Sec. 2001 Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 amendments
“(1) Administratively allocated—The term administratively allocated means the allocation by the Secretary of budget authority for a project under the TIFIA program that occurs when—
“(A) a potential applicant has been invited into the creditworthiness phase for a project under the TIFIA program; or
“(B) the project is subject to a master credit agreement, in accordance with section 602(b)(2).”
“(E) a project to improve or construct public infrastructure—
“(i) that—
“(I) is located within walking distance of, and accessible to, a fixed guideway transit facility, passenger rail station, intercity bus station, or intermodal facility, including a transportation, public utility, or capital project described in section 5302(3)(G)(v) of title 49, and related infrastructure; or
“(II) is a project for economic development, including commercial and residential development, and related infrastructure and activities—
“(aa) that incorporates private investment;
“(bb) that is physically or functionally related to a passenger rail station or multimodal station that includes rail service;
“(cc) for which the project sponsor has a high probability of commencing the contracting process for construction by not later than 90 days after the date on which credit assistance under the TIFIA program is provided for the project; and
“(dd) that has a high probability of reducing the need for financial assistance under any other Federal program for the relevant passenger rail station or service by increasing ridership, tenant lease payments, or other activities that generate revenue exceeding costs; and
“(ii) for which, by not later than September 30, 2025, the Secretary has—
“(I) received a letter of interest; and
“(II) determined that the project is eligible for assistance;”
“(G) an eligible airport-related project (as defined in section 40117(a) of title 49) for which, not later than September 30, 2024, the Secretary has—
“(i) received a letter of interest; and
“(ii) determined that the project is eligible for assistance; and
“(H) a project for the acquisition of plant and wildlife habitat pursuant to a conservation plan that—
“(i) has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section 10 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539); and
“(ii) in the judgment of the Secretary, would mitigate the environmental impacts of transportation infrastructure projects otherwise eligible for assistance under this title.”
“(1) Processing timelines—Except in the case of an application described in subsection (a)(8) and to the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall provide an applicant with a specific estimate of the timeline for the approval or disapproval of the application of the applicant, which, to the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall endeavor to complete by not later than 150 days after the date on which the applicant submits a letter of interest to the Secretary.”
“(i) In general—Except as provided in clause (ii), any excess”
“(ii) Certain applicants—In the case of a secured loan or other secured Federal credit instrument provided after the date of enactment of the America's Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019, if the obligor is a governmental entity, agency, or instrumentality, the obligor shall not be required to prepay the secured loan or other secured Federal credit instrument with any excess revenues described in clause (i) if the obligor enters into an agreement to use those excess revenues only for purposes authorized under this title or title 49.”
“(3) Additional terms for expedited decisions
“(A) In general—Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall implement an expedited decision timeline for public agency borrowers seeking secured loans that meet—
“(i) the terms under paragraph (2); and
“(ii) the additional criteria described in subparagraph (B).
“(B) Additional criteria—The additional criteria referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) are the following:
“(i) The secured loan is made on terms and conditions that substantially conform to the conventional terms and conditions established by the National Surface Transportation Innovative Finance Bureau.
“(ii) The secured loan is rated in the A category or higher.
“(iii) The TIFIA program share of eligible project costs is 33 percent or less.
“(iv) The applicant demonstrates a reasonable expectation that the contracting process for the project can commence by not later than 90 days after the date on which a Federal credit instrument is obligated for the project under the TIFIA program.
“(v) The project has received a categorical exclusion, a finding of no significant impact, or a record of decision under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
“(C) Written notice—The Secretary shall provide to an applicant seeking a secured loan under the expedited decision process under this paragraph a written notice informing the applicant whether the Secretary has approved or disapproved the application by not later than 180 days after the date on which the Secretary submits to the applicant a letter indicating that the National Surface Transportation Innovative Finance Bureau has commenced the creditworthiness review of the project.”
“(4) Limitation for certain projects
“(A) Transit-oriented development projects—For each fiscal year, the Secretary may use to carry out projects described in section 601(a)(13)(E) not more than 15 percent of the amounts made available to carry out the TIFIA program for that fiscal year.
“(B) Airport-related projects—The Secretary may use to carry out projects described in section 601(a)(13)(G)—
“(i) for each fiscal year, not more than 15 percent of the amounts made available to carry out the TIFIA program under the America's Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 for that fiscal year; and
“(ii) for the period of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, not more than 15 percent of the unobligated carryover balances (as of October 1, 2020) made available to carry out the TIFIA program, less the total amount administratively allocated by the Secretary as of that date.”
“(6) Administrative costs—Of the amounts made available to carry out the TIFIA program, the Secretary may use not more than $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 for the administration of the TIFIA program.”
“(c) Status reports
“(1) In general—The Secretary shall publish on the website for the TIFIA program—
“(A) on a monthly basis, a current status report on all submitted letters of interest and applications received for assistance under the TIFIA program; and
“(B) on a quarterly basis, a current status report on all approved applications for assistance under the TIFIA program.
“(2) Inclusions—Each monthly and quarterly status report under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, with respect to each project included in the status report—
“(A) the name of the party submitting the letter of interest or application;
“(B) the name of the project;
“(C) the date on which the letter of interest or application was received;
“(D) the estimated project eligible costs;
“(E) the type of credit assistance sought; and
“(F) the anticipated fiscal year and quarter for closing of the credit assistance.”