[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4571 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4571

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals a 
         credit against income tax for home water conservation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 13, 2007

   Mr. Baca introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals a 
         credit against income tax for home water conservation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Household Water Conservation 
Challenge Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Water is indispensable for life, not only for drinking 
        water, but also for raising crops and animals for food.
            (2) The world water crisis is one of the largest public 
        health issues of our time. Nearly 1.1 billion people (roughly 
        20 percent of the world's population) lack access to safe 
        drinking water.
            (3) Americans use more water per day per person--nearly 
        1,300 gallons--than anyone else in the world.
            (4) Maximizing water efficiency efforts across the United 
        States is a faster and cheaper approach than investing billions 
        of dollars in water supply projects that will take years to 
        build and come at a great cost to the environment and economy.

SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR HOME WATER CONSERVATION.

    (a) In General.--Subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to nonrefundable 
personal credits) is amended by inserting after section 25D the 
following new section:

``SEC. 25E. HOME WATER CONSERVATION.

    ``(a) Allowance of Credit.--In the case of an individual, there 
shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter 
the amount of--
            ``(1) $150 for the first home water conservation year 
        beginning after the date of the enactment of this section, and
            ``(2) $150 for the first taxable year thereafter if the 
        requirements of subsection (b) would be met if `second 
        preceding calendar year' were substituted for `preceding 
        calendar year' in paragraph (1) thereof.
    ``(b) Water Conservation Year.--For purposes of this section, the 
term `water conservation year' means any taxable year if--
            ``(1) according to the metered water usage at the principal 
        place of abode of the taxpayer, the amount of water consumed at 
        such abode during the calendar year ending with or within such 
        taxable year is not more than 60 percent of the water consumed 
        at such abode during the preceding calendar year, and
            ``(2) it is established to the satisfaction of the 
        Secretary that such water reduction is the result of water 
        conservation efforts of the taxpayer and not the result of the 
        weather, changes in the number or ages of individuals occupying 
        the residence, governmental restrictions on water use, or other 
        factors specified by the Secretary.
    ``(c) Other Conditions.--This section shall apply only if--
            ``(1) the taxpayer has the same principal place of abode 
        throughout each of the calendar years involved in determining 
        the credit under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), as the 
        case may be,
            ``(2) such place of abode is located in the United States,
            ``(3) water is provided to such place of abode by a utility 
        or governmental entity and is metered by such utility or entity 
        for billing purposes, and
            ``(4) the bill for water use at such place of abode is 
        billed directly to the taxpayer by such utility or entity.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such subpart A 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 25D the 
following new item:

``Sec. 25E. Home water conservation.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to reductions in water usage in calendar years ending with or 
within taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
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