Preparing Localities for an Autonomous and Connected Environment Act

“5506. National highly automated vehicle and mobility innovation clearinghouse

“(a) In general—The Secretary shall make a grant to an institution of higher education engaged in research on the secondary impacts of highly automated vehicles and mobility innovation to—

“(1) operate a national highly automated vehicle and mobility innovation clearinghouse;

“(2) collect, conduct, and fund research on the secondary impacts of highly automated vehicles and mobility innovation;

“(3) make such research available on a public website; and

“(4) conduct outreach and dissemination of the information described in this subsection to assist communities.

“(b) Authorization of appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each fiscal year from funds made available to carry out sections 512 through 518 of title 23, United States Code.

“(c) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) Highly automated vehicle—The term highly automated vehicle means a motor vehicle that—

“(A) is capable of performing the entire task of driving (including steering, accelerating and decelerating, and reacting to external stimulus) without human intervention; and

“(B) is designed to be operated exclusively by a Level 3, Level 4, or Level 5 automated driving system for all trips according to the recommended practice standards published on June 15, 2018, by the Society of Automotive Engineers International (J3016_201806) or equivalent standards adopted by the Secretary with respect to automated motor vehicles.

“(2) Mobility innovation—The term mobility innovation means an activity described in section 5316, including mobility on demand and mobility as a service (as such terms are defined in such section).

“(3) Institution of higher education—The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

“(4) Secondary impacts—The term secondary impacts means the impacts on land use, urban design, transportation systems, real estate, accessibility, municipal budgets, social equity, availability and quality of jobs, air quality and climate, energy consumption, and the environment.”