§5303. Metropolitan planning

(a) Development Requirements.-To carry out section 5301(a) of this title, metropolitan planning organizations designated under subsection (c) of this section, in cooperation with States, shall develop transportation plans and programs for State urbanized areas. The plans and programs for each area shall provide for developing transportation facilities (including pedestrian walkways and bicycle transportation facilities) that will function as an intermodal transportation system for the State, metropolitan area, and United States. The development process shall provide for consideration of all modes of transportation and shall be continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive to the degree appropriate, based on the complexity of the transportation problems.

(b) Plan and Program Factors.-In developing plans and programs under this section and sections 5304–5306 of this title, each metropolitan planning organization at least shall consider the following factors:

(1) preserving existing transportation facilities and, where practical, ways to meet transportation needs by using existing transportation facilities more efficiently.

(2) the consistency of transportation planning with United States Government, State, and local energy conservation programs, goals, and objectives.

(3) the need to relieve congestion and prevent congestion from occurring.

(4) the likely effect of transportation policy decisions on land use and development and the consistency of transportation plans and programs with short- and long-term land use and development plans.

(5) programming expenditures on transportation enhancement activities, as required under section 133 of title 23.

(6) the effects of all transportation projects to be undertaken in the metropolitan area, without regard to whether the projects are publicly financed.

(7) international border crossings and access to ports, airports, intermodal transportation facilities, major freight distribution routes, national parks, recreation areas, monuments and historic sites, and military installations.

(8) the need for connecting roads in the metropolitan area with roads outside the area.

(9) the transportation needs identified by using the management systems required by section 303 of title 23.

(10) preserving rights of way for constructing future transportation projects, including identifying-

(A) unused rights of way that may be needed for future transportation corridors; and

(B) corridors where action is needed most to prevent destruction or loss.

(11) ways to enhance the efficient movement of freight.

(12) using life-cycle costs in designing and engineering bridges, tunnels, and pavement.

(13) the overall social, economic, energy, and environmental effects of transportation decisions.

(14) ways to expand and enhance mass transportation services and to increase usage of those services.

(15) capital investments that will result in increased security in mass transportation systems.

(c) Designating Metropolitan Planning Organizations.-(1) To carry out the planning process required by this section, a metropolitan planning organization shall be designated for each urbanized area with a population of more than 50,000-

(A) by agreement of the chief executive officer of a State and units of general local government representing at least 75 percent of the affected population (including the central city as defined by the Secretary of Commerce); or

(B) under procedures established by State or local law.

(2) In a metropolitan area designated as a transportation management area, the designated metropolitan planning organization, if redesignated after December 18, 1991, shall include local elected officials, officials of authorities that administer or operate major modes of transportation in the metropolitan area (including all transportation authorities included in the organization on June 1, 1991), and appropriate State officials.

(3) More than one metropolitan planning organization may be designated in an urbanized area (as defined by the Secretary of Commerce) only if the chief executive officer decides that the size and complexity of the urbanized area make designation of more than one organization appropriate.

(4) A designation is effective until-

(A) the organization is redesignated under paragraph (3) of this subsection; or

(B) revoked-

(i) by agreement of the chief executive officer and units of general local government representing at least 75 percent of the affected population; or

(ii) as otherwise provided by State or local procedures.

(5)(A) The chief executive officer and units of general local government representing at least 75 percent of the affected population (including the central city as defined by the Secretary of Commerce) may redesignate by agreement a metropolitan planning organization when appropriate to carry out this section.

(B) A metropolitan planning organization shall be redesignated on request of one or more units of general local government representing at least 25 percent of the affected population (including the central city as defined by the Secretary of Commerce) in an urbanized area with a population of more than 5,000,000, but less than 10,000,000 or that is an extreme nonattainment area for ozone or carbon monoxide (as defined in the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.)).

(C) A metropolitan planning organization shall be redesignated using procedures established to carry out this paragraph.

(6) This subsection does not affect the authority, under State law in effect on December 18, 1991, of a public authority with multimodal transportation responsibilities-

(A) to develop plans and programs for a metropolitan planning organization to adopt; and

(B) to develop long-range capital plans, coordinate mass transportation services and projects, and carry out other activities under State law.

(d) Metropolitan Area Boundaries.-To carry out this section, the metropolitan planning organization and the chief executive officer shall decide by agreement on the boundaries of a metropolitan area. The area shall cover at least the existing urbanized area and the contiguous area expected to become urbanized within the 20-year forecast period and may include the Metropolitan Statistical Area or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the Secretary of Commerce. An area designated as a nonattainment area for ozone or carbon monoxide under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) shall include at least the boundaries of the nonattainment area, except as the chief executive officer and metropolitan planning organization otherwise agree.

(e) Coordination.-(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall establish requirements the Secretary considers appropriate to encourage chief executive officers and metropolitan planning organizations with responsibility for part of a multi-State metropolitan area to provide coordinated transportation planning for the entire area.

(2) Congress consents to at least 2 States making an agreement, not in conflict with a law of the United States, for cooperative efforts and mutual assistance in support of activities authorized under this section related to interstate areas and localities in the States and establishing authorities the States consider desirable for making the agreement effective.

(3) If more than one metropolitan planning organization has authority in a metropolitan area or an area designated a nonattainment area for ozone or carbon monoxide under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), each organization shall consult with the other organizations designated for the area and the State to coordinate plans and projects required by this section and sections 5304–5306 of this title.

(f) Developing Long-Range Plans.-(1) Each metropolitan planning organization shall prepare and update periodically, according to a schedule the Secretary of Transportation decides is appropriate, a long-range plan for its metropolitan area under the requirements of this section. The plan shall be in the form the Secretary considers appropriate and at least shall-

(A) identify transportation facilities (including major roadways, mass transportation, and multimodal and intermodal facilities) that should function as an integrated metropolitan transportation system, emphasizing transportation facilities that serve important United States and regional transportation functions;

(B) include a financial plan that-

(i) demonstrates how the long-range plan can be carried out;

(ii) indicates resources from public and private sources reasonably expected to be made available to carry out the plan; and

(iii) recommends innovative financing techniques, including value capture, tolls, and congestion pricing, to finance needed projects and programs;

(C) assess capital investment and other measures necessary-

(i) to ensure the preservation of the existing metropolitan transportation system, including requirements for operational improvements, resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation of existing and future major roadways, and operations, maintenance, modernization, and rehabilitation of existing and future mass transportation facilities; and

(ii) to use existing transportation facilities most efficiently to relieve vehicular congestion and maximize the mobility of individuals and goods; and

(D) indicate appropriate proposed transportation enhancement activities.

(2) When formulating a long-range plan, the metropolitan planning organization shall consider the factors described in subsection (e) of this section as they are related to a 20-year forecast period.

(3) In a metropolitan area that is in a nonattainment area for ozone or carbon monoxide under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the metropolitan planning organization shall coordinate the development of the long-range plan with the development of the transportation control measures of the State Implementation Plan required by the Act.

(4) Before approving a long-range plan, each metropolitan planning organization shall provide citizens, affected public agencies, representatives of mass transportation authority employees, private providers of transportation, and other interested parties with a reasonable opportunity to comment on the plan in a way the Secretary of Transportation considers appropriate.

(5) A long-range plan shall be-

(A) made readily available for public review; and

(B) submitted for information purposes to the chief executive officer of the State at the time and in the way the Secretary of Transportation establishes.

(g) Grants.-Under criteria the Secretary of Transportation establishes, the Secretary may make contracts for, and grants to, States, local governmental authorities, and authorities of the States and governmental authorities, or may make agreements with other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, to plan, engineer, design, and evaluate a mass transportation project and for other technical studies, including-

(1) studies related to management, operations, capital requirements, and economic feasibility;

(2) evaluating previously financed projects; and

(3) other similar and related activities preliminary to and in preparation for constructing, acquiring, or improving the operation of facilities and equipment.

(h) Balanced and Comprehensive Planning.-(1) To the extent practicable, the Secretary of Transportation shall ensure that amounts made available under section 5338(g)(1) of this title to carry out this section and sections 5304–5306 of this title are used to support balanced and comprehensive transportation planning that considers the relationships among land use and all transportation modes, without regard to the programmatic source of the planning amounts.

(2)(A) The Secretary of Transportation shall apportion 80 percent of the amount made available under section 5338(g)(1) of this title to States in a ratio equal to the population in urbanized areas in each State divided by the total population in urbanized areas in all States, as shown by the latest available decennial census. A State may not receive less than .5 percent of the amount apportioned under this subparagraph.

(B) Amounts apportioned to a State under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall be allocated to metropolitan planning organizations in the State designated under this section under a formula-

(i) the State develops in cooperation with the metropolitan planning organizations;

(ii) the Secretary of Transportation approves; and

(iii) that considers population in urbanized areas and provides an appropriate distribution for urbanized areas to carry out the cooperative processes described in this section.

(C) A State shall make amounts available promptly to eligible metropolitan planning organizations according to procedures the Secretary of Transportation approves.

(3)(A) The Secretary of Transportation shall apportion 20 percent of the amount made available under section 5338(g)(1) of this title to States to supplement allocations made under paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection for metropolitan planning organizations.

(B) Amounts under this paragraph shall be allocated under a formula that reflects the additional cost of carrying out planning, programming, and project selection responsibilities under this section and sections 5304–5306 of this title in those areas.

(4) To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of Transportation shall ensure that no metropolitan planning organization is allocated less than the amount it received by administrative formula under this section in the fiscal year that ended September 30, 1991. To carry out this subsection, the Secretary may make a proportionate reduction in other amounts made available to carry out section 5338(g)(1) of this title.

(5) Amounts available for an activity under this subsection are for 80 percent of the cost of the activity unless the Secretary of Transportation decides it is in the interests of the Government not to require a State or local match.

(6) An amount apportioned under this subsection-

(A) remains available for 3 years after the fiscal year in which the amount is apportioned, and

(B) that is unobligated at the end of the 3-year period shall be reapportioned among the States for the next fiscal year.

( Pub. L. 103–272, §1(d), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 788 .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised Section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
5303(a)	49 App.:1607(a) (2d–last sentences).	July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, 78 Stat. 302 , §8(a) (2d–last sentences)– (g), (n); added Nov. 6, 1978, Pub. L. 95–599, §305(b), 92 Stat. 2743 ; Apr. 2, 1987, Pub. L. 100–17, §310, 101 Stat. 227 ; restated Dec. 18, 1991, Pub. L. 102–240, §3012, 105 Stat. 2098 , 2104.
5303(b)	49 App.:1607(f).
5303(c)(1)	49 App.:1607(b)(1).
5303(c)(2)	49 App.:1607(b)(2).
5303(c)(3)	49 App.:1607(b)(6).
5303(c)(4)	49 App.:1607(b)(4).
5303(c)(5)	49 App.:1607(b)(5).
5303(c)(6)	49 App.:1607(b)(3).
5303(d)	49 App.:1607(c).
5303(e)	49 App.:1607(d), (e).
5303(f)	49 App.:1607(g).
5303(g)	49 App.:1607(n).
5303(h)	49 App.:1607(p).	July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, 78 Stat. 302 , §8(p); added Nov. 6, 1978, Pub. L. 95–599, §305(b), 92 Stat. 2743 ; Apr. 2, 1987, Pub. L. 100–17, §310, 101 Stat. 227 ; restated Dec. 18, 1991, Pub. L. 102–240, §3012, 105 Stat. 2105 ; Oct. 6, 1992, Pub. L. 102–388, §502(h), 106 Stat. 1566 .

In this section, the word "together" is omitted as surplus. The words "Secretary of Commerce" are substituted for "Bureau of the Census" because of 15:1511(e).

In subsection (b)(2), the word "applicable" is omitted as surplus.

In subsection (b)(3), the words "where it does not yet occur" are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (b)(4), the words "the provisions of all applicable" are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (c)(4), before clause (A), the words "whether made under this section or other provisions of law" are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (d), the word "entire" is omitted as surplus.

In subsection (e)(2), the words "or compacts" and "joint or otherwise" are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (f)(3), the word "area" is added for clarity and consistency with 42:7501(2).

In subsection (f)(5)(A), the words "published or otherwise" are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (g), before clause (1), the words "local governmental authorities" are substituted for "local public bodies", and the words "departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government" are substituted for "Federal departments and agencies", for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.

In subsection (h)(6)(A), the words "for obligation", "a period of", and "the close of" are omitted as surplus.

References in Text

The Clean Air Act, referred to in subsecs. (c)(5)(B), (d), (e)(3), and (f)(3), is act July 14, 1955, ch. 360, 69 Stat. 322 , as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 85 (§7401 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7401 of Title 42 and Tables.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 5304, 5305, 5306, 5307, 5309, 5313, 5314, 5323, 5338 of this title; title 23 section 135.