To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program relating to the digitization of county roads and creation of publicly accessible road datasets, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new federal grant program to help states convert paper-based county road maps into digital, standardized geospatial datasets. The goal is to improve rural navigation, support commerce, and enhance public safety by making county road information publicly accessible and compatible with modern mapping platforms like Google Maps.
Who Benefits and How
State departments of transportation receive grants (up to $20 million/year through 2031) and can retain 2% for administration. Counties receive subgrants to digitize their road records and hire GIS contractors. Mapping companies like Google and Apple gain access to standardized public road data. Rural residents and businesses benefit from improved navigation and emergency response capabilities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal taxpayers fund the $120 million program over six years. States must submit grant applications and annual progress reports, creating modest administrative requirements. Counties receiving subgrants must coordinate with state DOTs on data standards.
Key Provisions
- Creates pilot grant program with $20M annual authorization (FY2026-2031)
- Prioritizes states with significant county road digitization gaps
- Requires state DOTs to maintain public data repositories
- Includes savings clauses protecting property rights and sensitive archaeological data
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Establishes a federal pilot grant program for states to digitize county road records and create publicly accessible, standardized geospatial road datasets to support rural commerce, public safety, and navigation
Key Policy Areas
Transportation, Infrastructure, Data & Technology, Rural Development
Primary Purpose
Establishes a federal pilot grant program for states to digitize county road records and create publicly accessible, standardized geospatial road datasets to support rural commerce, public safety, and navigation
Policy Domains
MAP Roads Act
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- State Departments of Transportation
- County governments
- GIS/mapping contractors
- Third-party mapping platforms
- Rural communities
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal taxpayers
- States (reporting requirements)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Moore of Utah (for himself, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
County governments, State departments of transportation
Third-party mapping platforms (Google Maps, Apple Maps)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Transportation
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 23, United States Code
A public road that is recognized and maintained by a county government
The process of converting physical or analog map-based information into standardized electronic formats to produce geospatial data
Has the meaning given such term in section 752 of the Geospatial Data Act of 2018 (43 U.S.C. 2801)
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology