Davis / 4 Senator Beasley

S.R_____

A BILL
To increase federal funding to state public transportation systems.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Transportation Act of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) State governments only provided 7 percent of the funding for the New and Small Small Starts program.
2) In 2005, people took 9.7 billion trips using public transportation.
3) Only 5.2 percent of workers travelled to work using public transportation in 2013.
4) Commuter rails emit 0.35 pounds of CO2 per passenger mile, whereas private automobiles emit 0.96 pounds of
CO2 per passenger mile.
5) Highway transportation creates 75 percent of the energy used in transportation, but has potential to be the most
energy efficient form of transportation.
6) Currently, the energy needed for mass transit in the United States is less than two percent of the total energy used
for transport.
7) A normal rail car would only need 19 percent of its seats full to be more efficient than a car carrying an average
passenger load.
8) Nearly 1,500 agencies provide bus service, 80 provide rail service, 5,960 provide transit services and 120 provide
other transportation services.
9) All the different public transportation systems create 1.1 million jobs each year.
10) About 29 percent of national greenhouse gases are directly caused by transportation.
11) Buses emit 80 percent less carbon dioxide per passenger mile than cars with one person in it.
12) Advanced railways can help reduce the nations dependence on petroleum imports.
13) Reducing the cost of public transportation can inherently reduce the total cost of college tuition for most colleges
14) Public transportation systems also increase the value of nearby homes, generating homeowners unearned profit
15) In 1999, urban congestion caused 4.5 billion hours of delay, 6.8 billion gallons of wasted fuel, and 78 billion
dollars lost.
16) Lack of federal funds is one of the largest obstacles for improving public transportation security.
17) Passenger vehicles make up 93 percent of the registered vehicles in the United States.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) The Transportation Act of 2015 shall require the U.S. Department of Transportation to grant funds to each state
for public transportation systems. A public transportation system is defined as a system of buses, trains, etc, running
on fixed routes, on which the public may travel. Each state shall receive funding based upon state size and
population, as well as projected growth or decay of a population. Larger states with less people will receive less
funding that smaller states with more people. States that are predicted to have large increases of population will
receive more funding. Each state will be given an amount of money every year, on March 15. This funding is to be
used by the states strictly for public transportation systems. Funding shall not be used on anything not relating to
public transportation.
B) Funding will come from the Federal government, and will be raised by collecting tax revenues per state. The
amount of tax will vary due to population and state size, not including projected growth or decay. The Federal
government will collect this tax on the people of the United States every month until the expiration of this bill.
C) Any persons found guilty of spending this funding on anything other than public transportation systems shall be
sentenced to prison for up to five years and must pay a minimum fine of 750,000 dollars to the state of residency.
The Transportation Act of 2015 shall be enacted on January 1, 2016. The Transportation Act of 2015 shall expire on
December 31, 2030, where it may be considered for renewal.

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