,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hhfe ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #c1 #bjbj,mr4 ,stewart 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cook1 ,mr4 ,simpson1 ,mr4 ,amodei1 and ,mr4 ,lamborn7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure ,a ,,bill ,to improve the process for awarding grants under certain programs of the ,department of ,transportation to certain counties in which the majority of land is owned or managed by the ,federal ,government and to other units of local government and ,tribal governments in those counties1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,more ,opportunities for ,rural ,economies from ,,dot ,grants ,act or the ,,more ,,dot ,grants ,act4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county ,the term ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county means a county 7or equivalent jurisdiction7 of a ,state or territory of the ,united ,states-- 7,a7 that has a population of not more than #ajj1jjj people1 according to the most recent annual estimates of population by the ,bureau of the ,census2 and 7,b7 in which more than #ej percent of the land is owned or managed by the ,federal ,government4 7#b7 ,qualifying grant program ,the term qualifying grant program means-- 7,a7 the ,better ,utilizing ,investments to ,leverage ,development 7,,build7 ,transportation discretionary grant program of the ,department of ,transportation2 7,b7 the ,infrastructure for ,rebuilding ,america 7,,infra7 grant program of the ,department of ,transportation2 7,c7 the public transportation innovation grant program established under section #ecab of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code2 7,d7 the public transportation safety program established under section #ecbi of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code2 7,e7 the ,federal lands access program under section #bjd of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code2 7,f7 the airport improvement program established under subchapter ,i of chapter #dga of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code2 7,g7 the consolidated rail infrastructure and safety improvements program under section #bbijg of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7,h7 any other discretionary grant program of the ,department of ,transportation under which grants are awarded to-- 7i7 counties2 7ii7 other units of local government2 or 7iii7 ,tribal governments4 7#c7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,transportation4 7#d7 ,tribal government ,the term ,tribal government means the recognized governing body of any ,indian or ,alaska ,native tribe1 band1 nation1 pueblo1 village1 community1 component band1 or component reservation1 individually identified 7including parenthetically7 in the list published most recently as of the date of enactment of this ,act pursuant to section #ajd of the ,federally ,recognized ,indian ,tribe ,list ,act of #aiid 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #eaca74 #c4 ,grants 7a7 ,reduction in local matching requirements ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 with respect to a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county and any unit of local government or ,tribal government within a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county1 any requirement for local matching funds under a qualifying grant program shall be reduced by #ej percent4 7b7 ,technical assistance ,on request of a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county or any unit of local government or ,tribal government within a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county1 the ,secretary shall provide additional technical assistance to the ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county1 unit of local government1 or ,tribal government before and during the annual application period for each qualifying grant program4 7c7 ,priority 7#a7 ,application approval ,in approving applications for a qualifying grant program1 the ,secretary shall give priority to an application from a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county1 unit of local government within a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county1 or ,tribal government within a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county that has not received support under the qualifying grant program during the #aj-year period preceding the date of the application4 7#b7 ,technical assistance and other support ,in carrying out subsections 7b7 and 7e71 the ,secretary may give priority to a ,tribal government within a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county4 7d7 ,special consideration ,in approving applications for a qualifying grant program1 the ,secretary-- 7#a7 shall give special consideration to an application from a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county or unit of local government within a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county with respect to any rural set-aside designated for the applicable qualifying grant program by an ,act of ,congress2 and 7#b7 may give special consideration to an application from a ,tribal government within a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county with respect to a rural set-aside described in paragraph 7#a74 7e7 ,other support ,the ,secretary may provide additional support1 as the ,secretary determines to be appropriate1 for a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county or a unit of local government or ,tribal government within a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county1 including by considering and1 if appropriate1 offering flexibility with respect to any requirement of1 or barrier to applying for or receiving assistance under1 a qualifying grant program if the requirement or barrier relates to-- 7#a7 scoring criteria relating to numerical size and impact1 such as the number of jobs created or the number of people served1 which disadvantage small and isolated communities2 7#b7 any requirement that an applicant for a qualifying grant program partner with other institutions1 such as community colleges or foundations1 which may not operate in the jurisdiction of the ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county1 unit of local government1 or ,tribal government seeking assistance under the qualifying grant program2 7#c7 any financial or cash-on-hand requirement that a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county or a unit of local government or ,tribal government within a ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county cannot meet for reasons other than any financial constraints to which the ,high-,density ,public ,land ,county1 unit of local government1 or ,tribal government is subject2 or 7#d7 an overly complicated or overly technical application for a qualifying grant program that deters ,high-,density ,public ,land ,counties or units of local government or ,tribal governments within ,high-,density ,public ,land ,counties from applying for the qualifying grant program4