Sponsors (2)
The bill increases transparency and performance-focused oversight for large transportation projects, which can improve accountability and fund effectiveness, but it imposes new costs on state agencies, may slow some work, and leaves smaller yet important projects outside the new reporting regime.
Taxpayers and residents can see how large (> $10M) transportation projects are chosen and how they score against state performance targets and national goals, increasing public transparency and accountability.
State governments and taxpayers will get periodic project reviews and scored reporting that can identify underperforming large projects and help direct federal/state transportation funds toward more cost-effective investments.
Rural communities and local governments may see better long-term outcomes (safety, infrastructure condition, mobility) as project selection and reporting are aligned with national performance goals.
State transportation agencies will incur new administrative burdens and costs to produce annual scored reports and maintain online platforms, which could strain agency budgets and staff.
Local governments and rural communities may be left out because projects under $10M are excluded from these transparency and review requirements, creating gaps in oversight for many locally important improvements.
Taxpayers and local stakeholders could be misled if states use inconsistent scoring methods, making cross-state comparisons unreliable and obscuring true project value or priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 13, 2026 by Angela Deneece Alsobrooks · Last progress January 13, 2026
Requires each State to publish an annual online report for large, system-expanding transportation projects in its Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). Reports must score how projects advance state performance measures and national goals, give expected benefits and selection reasons, list when projects first appeared in the STIP, provide approximate coordinates, and explain the metrics used. After the first report, states must periodically review project progress, cost-effectiveness, and ability to meet state plan targets and national goals and incorporate those reviews into the STIP and long-range statewide transportation plan. Applies to "covered projects" that expand or enhance the system and cost more than $10 million; the first report is due within one year of enactment and annually thereafter. The bill adds this reporting duty to existing federal planning law and permits the new report to satisfy a related existing reporting requirement.