49 U.S.C. § 22105 — Sharing project costs

(a) General (1) Normally, the federal government's share of a project's cost under this chapter is 50 percent. But for assistance given under section 22101(a)(2) — improving and fixing up rail property — the federal share rises to 70 percent. A State can pay its own share in cash, or through other benefits it provides instead, as long as those benefits would not otherwise be given: (A) forgiving taxes charged on a rail carrier or its property; (B) real or tangible personal property the State or someone acting for the State provides, needed for safe, efficient rail freight operations; (C) track rights the State secures for a rail carrier; or (D) the cash value of State employees' salaries while they work on the State project, not counting overhead or general administrative costs. (2) A State may pay more than its required share. If a State, or someone acting for it, pays more than its share during a fiscal year, that extra amount carries forward and counts toward the State's share of its project costs in later fiscal years. (b) Agreements To Combine Amounts States may agree to combine part of their available funds under this chapter to pay for a shared eligible project, as long as (1) the project benefits every State in the agreement, and (2) the agreement does not break any State's law.