Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Rural Road Safety Act”.
Rural Road Safety Act
A BILL
To amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transportation to ensure that States set aside certain funds for construction and operational improvements on high risk rural roads, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Highway safety improvement program
In general— Section 148 of title 23, United States Code, is amended—
in subsection (g)(1)—
by striking “If the fatality rate” and inserting “(A) In general—If the fatality rate”;
by striking “for fiscal year 2009” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “for the previous fiscal year for high risk rural roads under subsection (l).”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(B) Treatment of projects—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, projects carried out under this paragraph shall be treated as projects on a Federal-aid highway under this chapter.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(l) High risk rural roads
“(1) In general—Of the amounts apportioned to a State for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter under this section, the State shall obligate for construction and operational improvements on high risk rural roads an amount that is not less than 7.5 percent of such amount apportioned for such fiscal year.
“(2) Special rule—A State may use funds apportioned to the State pursuant to this subsection for any project under this section if the State certifies to the Secretary that the State has met all of State needs for construction and operational improvements on high risk rural roads.
“(3) Treatment of construction and operational improvements—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, construction and operational improvements under this subsection shall be treated as a project on a Federal-aid highway under this chapter.”
Update of high Risk rural roads best practices— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Congress an update to the manual described in section 1112 of MAP–21 (23 U.S.C. 148 note) to include any best practices not listed in such manual for communities to reduce fatalities on rural roads.
GAO report— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress an update to the report published by the Government Accountability Office on May 28, 2004, titled “Highway Safety: Federal and State Efforts to Address Rural Road Safety Challenges” describing—
ongoing funding and policy challenges to addressing rural road safety; and
successful risk mitigation measures taken on the Federal and State levels.