23 U.S.C. § 150 — National goals and performance management measures

(a) Declaration of Policy. This law says performance management will change how the federal-aid highway program works. It refocuses the program on national goals, makes it more accountable and open, and helps officials make better project decisions through performance-based planning and funding. (b) National Goals. The law sets seven national goals for the federal highway program. Safety: significantly cut traffic deaths and serious injuries on all public roads. Infrastructure condition: keep the highway system in a state of good repair. Congestion reduction: significantly cut congestion on the National Highway System. System reliability: make the surface transportation system run more efficiently. Freight movement and economic vitality: improve the National Highway Freight Network, help rural communities reach national and global trade markets, and support regional economic growth. Environmental sustainability: improve how the transportation system performs while protecting and enhancing the natural environment. Reduced project delivery delays: cut project costs, support jobs and the economy, and speed up how fast people and goods move, by removing delays in project development and delivery, cutting regulatory burdens, and improving how agencies work. (c) Establishment of Performance Measures. Within 18 months of this law's enactment, the Secretary — working with state transportation departments, metropolitan planning organizations, and other stakeholders — must issue a rule setting performance measures and standards. In writing that rule, the Secretary must give everyone at least 90 days to comment, must actually consider those comments, and can only create performance measures within the categories this subsection lists. For the national highway performance program under section 119, the Secretary must set: minimum standards for how states manage bridges and pavement; ways for states to measure the condition of Interstate pavement, the condition of non-Interstate National Highway System pavement, the condition of National Highway System bridges, and the performance of both the Interstate System and the rest of the National Highway System; minimum acceptable pavement condition levels on the Interstate System, used only for one specific funding purpose; and the data states must collect to run this system. If pavement conditions differ a lot by region for reasons beyond anyone's control, the Secretary may set different minimum levels for different regions. For the highway safety improvement program under section 148, the Secretary must set ways for states to measure serious injuries and deaths per mile driven, and the total count of serious injuries and deaths. For the congestion mitigation and air quality program under section 149, the Secretary must set ways for states to measure traffic congestion and roadway emissions. For national freight movement, the Secretary must set ways for states to measure how freight moves on the Interstate System. (d) Establishment of Performance Targets. Within a year after the Secretary finishes the rule from subsection (c), each state must set its own targets for the measures described above. A state may set different targets for urban areas and rural areas if that makes sense. (e) Reporting on Performance Targets. Starting four years after this law's enactment, and every two years after that, each state must send the Secretary a report covering: the condition and performance of the National Highway System in that state; how well the state's investment strategy is working for the National Highway System; the state's progress toward the targets it set under subsection (d); and how the state is addressing congestion at freight bottlenecks, including ones named in the national freight strategic plan.