BUILD America 250 Act

This section authorizes significant appropriations from the Highway Trust Fund for federal-aid highway programs, including the National Highway Performance Program, Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, Highway Safety Improvement Program, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. It specifies annual funding levels for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, totaling tens of billions of dollars each year. It also authorizes funds for the TIFIA program, bridge programs, and federal lands and tribal transportation programs.

This section renames and reforms the bridge program, establishing a 'Grants for Rebuilding America's Vital Engineering Structures Program.' It provides formula grants to states for new bridge construction and improvements, with specific set-asides for off-system and locally-owned bridges. It also creates a competitive 'Bridge Completion Program' for nationally significant bridges on the National Highway System, with grants of at least $50 million and a 50% federal share.

This section establishes a new annual federal registration fee for covered electric vehicles ($130) and covered plug-in hybrid vehicles ($35), starting in fiscal year 2027. States are required to collect and remit these fees, with a penalty of 125% withholding from federal highway funds for non-compliance. The fees are adjusted biennially by $5, capped at $150 and $50 respectively, and terminate on October 1, 2036. States can retain 1% for administrative expenses.

This section streamlines environmental review processes for transportation projects. It mandates lead agencies to define project purpose and need within 45 days and sets target completion times for environmental impact statements (2 years) and environmental assessments (1 year) for major projects. It also limits the length of environmental documents to 150 pages for EIS (300 for complex) and 75 pages for EAs, and requires biennial reviews of agency performance in environmental reviews.

This section establishes a new consolidated State block grant program for public transportation. It allows states to consolidate various federal transit grant amounts (e.g., for seniors/disabled, rural areas, state of good repair, buses/facilities) into a single block grant, excluding funds for large primary urbanized areas where the state is not the direct recipient. States must apply, demonstrate administrative capacity, and ensure equitable allocation to rural and urban areas. Designated recipients can opt out, but non-participation results in a 3-fiscal-year exclusion.

This section renames 'Small Start' projects to 'Streamlined Start' projects and adjusts their cost thresholds. It also refines the definition of 'Core Capacity Improvement Projects' to focus on increasing corridor capacity by at least 10% or substantially system-wide. The bill introduces an expedited technical capacity review process for experienced applicants and allows for an adjustment to the economic development criterion rating for projects that promote housing development near transit facilities. It also allows alternative project delivery methods.

This section expands eligible expenses for crime prevention and security projects under urbanized area formula grants, including lighting, camera surveillance, emergency telephones, farebox improvements, cybersecurity, and technology to combat crime. It also allows up to 1.5% of funds for operating costs related to fare enforcement, hiring transit officers, or contracting with local police. A new mandate requires states/local governments to make fare evasion a criminal or civil offense, with a 10% federal funding withholding penalty for non-compliance.

This section mandates the Secretary to establish a performance-based safety standard for Autonomous Driving System (ADS)-equipped commercial motor vehicles operating in interstate commerce within two years. Manufacturers must certify compliance through a 'safety case' detailing hardware, software, operational design domain (ODD), cybersecurity, and safety management systems. It also sets incident reporting requirements and defines roles and responsibilities, requiring a human operator in the vehicle for certain integrated service operations (e.g., school buses, placarded hazardous materials).

This section authorizes significant appropriations for grants to Amtrak for activities on both the Northeast Corridor and the National Network for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. It allocates separate funding streams for each, totaling billions annually. It also allows the Secretary to withhold up to 1% for oversight costs, and specific amounts for the State-Supported Route Committee and the Northeast Corridor Commission. A $100 million annual set-aside is included for Amtrak accessibility upgrades until all facilities are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This section amends the CRISI grant program, expanding eligible recipients to include institutions of higher education and law enforcement agencies, and adding 'a lessee of a federally-owned transportation hub.' It broadens eligible projects to include those facilitating intercity passenger rail ridership growth or improving freight movement by reducing rail congestion. It also explicitly allows funding for advanced rail safety technologies like wayside defect detection. A new provision allows the Secretary to waive the non-Federal cost share for certain safety-related projects and removes the cost-benefit analysis requirement for specific project types.

This section mandates the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking to establish a confidential close call reporting system (C3RS) for Class I freight railroads. It requires railroads to enter into a memorandum of understanding with employees to participate in the program, allowing employees to confidentially report safety 'close call' events to an independent third party. Employees who report are protected from railroad discipline, certification revocation, and FRA civil enforcement, provided certain conditions are met. The system aims to identify and mitigate safety risks without fear of reprisal.

This section mandates that, beginning December 31, 2028, no railroad tank car, regardless of its construction date, may be used to transport Class 3 flammable liquid in packing groups II or III (with specific exceptions) unless it meets or exceeds DOT-117, DOT-117P, or DOT-117R specification requirements. The Secretary is required to revise existing regulations to conform to this new phase-out date and may delay the date to May 1, 2029, if a GAO report indicates insufficient manufacturing capacity or significant impacts to interstate commerce.

This section mandates the Secretary to revise international and domestic regulations for the safe transport of lithium-ion batteries. It requires developing an impact test for UN 3536 batteries, mandating that UN 3480 cells/batteries be offered for transport at no more than 30% state of charge (unless approved otherwise), and issuing guidance on packaging, movement, and disposal of damaged/defective/recalled lithium-ion cells/batteries. These regulations are to be reviewed and updated every 5 years.

This section amends Title 49 to exempt 'transportation rulemaking committees' designated by the Secretary or a modal administration from Chapter 10 of Title 5 (Federal Advisory Committee Act). It directs the Secretary to adopt procedures similar to aviation rulemaking committees, allowing for multiple industry co-chairs and ensuring non-federal stakeholders can serve. It also requires transparency for committee reports and recommendations before rulemaking and mandates that any resulting rulemaking be promulgated via a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

This section sets annual obligation limitations for federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, ranging from $72.27 billion to $76.996 billion. It specifies certain programs that are exempt from these limitations (e.g., emergency relief) and outlines the methodology for distributing the obligation authority among states and programs. It also includes provisions for redistribution of unused authority after August 1 of each fiscal year, prioritizing states with large unobligated balances in bridge programs.

This section consolidates the previous National Priority Safety Programs (Section 405) into the Highway Safety Programs (Section 402). It mandates that states with higher-than-average fatality rates in specific areas (occupant protection, impaired driving, motorcyclist safety, speeding, nonmotorist safety) must expend a minimum percentage of their Section 402 funds on programs addressing those national priority safety initiatives. It also expands eligible activities under Section 402, including digital alert technology, roadside safety, and improved state safety data systems.

This section requires motor carriers using lease-purchase agreements for vehicles not owned by them to provide a disclosure form to drivers, detailing weekly compensation, mileage, driver retention rates, and average deductions. It also authorizes a public awareness campaign on predatory lease-purchase programs and mandates the Secretary to issue regulations within two years to prohibit the use of such predatory programs by motor carriers.

This section mandates that commercial motor vehicle operators must be granted access to any covered restroom facility at covered establishments where they deliver goods or are waiting for cargo. A 'covered establishment' includes businesses open to the public or receiving/sending goods by CMV, but excludes small structures (800 sq ft or less) with employee-only restrooms. It also requires terminal operators to provide sufficient covered restrooms for drayage truck operators in accessible areas of the terminal.

This section mandates that each newly purchased Amtrak passenger rail train (defined as 'covered passenger rail train') must have a baby changing table in at least one restroom in each car, including in an ADA-compliant restroom. It also requires clear signage indicating the presence and location of these tables.

This section directs the Secretary to amend federal regulations to add 'covered projects' as a categorical exclusion from environmental review. A 'covered project' is a rail project (e.g., capital, operations, safety improvements) located entirely within an existing operational right-of-way of a covered railroad facility, and either in a State rail plan or granted a waiver if the plan is outdated. This aims to streamline environmental reviews for routine rail infrastructure work.