News from NACo

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About NACo – The Voice of America’s Counties

National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the U.S. NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,068 counties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public’s understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.

Funding Opportunity: U.S. Department of Transportation reissues FY2021 BUILD notice for $1 billion in available funds, renamed to RAISE

By Zach George and Jessica Jennings NACo, Legislative Assistants

KEY TAKEAWAYS • U.S. Department of Transportation announced $1 billion in available grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program. • RAISE grants support surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impacts, including funding for roads, bridges, transit, rail and ports. • As leaders in the nation’s transportation system, RAISE grants help counties construct and improve critical transportation infrastructure to foster safe and thriving communities.

On April 13, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced $1 billion in available grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program. RAISE grants provide flexible funding directly to local governments to support surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impacts, including funding for roads, bridges, transit, rail and ports. This is the first year of the RAISE program, which replaced the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) discretionary grant program. While RAISE is similar to its predecessor, it has a renewed focus on projects that create high-quality jobs, improve safety, enhance environmental protections and generate equitable economic opportunities.

For FY 2021, the maximum grant award is $25 million, with no more than $100 million awarded to a single state. Up to $30 million will be awarded to planning grants, including at least $10 million to Areas of Persistent Poverty (APP).

DOT is holding a series of webinars during the FY 2021 RAISE grant application process to provide technical assistance to applicants. To register for the webinars visit http:// www.transportation.gov/RAISEgrants/outreach. The deadline to submit an application is July 12.

As leaders in the nation’s transportation system, RAISE grants help counties construct and improve critical transportation infrastructure to foster safe and thriving communities. Representing a vital cog in the nation’s transportation network, counties own and operate 45 percent of all public roads (compared to the 32 percent of public roads owned by cities and townships, 19 percent by states and 3 percent by the federal government) and 38 percent of the nation’s bridge inventory. We also directly support a third of the nation’s public airports and 78 percent of public transit systems that keep Americans connected to every corner of the country.

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