Commuter Protection Act
Latest action · Dec 15, 2011 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedDec 15, 2011
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Commuter Protection Act - Amends the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 to expand the requirement that certain bridge tolls be just and reasonable to all bridges or tunnels constructed on a federal-aid highway. (Current law applies the just and reasonable toll requirement only to bridges constructed under the Bridge Act of 1906, the General Bridge Act of 1946, or the International Bridge Act of 1972.)
Requires that tolls for all such bridges and tunnels be subject to review and regulation by the Secretary of Transportation (DOT), upon complaint or the initiative of the Secretary, including with respect to increases in the amount of tolls.
Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations to define, determine, and, when appropriate, prescribe just and reasonable toll rates.
Requires that such regulations: (1) establish an administrative complaint process for aggrieved persons to challenge such determinations or toll rate increases on bridges or tunnels, (2) authorize the Secretary or an administrative law judge to conduct investigations and hold formal hearings on such complaints, and (3) permit complainants to seek judicial review of a final administrative determination in a U.S. district court.
Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) evaluate the use of tolls by interstate authorities to maintain and improve surface transportation facilities, and (2) make recommendations to increase transparency and accountability of the funding decisions by those authorities.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jan 23, 2012.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Jan 23, 2012 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Dec 15, 2011 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 15, 2011Introduced in Senate
- Dec 15, 2011Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 112-762 | PROTECTING COMMUTERS: ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT IN TOLLING66 pages | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Apr 18, 2012 |
| Serial No. 112-21 | HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS: ACTION PLANS FOR SCIENTIFIC SOLUTIONS79 pages | Science, Space, and Technology Committee | Jun 1, 2011 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3684 | Commuter Protection Act | Identical bill | Dec 16, 2011 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to permit Federal regulation and review of tolls and toll increases on certain surface transportation facilities, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Commuter Protection Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Transportation and Public Works.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 15, 2011Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
