Metropolitan Planning Enhancement Act
- Bill Number
- H.R. 5711
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Transportation and Public Works
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-10-08: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
- Last Updated
- 2026-05-19T14:13:48Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The Metropolitan Planning Enhancement Act (H.R. 5711) aims to increase public understanding of how public agencies decide on transportation investments by requiring more open and accountable processes in planning. It focuses on making project selection transparent, so people can see how decisions align with national, state, and local goals like safety, efficiency, and economic growth.
Key Provisions
- Transparent Project Selection in Metropolitan Planning: For urban areas (metropolitan planning organizations, or MPOs), transportation plans must use public criteria to evaluate and rank projects based on factors like national goals (e.g., reducing congestion, improving safety) and state priorities. The highest-performing projects must be publicly identified and categorized.
- Priority Lists in Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPs): Projects on priority lists for funding must primarily come from the top-ranked category. If lower-ranked projects are chosen instead, agencies must publicly explain why, such as to ensure projects in different regions or economically struggling areas.
- Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning: Similar rules apply to statewide long-range plans and improvement programs, requiring transparent criteria for ranking projects and public justifications for selecting lower-ranked ones.
- Application to Highways and Transit: These changes apply to both highway planning (under Title 23 of the U.S. Code) and public transit planning (under Title 49), ensuring consistency across transportation modes.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Adds new requirements for "project selection transparency and accountability" to sections of Titles 23 and 49 that govern how states and MPOs develop long-range plans and short-term funding lists (TIPs).
- Previously, planning processes emphasized consultation and goal alignment but did not mandate public categorization of projects by performance or detailed explanations for prioritizing lower-ranked ones.
- Redesignates some existing paragraphs in the law to insert these new rules, without altering core planning structures.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: State departments of transportation and MPOs will need to develop and publish evaluation criteria, rank projects openly, and provide justifications for decisions, increasing administrative work but promoting consistency in how federal funds (like from the Highway Trust Fund) are allocated.
- On Citizens: Improves access to information, allowing the public to better understand and potentially influence transportation decisions, which could lead to more equitable investments in areas like rural or low-income communities.
- On International Relations: No direct impact, as the bill focuses on domestic U.S. transportation planning.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Public Agencies: State transportation departments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs, regional groups that coordinate planning in cities), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (which oversees federal funding).
- Citizens and Communities: Residents, especially in urban, rural, or economically distressed areas, who rely on transportation infrastructure and can now more easily track project priorities.
- Transportation Professionals: Planners, engineers, and local governments involved in proposing and selecting projects.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Strengthens federal oversight of state and local planning by tying funding eligibility to transparency rules, potentially leading to more audits or challenges if processes are not followed. It aligns with existing laws like the Federal-Aid Highway Act but adds enforceable public disclosure requirements.
- Constitutional: No major issues; it supports democratic principles by enhancing public participation without infringing on state rights, as planning has long been a shared federal-state responsibility.
- Political: Could reduce perceptions of favoritism in project selection (e.g., avoiding "pork-barrel" spending) and encourage bipartisan support for infrastructure by emphasizing performance-based decisions, though it may face pushback from agencies concerned about added bureaucracy.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10]
Recent Actions
- 2025-10-08: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
- 2025-10-08: Introduced in House
- 2025-10-08: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Metropolitan Planning Enhancement Act — issued 2025-10-08 — PDF (6 pages)