2009, $10,338,065,000.

For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘obligation limitations’’ means the sum of budget authority and obligation limitations.

sec. 8004. enforcement of guarantee.

Clause 3 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘section 8103 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century’’ and inserting ‘‘section 8003 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users’’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘For purposes of this clause, any obligation limitation relating to surface transportation projects under section 1602 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century and section 1702 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users shall be assumed to be administered on the basis of sound program management practices that are consistent with past practices of the administering agency permitting States to decide High Priority Project funding priorities within State program allocations.’’.

sec. 8005. transfer of federal transit administrative expenses.

For purposes of clauses 2 and 3 of rule XXI of the House of Representatives, it shall be in order to transfer funds, in amounts specified in annual appropriation Acts to carry out the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (including the amendments made by that Act), from the Federal Transit Administration’s administrative expenses account to other mass transit budget accounts under section 250(c)(4)(C) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

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