[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1587 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1587

  To amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow a special depreciation 
   allowance for reuse and recycling property and to provide for tax-
    exempt financing of recycling equipment, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 11, 2007

Ms. Snowe (for herself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Obama, 
  Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Lincoln, and Mr. Bayh) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow a special depreciation 
   allowance for reuse and recycling property and to provide for tax-
    exempt financing of recycling equipment, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Recycling Investment Saves Energy'' 
or the ``RISE Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Senate finds the following:
            (1) Recycling means business in the United States, with 
        more than 56,000 reuse and recycling establishments that employ 
        over 1,100,000 people, generating an annual payroll of nearly 
        $37,000,000,000, and grossing over $236,000,000,000 in annual 
        revenues. In 2005, recycling scrap materials accounted for 
        $15,700,000,000 in exports for the United States. On a per-ton 
        basis, sorting and processing recyclables alone sustain 10 
        times more jobs than landfilling or incineration.
            (2) By reducing the need to extract and process virgin raw 
        materials into manufacturing feedstock, reuse and recycling 
        helps achieve significant energy savings. For example:
                    (A) Taken together, the amount of energy wasted 
                from not recycling aluminum and steel cans, paper, 
                printed materials, glass, and plastic equals the annual 
                output of 15 medium sized power plants.
                    (B) The reuse of 500 steel drums per week yields 6 
                trillion Btu's per year, which is enough energy savings 
                to power a city the size of Colorado Springs, Colorado, 
                for 1 year.
            (3) Unfortunately, the United States recycling rate of many 
        consumer commodities, including aluminum, glass, and plastic, 
        are stagnant or declining, and businesses that rely on recycled 
        feedstock are finding it difficult to obtain the quantity and 
        quality of recycled materials needed. Increasingly, United 
        States manufacturing facilities that rely on recycled feedstock 
        are closing or forced to re-tool to use virgin materials.
            (4) The environmental impacts from reuse and recycling are 
        significant. Increased reuse and recycling would produce 
        significant environmental benefits, such as cleaner air, safer 
        water, and reduced production costs. For example:
                    (A) Between 2 and 5 percent of the waste stream is 
                reusable. Reuse prevents waste creation and adverse 
                impacts from disposal.
                    (B) On a per-ton basis, recycling of: office paper 
                prevents 60 pounds of air pollutants from being 
                released, saves 7,000 gallons of water, and 3.3 cubic 
                yards of landfill space; aluminum saves 10 cubic yards 
                of landfill space; plastic saves 30 cubic yards of 
                landfill space; glass prevents 7.5 pounds of air 
                pollutants from being released and saves 2 cubic yards 
                of landfill space; and steel saves 4 cubic yards of 
                landfill space.
                    (C) The manufacture of 100 percent recycled 
                paperboard products uses significantly less fossil fuel 
                than comparable products and is therefore a net reducer 
                of greenhouse gases. And, for every 100 tons of 
                recycled paperboard produced, 105 tons of material is 
                prevented from going to the landfill, thus reducing 
                landfill gases.
            (5) A national investment in the reuse and recycling 
        industries is needed to preserve and expand America's reuse and 
        recycling infrastructure.

SEC. 3. SPECIAL DEPRECIATION ALLOWANCE FOR CERTAIN REUSE AND RECYCLING 
              PROPERTY.

    (a) In General.--Section 168 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(relating to accelerated cost recovery system) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection:
    ``(l) Special Allowance for Certain Reuse and Recycling Property.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of any qualified reuse and 
        recycling property--
                    ``(A) the depreciation deduction provided by 
                section 167(a) for the taxable year in which such 
                property is placed in service shall include an 
                allowance equal to 50 percent of the adjusted basis of 
                the qualified reuse and recycling property, and
                    ``(B) the adjusted basis of the qualified reuse and 
                recycling property shall be reduced by the amount of 
                such deduction before computing the amount otherwise 
                allowable as a depreciation deduction under this 
                chapter for such taxable year and any subsequent 
                taxable year.
            ``(2) Qualified reuse and recycling property.--For purposes 
        of this subsection--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `qualified reuse and 
                recycling property' means any reuse and recycling 
                property--
                            ``(i) to which this section applies,
                            ``(ii) which has a useful life of at least 
                        5 years,
                            ``(iii) the original use of which commences 
                        with the taxpayer after December 31, 2006, and
                            ``(iv) which is--
                                    ``(I) acquired by purchase (as 
                                defined in section 179(d)(2)) by the 
                                taxpayer after December 31, 2006, but 
                                only if no written binding contract for 
                                the acquisition was in effect before 
                                January 1, 2007, or
                                    ``(II) acquired by the taxpayer 
                                pursuant to a written binding contract 
                                which was entered into after December 
                                31, 2006.
                    ``(B) Exceptions.--
                            ``(i) Alternative depreciation property.--
                        The term `qualified reuse and recycling 
                        property' shall not include any property to 
                        which the alternative depreciation system under 
                        subsection (g) applies, determined without 
                        regard to paragraph (7) of subsection (g) 
                        (relating to election to have system apply).
                            ``(ii) Election out.--If a taxpayer makes 
                        an election under this clause with respect to 
                        any class of property for any taxable year, 
                        this subsection shall not apply to all property 
                        in such class placed in service during such 
                        taxable year.
                    ``(C) Special rule for self-constructed property.--
                In the case of a taxpayer manufacturing, constructing, 
                or producing property for the taxpayer's own use, the 
                requirements of clause (iv) of subparagraph (A) shall 
                be treated as met if the taxpayer begins manufacturing, 
                constructing, or producing the property after December 
                31, 2006.
                    ``(D) Deduction allowed in computing minimum tax.--
                For purposes of determining alternative minimum taxable 
                income under section 55, the deduction under subsection 
                (a) for qualified reuse and recycling property shall be 
                determined under this section without regard to any 
                adjustment under section 56.
            ``(3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                    ``(A) Reuse and recycling property.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The term `reuse and 
                        recycling property' means any machinery and 
                        equipment (not including buildings or real 
                        estate), along with all appurtenances thereto, 
                        including software necessary to operate such 
                        equipment, which is used exclusively to 
                        collect, distribute, or recycle qualified reuse 
                        and recyclable materials.
                            ``(ii) Exclusion.--Such term does not 
                        include rolling stock or other equipment used 
                        to transport reuse and recyclable materials.
                    ``(B) Qualified reuse and recyclable materials.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The term `qualified 
                        reuse and recyclable materials' means scrap 
                        plastic, scrap glass, scrap textiles, scrap 
                        rubber, scrap packaging, recovered fiber, scrap 
                        ferrous and nonferrous metals, or electronic 
                        scrap generated by an individual or business.
                            ``(ii) Electronic scrap.--For purposes of 
                        clause (i), the term `electronic scrap' means--
                                    ``(I) any cathode ray tube, flat 
                                panel screen, or similar video display 
                                device with a screen size greater than 
                                4 inches measured diagonally, or
                                    ``(II) any central processing unit.
                    ``(C) Recycling or recycle.--The term `recycling' 
                or `recycle' means that process (including sorting) by 
                which worn or superfluous materials are manufactured or 
                processed into specification grade commodities that are 
                suitable for use as a replacement or substitute for 
                virgin materials in manufacturing tangible consumer and 
                commercial products, including packaging.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to property placed in service after December 31, 2006.

SEC. 4. TAX-EXEMPT BOND FINANCING OF RECYCLING FACILITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 142 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(defining exempt facility bond) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(n) Solid Waste Disposal Facilities.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a)(6) only, 
        the term `solid waste disposal facilities' means any facility 
        used to perform a solid waste disposal function.
            ``(2) Solid waste disposal function.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For purposes of this subsection 
                only, the term `solid waste disposal function' means 
                the collection, separation, sorting, storage, 
                treatment, disassembly, handling, or processing of 
                solid waste in any manner designed to dispose of the 
                solid waste, including processing the solid waste into 
                a useful energy source or product.
                    ``(B) Extent of function.--For purposes of this 
                subsection only, the solid waste disposal function ends 
                at the later of--
                            ``(i) the point of final disposal of the 
                        solid waste,
                            ``(ii) immediately after the solid waste is 
                        incinerated or otherwise transformed or 
                        processed to generate heat, and the resulting 
                        heat is put into a form such as steam in which 
                        such heat is in fact sold or used, or
                            ``(iii) the point at which the solid waste 
                        has been converted into a material or product 
                        that can be sold in the same manner as 
                        comparable material or product produced from 
                        virgin material.
                    ``(C) Functionally related and subordinate 
                facilities.--For purposes of this subsection only, in 
                the case of a facility used to perform both a solid 
                waste disposal function and another function--
                            ``(i) the costs of the facility allocable 
                        to the solid waste disposal function are 
                        determined using any reasonable method based 
                        upon facts and circumstances, and
                            ``(ii) if during the period that bonds 
                        issued as part of an issue described in 
                        subsection (a)(6) are outstanding with respect 
                        to any facility at least 65 percent of the 
                        materials processed in such facility are solid 
                        waste materials as measured by weight or 
                        volume, then all of the costs of the property 
                        used to perform such process are allocable to a 
                        solid waste disposal function.
            ``(3) Solid waste.--For purposes of this subsection only--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `solid waste' means 
                garbage, refuse, or discarded solid materials, 
                including waste materials resulting from industrial, 
                commercial, agricultural, or community activities.
                    ``(B) Garbage, refuse or discarded solid 
                materials.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term 
                `garbage, refuse, or discarded solid materials' means 
                materials that are useless, unused, unwanted, or 
                discarded, regardless of whether or not such materials 
                have value.
                    ``(C) Exclusion.--The term `solid waste' does not 
                include materials in domestic sewage, pollutants in 
                industrial or other water resources, or other liquid or 
                gaseous waste materials.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to bonds issued before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
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