,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #eddf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #e1  
#bjbd,mr4 ,welch introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on          
,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation
  ,a ,,bill  ,to establish a program to 
fund electric public transportation in  
rural communities4  #a4 ,short title    
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,electrifying ,rural ,transportation    
,act of #bjbd4  #b4 ,rural public       
transportation electrification program  
7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 
,electric bus ,the term electric bus    
means a battery-electric or plug-in     
hybrid bus4  7#b7 ,electric vehicle ,the
 term electric vehicle-- 7,a7 means a   
battery-electric or plug-in hybrid      
vehicle2 and  7,b7 includes an electric 
bus4  7#c7 ,eligible recipient ,the term
 eligible recipient means a ,state or   
,indian tribe that is eligible for a    
grant under section #ecaa of title #di1 

,united ,states ,code4  7#d7            
,microtransit ,the term microtransit--  
7,a7 means a technology-enabled service 
that-- 7i7 uses multi-passenger vehicles
 to provide shared-ride on-demand       
services with dynamically generated     
routing2 and  7ii7 is traditionally     
provided in a designated service area2  
and  7,b7 includes service models such  
as-- 7i7 first mile or last mile        
connections to fixed route services2    
7ii7 hub to hub zone-based services2    
7iii7 the commingling of ,,ada          
complementary paratransit services with 
general transit service2 and  7iv7      
point-to-point service within a specific
 zone or geographic area4  7#e7         
,secretary ,the term ,secretary means   
the ,secretary of ,transportation4  7b7 
,grant program ,the ,secretary shall    
award grants to eligible recipients1 in 
accordance with the formula under       
section #ecaa7;c7 of title #di1 ,united 
,states ,code1 for the electrification  
of buses1 microtransit vehicles1 and    

other public transportation fleet       
vehicles4  7c7 ,eligible projects ,an   
eligible recipient may use a grant      
received under subsection 7b7-- 7#a7 to 
purchase-- 7,a7 an electric bus2  7,b7  
an electric vehicle1 other than an      
electric bus1 used for microtransit2 or 
7,c7 charging infrastructure2  7#b7 to  
renovate a bus facility by upgrading    
existing charging infrastructure or     
adding new charging infrastructure2 or  
7#c7 for operating assistance for       
electric public transportation1         
including electric vehicles4  7d7       
,technical assistance ,the ,secretary   
may use not more than #e percent of the 
amounts made available to carry out this
 section for a fiscal year to provide   
technical assistance to eligible        
recipients4  7e7 ,workforce development 
training ,an eligible recipient may use 
not more than #e percent of the amount  
of a grant received under subsection 7b7
 for workforce development training for 
a transit agency in a rural area1 as    

defined in section #ecjb of title #di1  
,united ,states ,code1 including-- 7#a7 
costs associated with obtaining proper  
operating and driving licenses for      
electric vehicles2  7#b7 the cost of    
training for operations and maintenance 
of electric buses and other electric    
vehicles2 and  7#c7 the cost of training
 for operations and maintenance of      
charging equipment for electric         
vehicles4  7f7 ,applicability of section
 #ecaa requirements ,the requirements   
under section #ecaa of title #di1       
,united ,states ,code1 7other than      
subsection 7f77 shall apply with respect
 to a grant awarded under this section  
in the same manner as if the grant were 
awarded under such section #ecaa4  7g7  
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to the 
,secretary to carry out this section    
#ejj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years   
#bjbe through #bjbi4