[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3171 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3171

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain tax-
   exempt financing of energy transportation infrastructure from the 
          private business use tests, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 19, 2008

 Mr. Barrasso introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain tax-
   exempt financing of energy transportation infrastructure from the 
          private business use tests, 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. TAX-EXEMPT FINANCING OF ENERGY TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE 
              NOT SUBJECT TO PRIVATE BUSINESS USE TESTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 141(b)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (defining private business use) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Exception for certain energy transportation 
                infrastructure.--
                            ``(i) In general.--For purposes of the 1st 
                        sentence of subparagraph (A), the operation or 
                        use of any property described in clause (ii) by 
                        any person which is not a governmental unit 
                        shall not be considered a private business use.
                            ``(ii) Property described.--For purposes of 
                        clause (i), the following property is described 
                        in this clause:
                                    ``(I) Any tangible property used to 
                                transmit electricity at 230 or more 
                                kilovolts if such property is placed in 
                                service as part of a State or multi-
                                State effort to improve interstate 
                                electricity transmission and is 
                                physically located in not less than 2 
                                States.
                                    ``(II) Any tangible property used 
                                to transmit electricity generated from 
                                renewable resources.
                                    ``(III) Any tangible property used 
                                as a transmission pipeline for crude 
                                oil or diesel fuel produced from coal 
                                or other synthetic petroleum products 
                                produced from coal if such property is 
                                placed in service as part of a State or 
                                multi-State effort to improve the 
                                transportation of crude oil or diesel 
                                fuel produced from coal or other 
                                synthetic petroleum products produced 
                                from coal.
                                    ``(IV) Any tangible property used 
                                as a carbon dioxide transmission 
                                pipeline if such property is placed in 
                                service as part of a State or multi-
                                State effort to improve interstate or 
                                intrastate efforts to develop 
                                transportation infrastructure for 
                                purposes of permanently sequestering 
                                carbon dioxide.''.
    (b) Exception to Private Loan Financing Test.--Section 141(c)(2) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to exception for tax 
assessment, etc., loans) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (B),
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) 
        and inserting ``, or'', and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) enables the borrower to finance any property 
                described in subsection (b)(6)(C)(ii).''.
    (c) Reduction of State Volume Cap by Amount of Energy 
Transportation Infrastructure Financing.--Section 146 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to volume cap) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection:
    ``(o) Reduction for Energy Transportation Infrastructure 
Financing.--The volume cap of any issuing authority for any calendar 
year shall be reduced by the amount of bonds issued as part of an issue 
by such authority to provide for property described in section 
141(b)(6)(C)(ii).''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to bonds issued after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
before December 31, 2015.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON DISCRIMINATORY TAXATION OF CERTAIN PIPELINE 
              PROPERTY.

    (a) Definitions.--For purposes of section:
            (1) Assessment.--The term ``assessment'' means valuation 
        for a property tax levied by a taxing authority.
            (2) Assessment jurisdiction.--The term ``assessment 
        jurisdiction'' means a geographical area used in determining 
        the assessed value of property for ad valorem taxation.
            (3) Commercial and industrial property.--The term 
        ``commercial and industrial property'' means property 
        (excluding pipeline property, public utility property, and land 
        used primarily for agricultural purposes or timber growth) 
        devoted to commercial or industrial use and subject to a 
        property tax levy.
            (4) Pipeline property.--The term ``pipeline property'' 
        means all property, real, personal, and intangible, owned or 
        used by a natural gas pipeline providing transportation or 
        storage of natural gas, subject to the jurisdiction of the 
        Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
            (5) Public utility property.--The term ``public utility 
        property'' means property (excluding pipeline property) that is 
        devoted to public service and is owned or used by any entity 
        that performs a public service and is regulated by any 
        governmental agency.
    (b) Discriminatory Acts.--The acts specified in this subsection 
unreasonably burden and discriminate against interstate commerce. A 
State, subdivision of a State, authority acting for a State or 
subdivision of a State, or any other taxing authority (including a 
taxing jurisdiction and a taxing district) may not do any of the 
following such acts:
            (1) Assess pipeline property at a value that has a higher 
        ratio to the true market value of the pipeline property than 
        the ratio that the assessed value of other commercial and 
        industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction has to 
        the true market value of the other commercial and industrial 
        property.
            (2) Levy or collect a tax on an assessment that may not be 
        made under paragraph (1).
            (3) Levy or collect an ad valorem property tax on pipeline 
        property at a tax rate that exceeds the tax rate applicable to 
        commercial and industrial property in the same assessment 
        jurisdiction.
            (4) Impose any other tax that discriminates against a 
        pipeline providing transportation subject to the jurisdiction 
        of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
    (c) Jurisdiction of Courts; Relief.--
            (1) Grant of jurisdiction.--Notwithstanding section 1341 of 
        title 28, United States Code, and notions of comity, and 
        without regard to the amount in controversy or citizenship of 
        the parties, the district courts of the United States shall 
        have jurisdiction, concurrent with other jurisdiction of the 
        courts of the United States, of States, and of all other taxing 
        authorities and taxing jurisdictions, to prevent a violation of 
        subsection (b).
            (2) Relief.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        paragraph, relief may be granted under this Act only if the 
        ratio of assessed value to true market value of pipeline 
        property exceeds by at least 5 percent the ratio of assessed 
        value to true market value of other commercial and industrial 
        property in the same assessment jurisdiction. If the ratio of 
        the assessed value of other commercial and industrial property 
        in the assessment jurisdiction to the true market value of all 
        other commercial and industrial property cannot be determined 
        to the satisfaction of the court through the random-sampling 
        method known as a sales assessment ratio study (to be carried 
        out under statistical principles applicable to such a study), 
        each of the following shall be a violation of subsection (b) 
        for which relief under this section may be granted:
                    (A) An assessment of the pipeline property at a 
                value that has a higher ratio of assessed value to the 
                true market value of the pipeline property than the 
                ratio of the assessed value of all other property 
                (excluding public utility property) subject to a 
                property tax levy in the assessment jurisdiction has to 
                the true market value of all other property (excluding 
                public utility property).
                    (B) The collection of an ad valorem property tax on 
                the pipeline property at a tax rate that exceeds the 
                tax rate applicable to all other taxable property 
                (excluding public utility property) in the taxing 
                jurisdiction.

SEC. 3. NATURAL GAS PIPELINE INTEGRITY REASSESSMENT INTERVALS BASED ON 
              RISK.

    (a) In General.--Section 60109(c)(3)(B) of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting ``, until the Secretary issues 
regulations basing the reassessment intervals on technical data, risk 
factors, and engineering analysis, consistent with the recommendations 
of the Comptroller General of the United States in Report 06-945'' 
after ``subparagraph (A)''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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