Sponsors (2)
The bill creates designated State Safe Routes to School coordinators to improve access and program continuity using existing highway funds, but it risks diverting infrastructure dollars, adding burdens for small DOTs, and limiting federal flexibility.
Parents, schools, and local governments will have a single designated State DOT point of contact for Safe Routes to School, making it easier to find program help and information.
Children and state/local governments will benefit from improved program continuity and faster responsiveness because designated coordinators must have vacancies filled within 180 days, reducing gaps in program support.
State governments (and ultimately taxpayers) can stand up coordinator positions without needing new federal appropriations because states may pay coordinator salaries from existing highway and transportation program funds.
Local governments and children could lose funding for sidewalks, crossings, and other Safe Routes infrastructure if states use §133(h) or §148 funds to cover coordinators' salaries, reducing money available for construction projects.
Small and rural State DOTs may face an administrative and staffing burden to recruit, designate, and maintain coordinators, straining limited agency capacity.
States and federal program managers may have reduced flexibility because the bill limits the Secretary's authority to assign duties beyond those authorized by Congress, which could hinder broader program management or additional coordinator responsibilities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires each State to designate and publish a Safe Routes to School coordinator, fill vacancies within 180 days, and allows salary payment from specified federal highway funds.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Kevin Cramer · Last progress May 21, 2025
Requires each State to designate a single State-level Safe Routes to School coordinator as the official program point of contact, publish that person’s contact information on the State DOT website, and fill any vacancy within 180 days. States may appoint an existing employee and may pay the coordinator’s salary with certain federal highway program funds; the federal Secretary may not require duties beyond those Congress authorizes. Also removes a now-deleted paragraph from the current statutory language for 23 U.S.C. §208(g), altering that subsection’s text.