§ 5312. Research, development, demonstration, and deployment projects
(a)
Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment Projects.—
(1)
In general.—
The Secretary may make grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other agreements (including agreements with departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government) for research, development, demonstration, and deployment projects, and evaluation of technology of national significance to public transportation, that the Secretary determines will improve public transportation service or help public transportation service meet the total transportation needs at a minimum cost.
(b)
Joint Partnership Program for Deployment of Innovation.—
(1)
Definition of consortium.—
In this subsection, the term “consortium”—
(A)
means 1 or more public or private organizations located in the United States that provide public transportation service to the public and 1 or more businesses, including small- and medium-sized businesses, incorporated in a State, offering goods or services or willing to offer goods and services to public transportation operators; and
(2)
General authority.—
The Secretary may, under terms and conditions that the Secretary prescribes, enter into grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other agreements with consortia selected in accordance with paragraph (4), to promote the early deployment of innovation in public transportation services, management, operational practices, or technology that has broad applicability. This paragraph shall be carried out in consultation with the transit industry by competitively selected consortia that will share costs, risks, and rewards of early deployment of innovation.
(3)
Consortium contribution.—
A consortium assisted under this subsection shall provide not less than 50 percent of the costs of any joint partnership project. Any business, organization, person, or governmental body may contribute funds to a joint partnership project.
(4)
Notice requirement.—
The Secretary shall periodically give public notice of the technical areas for which joint partnerships are solicited, required qualifications of consortia desiring to participate, the method of selection and evaluation criteria to be used in selecting participating consortia and projects, and the process by which innovation projects described in paragraph (1) will be awarded.
(5)
Use of revenues.—
The Secretary shall accept, to the maximum extent practicable, a portion of the revenues resulting from sales of an innovation project funded under this section. Such revenues shall be accounted for separately within the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund and shall be available to the Secretary for activities under this subsection. Annual revenues that are less than $1,000,000 shall be available for obligation without further appropriation and shall not be subject to any obligation limitation.
(c)
International Public Transportation Program.—
(1)
Activities.—
The Secretary is authorized to engage in activities to inform the United States domestic public transportation community about technological innovations available in the international marketplace and activities that may afford domestic businesses the opportunity to become globally competitive in the export of public transportation products and services. Such activities may include—
(A)
development, monitoring, assessment, and dissemination domestically of information about worldwide public transportation market opportunities;
(B)
cooperation with foreign public sector entities in research, development, demonstration, training, and other forms of technology transfer and exchange of experts and information;
(C)
advocacy, in international public transportation markets, of firms, products, and services available from the United States;
(D)
informing the international market about the technical quality of public transportation products and services through participation in seminars, expositions, and similar activities; and
(E)
offering those Federal Transit Administration technical services which cannot be readily obtained from the United States private sector to foreign public authorities planning or undertaking public transportation projects if the cost of these services will be recovered under the terms of each project.
(2)
Cooperation.—
The Secretary may carry out activities under this subsection in cooperation with other Federal agencies, State or local agencies, public or private nonprofit institutions, government laboratories, foreign governments, or any other organization the Secretary determines is appropriate.
(3)
Funding.—
The funds available to carry out this subsection shall include revenues paid to the Secretary by any cooperating organization or person. Such revenues shall be available to the Secretary to carry out activities under this subsection, including promotional materials, travel, reception, and representation expenses necessary to carry out such activities. Annual revenues that are less than $1,000,000 shall be available for obligation without further appropriation and shall not be subject to any obligation limitation. Not later than January 1 of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall publish a report on the activities under this paragraph funded from the account.