Sponsor
Mark James Desaulnier
Representative · D-CA
Representative · D-CA
The bill increases transparency and steers limited transportation dollars toward higher‑performing, nationally aligned projects—improving accountability and likely safety/mobility outcomes—at the cost of extra administrative burden and a real risk that smaller, locally prioritized or equity-focused projects will be delayed or sidelined, possibly provoking disputes or litigation.
State, regional, and local transportation agencies must publish clear project-selection criteria and categorize top projects, so residents, local officials, and stakeholders get transparent, public reasons for why projects are chosen.
Federal, state, and local funding will be steered toward projects that score highest on performance measures tied to national and state goals, increasing the likelihood that investments improve safety, reduce congestion, and preserve asset condition for commuters and communities.
When lower‑ranked projects are advanced, agencies must provide a public explanation (for example, for geographic balance or economically distressed areas), which increases accountability and makes tradeoffs explicit to affected communities.
State transportation departments, MPOs, and local agencies will face added administrative burden and upfront costs to develop, publish, and defend performance‑based criteria and public explanations, which could divert staff time and planning funds.
Smaller, locally important, or urgent projects that score lower on standardized performance metrics may be delayed or deprioritized, reducing near‑term benefits for residents of small towns, neighborhoods, and disadvantaged communities.
Tying funding to nationally defined metrics risks sidelining locally valued outcomes (like neighborhood access or local economic development) and equity‑focused projects unless those outcomes are explicitly incorporated, creating tensions over priorities.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Requires MPOs and States to use public, performance‑based selection criteria, publicly categorize highest‑performing projects, and explain deviations on TIP/STIP priority lists.
Official title: To amend titles 23 and 49, United States Code, to improve public understanding of how transportation investments are made by public agencies through establishing greater transparency and accountability processes.
Introduced October 8, 2025 by Mark James Desaulnier · Last progress October 8, 2025
Requires metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), States, and statewide planning agencies to use a public, transparent, performance‑based process to select projects for long‑range transportation plans and priority lists. Projects must be categorized by performance against federal, state, and plan goals, and planning documents must draw funded/prioritized projects from the highest‑performing category or publicly explain why a lower‑ranked project was advanced (for reasons such as geographic balance or economically distressed areas).