Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
This page provides a brief overview of the five-year federal infrastructure bill signed into law in November 2021, including links to federal guidance and other resources to help local governments in Washington State identify potential funding opportunities.
Overview
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed a major federal infrastructure bill into law. Public Law 117-58 – known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) or sometimes the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) – provides state and local governments with a significant amount of infrastructure funding opportunities over the next five years, including:
- Road, bridges, and major projects
- Passenger and freight rail
- Public transportation
- Airports and Federal Aviation Administration facilities
- Ports and waterways
- Transportation safety
- Electric vehicles, buses, and ferries
- Clean energy and power
- Water
- Climate resilience
- Environmental remediation
- Broadband high-speed internet
The funding will be awarded through a variety of competitive and formula grants and loans. Some of the funding consists of increases to existing federal programs, while other funding consists of new programs. Some of the programs will be administered by state agencies and others will be administered directly by federal agencies.
Below are some useful resources to help local governments navigate this bill and identify potential funding opportunities.
Federal Resources
The White House has released a number of resources related to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law:
- The White House: Building a Better America – Provides overview of the law and the various funding areas. Users can view and search for funding programs
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook – Lengthy document that provides extensive detail about the various funding areas
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Rural Playbook – Resource intended to help rural communities understand available funding opportunities and other benefits such as waivers for matching requirements; includes rural BIL fact sheets from several federal agencies
- Fact Sheet: Competitive Infrastructure Funding Opportunities for Local Governments – Highlights 25 competitive grant programs with a particular emphasis on cities; includes tips for getting ready to apply for and receive federal funds
- Grants.gov – Federal grant application portal; also includes grant-writing tips and instructions
Current Funding Opportunities and Additional Resources
In addition to the federal resources above, the following resources provide useful information to help local governments identify and apply for funding:
- Association of Washington Cities (AWC): Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for Cities – Includes open funding opportunities and deadlines, upcoming webinars and events, tips to help cities prepare, and additional resources
- Local Infrastructure Hub – National program to help cities and towns access federal infrastructure funding; partnership between National League of Cities, Results for America, and United States Conference of Mayors. Program launches July 1, 2022 but you can sign up for email updates before that.
- National Association of Counties (NACo): The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – Includes open funding opportunities and deadlines, a funding matrix showing descriptions of each program, funding amounts, and whether the program is competitive or formula, upcoming NACo webinars and events, and additional resources
- American Public Works Association (APWA): U.S. Infrastructure Law: Resources for Public Works – Information on funding opportunities for public works professionals
Several federal agencies have also created resources for specific funding areas, including:
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
- U.S. Department of Energy: DOE Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding Opportunities
- U.S. Department of the Interior: Investing in America’s Infrastructure
- U.S. Department of Transportation: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Prevailing Wages
Most of the construction projects funded or assisted through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be subject to federal Davis-Bacon prevailing wage standards. Funding recipients must ensure that the Davis-Bacon labor standards clauses and applicable wage determinations are included in covered construction contracts and must provide guidance and monitoring to ensure the labor standards are met.
For more information, see the U.S. Department of Labor webpage on Protections for Workers in Construction under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
