23 U.S.C. § 161 — Operation of motor vehicles by intoxicated minors

(a) Withholding of Apportionments for Noncompliance. (1) Prior to fiscal year 2012. Starting October 1, 1999, and every October 1 after that through fiscal year 2011, the Secretary must withhold 10 percent (including amounts already withheld) of the highway money a State would otherwise be apportioned under paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of section 104(b) — unless the State meets the requirement of paragraph (3) by that date. (2) Fiscal year 2012 and thereafter. Starting October 1, 2011, and every October 1 after that, the Secretary must withhold 8 percent of the amount a State would otherwise be apportioned under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 104(b) — unless the State meets the requirement of paragraph (3) by that date. (3) Requirement. A State meets this requirement only if it has enacted and is enforcing a law that treats an individual under 21 who has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02 percent or greater while driving as driving while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol. (b) Period of Availability; Effect of Compliance and Noncompliance. (1) Period of availability of withheld funds. Funds withheld on or before September 30, 2000, stay available for the State until the end of the third fiscal year following the fiscal year the funds were authorized for. Funds withheld after September 30, 2000, are never available for apportionment to that State at all. (2) Apportionment after compliance. If, before that availability period runs out, the State meets the requirement in subsection (a)(3), the Secretary must, on the first day the State meets the requirement, apportion to the State the withheld funds that remain available. (3) Period of availability of subsequently apportioned funds. Funds apportioned this way stay available for the State to spend until the end of the third fiscal year following the fiscal year they were apportioned. Amounts not obligated (committed) by then lapse. (4) Effect of noncompliance. If the State still does not meet the requirement by the end of the period during which withheld funds could be apportioned to it, those funds lapse.