# § 145. Federal-State relationship
**(a)** **Protection of State Sovereignty.—** The authorization of the appropriation of Federal funds or their availability for expenditure under this chapter shall in no way infringe on the sovereign rights of the States to determine which projects shall be federally financed. The provisions of this chapter provide for a federally assisted State program.
**(b)** **Purpose of Projects.—** The projects described in section 1702 of the SAFETEA–LU, section 1602 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, sections 1103 through 1108 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (105 Stat. 2027 et seq.), and section 149(a) of the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 (101 Stat. 181 et seq.) are intended to establish eligibility for Federal-aid highway funds made available for such projects by section 1101(a)(16) of the SAFETEA–LU, section 1101(a)(13) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, sections 1103 through 1108 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, and subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 149 of the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987, respectively, and are not intended to define the scope or limits of Federal action in a manner inconsistent with subsection (a).
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**Source Credit**: (Added Pub. L. 93–87, title I, § 123(a), Aug. 13, 1973, 87 Stat. 261; amended Pub. L. 105–178, title I, § 1601(b), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 256; Pub. L. 109–59, title I, § 1701(e), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1256; Pub. L. 112–141, div. A, title I, § 1519(c)(9), formerly § 1519(c)(10), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 576, renumbered § 1519(c)(9), Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title I, § 1446(d)(5)(B), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1438.)
## Editorial Notes
### References in Text
Section 1702 of the SAFETEA–LU, referred to in subsec. (b), is , title I, , , which is not classified to the Code.
Section 1602 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, referred to in subsec. (b), is , title I, , , which is not classified to the Code.
Sections 1103 through 1108 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, referred to in subsec. (b), are sections 1103 to 1108 of , , . See Tables for classification.
Section 149(a) of the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987, referred to in subsec. (b), is , title I, , , which is not classified to the Code.
Section 1101(a)(16) of the SAFETEA–LU, referred to in subsec. (b), is , title I, , , which is not classified to the Code.
Section 1101(a)(13) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, referred to in subsec. (b), is , title I, , , which is not classified to the Code.
### Amendments
2015—Subsec. (b). , amended . See 2012 Amendment note below.
2012—Subsec. (b). , formerly § 1519(c)(10), as renumbered by , struck out “,” after “21st Century,” second time appearing.
2005—Subsec. (b). inserted “section 1702 of the SAFETEA–LU,” after “described in” and “section 1101(a)(16) of the SAFETEA–LU,” after “for such projects by” and substituted “,” for “117 of title 23, United States Code,”.
1998— designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Effective Date of 2015 Amendment
, , , provided that the amendment made by section 1446(d)(5)(B) is effective as of , and as if included in as enacted.
### Effective Date of 2012 Amendment
Amendment by effective , see , set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment note under .