Sneak Preview: FTA Proposes Circular for Urbanized Area Programs
(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.) The Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is seeking public comments on a recently proposed FTA circular pertaining to grant programs for urbanized areas that would replace three current circulars. FTA issues such circulars to provide grantees with guidance on program-specific issues and statutory requirements.
The update, discussed in a July 12 Federal Register notice, incorporates provisions from the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. 114-94); the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58); the uniform guidance; and current FTA policies and procedures. The circular, entitled “Grant Programs for Urbanized Areas: Program Guidance and Application Instructions,” would consolidate and replace existing circulars for the Urbanized Area Formula Grants Program (FTA Circular C 9030.1), the State of Good Repair Grants Program (FTA Circular C 5300.1), and the Urbanized Area formula component of the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program (FTA Circular C 5100.1).
Within the proposed circular, FTA clarifies several policy issues contained in existing program circulars including reallocations or transfers of apportionments; consolidation of grants to insular areas; intermodal use of formula funds; eligible projects and activities for each formula program; operating assistance limitations and exceptions; capital cost of contracting; the role of transportation network companies in providing public transportation services; period of availability to obligate funds flexed to the FTA formula programs from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); planning requirements; pre-award authority; and requirements pertaining to fares charged to seniors and persons with disabilities.
The proposal would revise the definition of several terms to enhance consistency. These terms include “capital asset,” “clean fuel bus,” fleet management plan,” “mobility management,” “rehabilitate,” “urbanized area” and “useful life.” For example, the term “urbanized area” is no longer used by the Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau, so the proposed circular refers to such areas using the term “urban area” (UZA).
The proposed circular addresses administrative procedures in apportioning and distributing funds, including the roles of designated recipients, state recipients, subrecipients and private contractors. It notes that private contractors such as transportation network companies and taxi services are not eligible subrecipients under the grant programs covered in the circular, but may be contracted to perform public transit activities through eligible recipients for providing shared-ride on-demand services to the general public or to a segment of the public for certain eligible transit services.
The proposed circular contains several updates regarding the apportionment of program funds under the three programs that reflect statutory and regulatory changes. Specifically, it would amend the percentages of Urbanized Area grant funds available for state safety oversight programs and small transit intensive cities, and would add formula factors for apportionments under the Urbanized Area and Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities programs.
FTA’s proposal also clarifies and highlights recipients’ flexibility to reallocate or transfer apportionments, including consolidating formula program funds for use in insular areas, and outlines circumstances in which certain human resources and training supportive services are eligible costs to assist individuals in the enrollment and completion of workforce training, including child and dependent care, tools, work clothing, costs of apprenticeship and required pre-employment training.
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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