23 U.S.C. § 515 — General authorities and requirements

(a) Scope. Subject to sections 512 through 518, the Secretary must run an ongoing intelligent transportation system program. The program must (1) research, develop, and operationally test intelligent transportation systems; and (2) provide technical help for using those systems nationwide as part of the United States surface transportation system. (b) Policy. Research projects and operational tests funded under sections 512 through 518 must encourage public-private partnerships and private-sector investment in those tests and projects. They must not replace those partnerships or investments. (c) Cooperation with governmental, private, and educational entities. The Secretary must carry out the program in cooperation with State and local governments and other public entities; United States private-sector firms; Federal laboratories; and institutions of higher education, including historically Black colleges and universities and other minority institutions of higher education. (d) Consultation with Federal officials. In carrying out the program, the Secretary must consult, when appropriate, with the heads of other Federal agencies. (e) Technical assistance, training, and information. The Secretary may give technical help, training, and information to State and local governments that seek to implement, operate, maintain, or evaluate intelligent transportation system technologies and services. (f) Transportation planning. The Secretary may provide funding to support adequate consideration of transportation systems management and operations, including intelligent transportation systems, in metropolitan and statewide transportation-planning processes. (g) Information clearinghouse. (1) In general. The Secretary must (A) maintain a repository for technical and safety data collected from federally sponsored projects carried out under sections 512 through 518; and (B) on request, make that information readily available to all repository users at an appropriate cost. Proprietary information and data do not have to be made available. (2) Agreement. (A) In general. The Secretary may make an agreement with a third party to maintain the repository for the technical and safety data. (B) Federal financial assistance. If the Secretary makes such an agreement with an entity, that entity is eligible for Federal financial assistance under this section. (3) Availability of information. Information in the repository is not subject to sections 552 and 555 of title 5, United States Code. (h) Advisory Committee. (1) In general. The Secretary must establish an Advisory Committee to advise the Secretary about carrying out sections 512 through 518. (2) Membership. The Committee may have no more than 25 members. Its membership must be balanced between metropolitan and rural interests. At a minimum, it must include: (A) a State highway-department representative; (B) a local highway-department representative who is not from a metropolitan planning organization; (C) a representative of a State, local, or regional transit agency; (D) a representative of a State, local, or regional wildlife, land-use, or resource-management agency; (E) a metropolitan planning organization representative; (F) a representative of a national transit association; (G) a representative of a national, State, or local transportation agency or association; (H) a private-sector user of intelligent transportation system technologies; (I) a private-sector developer of those technologies, possibly including emerging vehicle technologies; (J) an academic computer-science or other information-science researcher with expertise related to intelligent transportation systems, who is not an expert on transportation issues; (K) an academic civil-engineering researcher; (L) an academic social-science researcher with expertise in transportation issues; (M) an academic biological or ecological scientist with expertise in transportation issues; (N) a representative of a nonprofit group representing the intelligent transportation system industry; (O) a representative of a safety-focused public-interest group; (P) a labor-organization representative; (Q) a representative of an entity that provides mobility; (R) a traffic-management expert; (S) a representative of a public-interest group concerned with transportation’s effect on land use and residential patterns; (T) a representative of a public-interest group concerned with transportation’s effect on land species, water species, and their habitat; (U) members with expertise in planning, safety, telecommunications, and operations; (V) a cybersecurity expert; and (W) an automobile manufacturer. (3) Term. (A) In general. An Advisory Committee member’s term is 3 years. (B) Renewal. When a member’s term ends, the member (i) may be appointed again; or (ii) if not appointed again, may continue serving until a new member is appointed. (4) Meetings. The Committee (A) must meet at least twice each year; and (B) may meet by remote video conference. (5) Duties. At a minimum, the Committee must: (A) give input on the intelligent transportation system parts of the strategic plan under section 6503 of title 49; (B) at least once a year, review intelligent transportation system program and research areas that the Department is considering for funding, to determine (i) whether the activities are likely to advance current practice or the state of the art in intelligent transportation systems; (ii) whether users are likely to deploy the technologies and, if not, what prevents deployment; and (iii) the proper roles of government and the private sector in investing in the programs, research, and technologies under consideration. (6) Report. By May 1 of each year, the Secretary must make a report available to the public on a Department of Transportation website. The report must include (A) every recommendation the Committee made during the preceding calendar year; (B) an explanation of how the Secretary implemented those recommendations; and (C) for recommendations not implemented, the reasons for rejecting them. (7) Applicability of chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code. Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, applies to the Advisory Committee. (i) Reporting. (1) Guidelines and requirements. (A) In general. The Secretary must issue guidelines and requirements for reporting on and evaluating operational tests and deployment projects carried out under sections 512 through 518. (B) Objectivity and independence. Those guidelines and requirements must ensure that the reporting entity is objective and independent. They must prevent any real or apparent conflict of interest or possible influence over the result by a party to the test or deployment project, or by any other formal evaluation under sections 512 through 518. (C) Funding. The guidelines and requirements must set reporting-funding levels based on each test’s or project’s size and scope. The levels must ensure adequate reporting of the test’s or project’s results. (2) Special rule. Any survey, questionnaire, or interview that the Secretary considers necessary for reporting on a test, deployment project, or program-assessment activity under sections 512 through 518 is not subject to chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code. The supplied section does not define the quoted term “intelligent transportation system.”