# FTA Proposes Transit Grant Scoring Changes

On October 1, 2026, the Federal Transit Administration proposed guidance that would add regional marriage and birth rates to Capital Investment Grants scoring. Projects in qualifying regions could receive up to a 10% funding boost, and the proposal could affect 40 projects already in the program. Because the guidance is proposed, transit agencies and their contractors should evaluate potential impacts without treating the scoring change as final, including possible effects on project eligibility, design, environmental review, costs, and schedules.

- Transit agencies and contractors supporting CIG projects can assess whether the proposed criteria could change project competitiveness or require adjustments to project plans and budgets.
- The potential funding increase may affect funding assumptions for qualifying projects, but no dollar amounts are specified.
- Since the proposal could affect projects already in the program, project teams should account for possible eligibility, environmental-review, cost, and schedule impacts while the guidance’s status and implementation details remain unsettled.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Transportation
**Topics:** Grants & Funding
**Published:** October 07, 2026

### Government Entities
- Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
- U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
- U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee

### Sources
- [Murray on Trump and Duffy’s Plans to Tie Transit Funding to Birth Rates - Senator Patty Murray](https://www.murray.senate.gov/murray-on-trump-and-duffys-plans-to-tie-transit-funding-to-birth-rates/) - Murray Senate