SECTION 31.16. Section 5309 Grant Program

(a) Applicability. The United States Congress revised 49 U.S.C. §5309, with the passage of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21). MAP-21 significantly changes the purpose and eligible activities. This section applies only to subrecipients receiving grants with funds appropriated under federal authorization bills prior to the enactment of MAP-21.

(b) Purpose. Section 5309, Federal Transit Act (49 U.S.C. §5309), authorizes the Secretary of the U.S. DOT to make capital investment grants.

(c) Eligible recipients. Section 5309 funds are available to states and local public entities.

(d) Department role. The department acts as the designated recipient for §5309 statewide grants. As the administering agency the department will:

(1) develop application materials and disseminate information to prospective applicants and other interested parties;

(2) allocate the available program funds in a fair and equitable manner based on the purpose as specified in the grant;

(3) develop evaluation criteria and select projects for funding so that:

(A) for vehicle replacement, each eligible subrecipient will receive a proportional share of available funding based on the remaining useful life of its fleet and the cost of replacing its fleet; and

(B) for non-vehicle replacement, each eligible subrecipient will receive a proportional share of available funding;

(4) prepare the state's funding application and submit that material to the FTA for approval;

(5) negotiate and execute contracts with subrecipients;

(6) prepare requests for federal reimbursement and process payment requests from subrecipients;

(7) monitor and evaluate the progress of local projects, including compliance with federal regulations; and

(8) provide technical assistance to subrecipients as necessary.

(e) Local share requirements. Section 5309 grants require a federally mandated match amount as the local share. FTA program funds cannot be used as the local share. Eligible match sources include local or state programs, unrestricted federal funds, and transportation development credits. Donations are eligible as local share if the value is documented.

Source Note: The provisions of this §31.16 adopted to be effective August 14, 1989, 14 TexReg 3704; amended to be effective July 20, 1992, 17 TexReg 4891; amended to be effective February 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 1365; amended to be effective April 17, 2003, 28 TexReg 3080; amended to be effective February 21, 2008, 33 TexReg 1380; amended to be effective November 21, 2013, 38 TexReg 8253