1.Tax-exempt financing of
energy transportation infrastructure not subject to private business use
tests
(a)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)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)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 testSection 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
financingSection 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 financingThe 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)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.
2.Limitation on
discriminatory taxation of certain pipeline property
(a)For
purposes of section:
(1)The
term assessment means valuation for a property tax levied by a
taxing authority.
(2)The term assessment jurisdiction means
a geographical area used in determining the assessed value of property for ad
valorem taxation.
(3)Commercial and
industrial propertyThe 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)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)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)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)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)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.
3.Natural gas
pipeline integrity reassessment intervals based on risk
(a)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)The amendment made by this section shall take effect on the
date of the enactment of this Act.