To improve the environmental review process for highway projects through the use of interactive, digital, cloud-based platforms and digital twins, 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 encourages federal highway project sponsors to use interactive digital platforms and 3D digital models (digital twins) when conducting environmental reviews required under NEPA. The Secretary of Transportation must publish guidance and select demonstration projects to showcase these technologies.
Who Benefits and How
Digital platform and 3D visualization software companies benefit from new demand as federal grant recipients are incentivized to adopt their products. Highway construction companies and engineering firms benefit through streamlined environmental review processes, potentially accelerating project timelines.
Who Bears the Burden and How
No significant new compliance burdens are imposed. The bill creates voluntary incentives rather than mandates. Federal grant applicants choosing not to use these technologies may face a competitive disadvantage when seeking INFRA, Mega, or RAISE grants.
Key Provisions
- Secretary must publish technology-neutral guidance within 90 days encouraging digital platform use
- At least 10 covered projects must be selected for digital twin demonstration
- Grant applications demonstrating digital platform use receive priority consideration
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
Encourages the use of interactive digital platforms and 3D digital twins to streamline NEPA environmental review processes for federally-funded highway projects.
Key Policy Areas
Transportation, Environment, Technology
Primary Purpose
Encourages the use of interactive digital platforms and 3D digital twins to streamline NEPA environmental review processes for federally-funded highway projects.
Policy Domains
Section 2 - Digital platforms and digital twins for NEPA reviews
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Digital platform software companies
- Highway construction companies
- Engineering and design firms
- State transportation departments
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Grant applicants not using digital platforms (competitive disadvantage)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Lummis (for herself and Mr. Kelly) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
3D visualization and digital platform software companies
Environmental consulting and engineering firms
State and local transportation departments
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Transportation
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A highway project that received a grant under INFRA, Mega, RAISE, or BUILD programs
The Secretary of Transportation
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