Strategic Innovation for Revenue Collection (SIRC)

Grant Program Information

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), enacted as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. No. 117-58), § 13001, authorized the Secretary of Transportation to establish the Strategic Innovation for Revenue Collection (SIRC) Program. The purpose of the SIRC Program is to provide grants to eligible entities to test the feasibility of a road usage fee and other user-based alternative revenue mechanisms to help maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund through pilot projects at the State, local, and regional level.

The BIL provides that $15 million annually from Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2026 will be authorized from the Highway Research and Development Program, subject to obligation limitation. The Federal share of the cost of a SIRC project may not exceed 80 percent of the total project cost, or 70 percent of the total project cost if the recipient has received at least one prior SIRC grant.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible entities include a State or group of States; a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) or a group of MPOs; a local government or a group of local governments; and multi-jurisdictional groups. An eligible multi-jurisdictional group is any combination of States, local governments, or MPOs for which each member of the group has signed a written agreement to participate in the SIRC pilot project across multijurisdictional boundaries.

Application Deadlines

Close Date:   May 27, 2024

Funding

* The BIL repealed section 6020 of the FAST Act, the Surface Transportation Systems Funding Alternatives (STSFA) program, which had many similar characteristics to the new SIRC program [§ 13001(f)].

The Federal share of the cost of a pilot project carried out under the program may not exceed:

• 80% of the total cost of a project carried out by an eligible entity that has not otherwise received a grant under this program; [§ 13001(b)(7)(A)] and
• 70% of the total cost of a project carried out by an eligible entity that has received at least 1 grant under this program. [§ 13001(b)(7)(B)]

Eligible Costs

Grant recipients may use funds under this program to deploy the following advanced The BIL requires the Secretary to ensure that, in the aggregate, pilot projects carried out using these program funds meet the following objectives—

• To test the design, acceptance, equity, and implementation of user-based alternative revenue mechanisms, including among—
  • differing income groups; and
  • rural and urban drivers, as applicable.
• To provide recommendations regarding adoption and implementation of user-based alternative revenue mechanisms.
• To quantify and minimize the administrative costs of any potential user-based alternative revenue mechanisms.
• To test a variety of solutions, including the use of independent and private third-party vendors, for the collection of data and fees from user-based alternative revenue mechanisms, including the reliability and security of those solutions and vendors.
• To test solutions to ensure the privacy and security of data collected for the purpose of implementing a user-based alternative revenue mechanism.
• To conduct public education and outreach to increase public awareness regarding the need for user-based alternative revenue mechanisms for surface transportation programs.
• To evaluate the ease of compliance and enforcement of a variety of implementation approaches for different users of the surface transportation system.
• To ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, the use of innovation.
• To consider, to the greatest extent practicable, the potential for revenue collection along a network of alternative fueling stations.
• To evaluate the impacts of the imposition of a user-based alternative revenue mechanism on—
  • transportation revenues;
  • personal mobility, driving patterns, congestion, and transportation costs; and
  • freight movement and costs.
• To evaluate options for the integration of a user-based alternative revenue mechanism with—
  • nationwide transportation revenue collections and regulations;
  • toll revenue collection platforms;
  • transportation network company fees; and
  • any other relevant transportation revenue mechanisms. [§ 13001(b)(3)]

Resources and Information

• SIRC FHWA Webpage
• SIRC Fact Sheet
• SIRC NOFO
• SIRC NOFO Q&A

Contact

For more information concerning this program contact:

Seng Lo
Division of Local Assistance, Office of Federal Programs
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), HQ
Seng.Lo@dot.ca.gov
(916) 516-4589

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