,i #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bagb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #cj1 #bjae ,mr4 ,lipinski 7for himself and ,mr4 ,duncan of ,tennessee7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure ,a ,,bill ,to establish a pilot toll credit market place program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,toll credit marketplace pilot program 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall establish and implement a pilot program to develop a toll credit marketplace for ,states to buy and sell toll credits4 7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of the pilot program are-- 7#a7 to identify whether a monetary value can be assigned to toll credits2 7#b7 to identify the discounted rate of toll credits for cash2 7#c7 to determine if the purchase of toll credits by ,states provides the purchasing ,state budget flexibility to deal with funding issues1 including off-system needs1 transit systems with high operating costs1 or cash flow issues2 and 7#d7 to test the feasibility of expanding the toll credit market to allow all ,states to participate on a permanent basis4 7c7 ,administration of pilot program ,in carrying out the pilot program under this ,act1 the ,secretary1 working through the ,administrator of the ,federal ,highway ,administration1 shall determine how a toll credit marketplace will work and-- 7#a7 establish an online platform that allows participating ,states to offer and bid on toll credit purchases2 7#b7 not later than #ij days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 provide notice to ,states that the ,federal ,highway ,administration requests participants for the toll credit marketplace2 7#c7 allow ,states that maintain a toll credit balance accumulated before the enactment of this ,act and ,states that do not maintain infrastructure for the collection of toll credits or have not accumulated a toll credit balance to participate in the pilot program2 and 7#d7 not allow a ,state to purchase or sell toll credits in an amount that is less than #e percent of the toll credit's value if applied as a non-,federal share requirement under section #abj7;i77#a7 of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code4 7d7 ,reporting requirements 7#a7 ,initial report ,not later than #ahj days after notice of the pilot program is provided to the ,states under subsection 7c77#b71 the ,secretary shall notify the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works of the ,senate on the progress of the toll credit marketplace4 7#b7 ,state report ,not later than #cj days after a purchase or sale in the toll credit marketplace1 a ,state selling toll credits shall provide the ,administrator of the ,federal ,highway ,administration with information on the transaction1 the amount of cash received and the value of toll credits sold1 on the intended use of the cash1 and an update on the ,state's remaining toll credit balance4 ,a ,state purchasing toll credits shall provide the ,administrator of the ,federal ,highway ,administration with information on the value of toll credits purchased1 the anticipated use of the toll credits1 and plans for maintaining maintenance of effort for spending on ,federal-aid highways projects4 7#c7 ,annual report ,not later than #a year and after notice is given under subsection 7c77#b7 and each year thereafter that the pilot program is in effect1 the ,secretary shall submit a report to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works of the ,senate and make such report publicly available on its website that-- 7,a7 determines whether a toll credit marketplace is viable2 7,b7 describes of the buying and selling activities of the toll credit marketplace2 7,c7 determines of the monetary value of toll credits2 7,d7 determines whether the pilot program could be expanded to more ,states and or all ,states2 and 7,e7 provides updated information on the toll credit balance accumulated by each ,state4 7e7 ,definitions 7#a7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,transportation4 7#b7 ,toll credit ,the term toll credit means the credit that can be used for non-,federal share under section #abj7;i7 of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#c7 ,toll credit marketplace ,the term toll credit marketplace means a market where toll credits can be purchased and sold by ,states participating in the pilot program4 7#d7 ,state ,the term ,state means each of the #ej ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 ,puerto ,rico1 and any territory or possession of the ,united ,states1 including the ,virgin ,islands4 7f7 ,maintenance of effort ,a ,state participating in the toll credit marketplace shall continue to be subject to requirements of section #abj7;i77#b7 of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code4 7g7 ,use of funds received for the sale 7#a7 ,certification ,a ,state receiving funds in exchange for a toll credit shall be required to certify that the proceeds will be used for highway1 transit1 and other related projects and must receive approval from the ,federal ,highway ,administration before expending such funds4 7#b7 ,approval ,not later than #cj days after the receipt of a certification under paragraph 7#a71 the ,federal ,highway ,administration shall send a notice of decision approving or rejecting the ,state's submission4 ,a notice of disapproval shall be accompanied by an explanation of the grounds for disapproval and provide recommendations for resubmitting a certification that will be approved4 7#c7 ,appeal ,not later than #cj days after a ,state receives a notice of decision to reject its submission1 such ,state may appeal the decision to the ,secretary of ,transportation who1 not later than #fj days after receipt1 shall review and adjudicate such appeal4 7h7 ,metropolitan planning organization and local government toll credit allocation 7#a7 ,purchase of toll credits ,upon request of an interested metropolitan planning organization or local government1 a ,state may purchase toll credits on behalf of a metropolitan planning organization or local government upon request and timely payment of the amount of such credits by such organization or government4 7#b7 ,allocation of toll credits ,a ,state purchasing toll credits without prior requests from a metropolitan planning organization or local government may allocate those toll credits for use by a metropolitan planning organization or local government upon approval by the board of leadership of such metropolitan planning organization or local government4 7i7 ,limitation on use of ,federal funds for the purchase of toll credits 7#a7 ,limitation on ,federal funds ,a ,state1 metropolitan planning organization1 or local government may not use ,federal funds to purchase toll credits on the toll credit marketplace4 7#b7 ,use of toll credits ,any recipient of ,federal funding under ,title #bc or ,title #di that purchases toll credits under this ,act may not use such toll credits for more than #aj percent of its annual apportionment in any fiscal year4 #b4 ,toll credit eligibility as collateral under the ,railroad ,rehabilitation and ,improvement ,financing ,program ,section #hbb7;f7 of title #de1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding after section #hbb7;f77#b77;,a7 the following3 7i7 collateral that is eligible for use in an application includes credits earned under section #abj7;i7 of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code4 4