S. 2619 — MORE DOT Grants Act

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) "High-Density Public Land County," meaning a county (or equivalent jurisdiction) in a state or territory with a population of not more than 100,000 (per the most recent Census Bureau estimates) in which more than 50% of the land is owned or managed by the federal government; (2) "qualifying grant program," meaning specified Department of Transportation discretionary grant programs (e.g., Local and Regional Project Assistance Program, commonly known as the BUILD/RAISE/TIGER grant program under 49 U.S.C. 6702; INFRA grant program under 23 U.S.C. 117; rural surface transportation grant program under 23 U.S.C. 173) and any others awarding grants to counties, local governments, or Tribal governments; (3) "Secretary," meaning the Secretary of Transportation; and (4) "Tribal government," meaning the recognized governing body of any federally recognized Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, etc., as listed pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).

This section reduces by 50% local matching fund requirements under qualifying grant programs for High-Density Public Land Counties and units of local or Tribal government within such counties. It further directs the Secretary to (1) provide technical assistance on request before and during annual application periods; (2) give priority in approving applications to applicants without support under the program in the prior 10 years and priority to Tribal governments for such assistance and other support; (3) give special consideration to counties and local governments for any congressionally designated rural set-asides (and may do so for Tribal governments); and (4) provide additional support, including flexibility on barriers such as scoring criteria disadvantaging small communities, partnering requirements, financial prerequisites tied to public land status, or overly complex applications.