[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3428 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3428

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit against 
income tax to facilitate the accelerated development and deployment of 
         advanced safety systems for commercial motor vehicles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2008

Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. Voinovich, and Mrs. Dole) 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 provide a credit against 
income tax to facilitate the accelerated development and deployment of 
         advanced safety systems for commercial motor vehicles.

    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 ``Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced 
Safety Technology Tax Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Commercial motor vehicle crashes are a primary source 
        of concern in the United States, particularly in light of the 
        increasing numbers of trucks and motorcoaches on our Nation's 
        highways.
            (2) A 2004 report by the National Cooperative Highway 
        Research Program found that when a large truck is involved in a 
        crash, it is about 2.6 times as likely to result in a fatality 
        compared with passenger cars.
            (3) In 2006, 4,995 individuals died and 106,000 individuals 
        were injured as a result of large truck-involved crashes in the 
        United States. Overall, from 2001 to 2006, there have been 
        30,556 large truck-involved fatalities in the United States.
            (4) In addition to the tremendous human loss, these crashes 
        also impose a significant economic cost on society. The 
        Department of Transportation estimates that highway crashes 
        cost society $230,600,000,000 a year, about $820 per person. A 
        2006 report issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
        Administration determined that the estimated cost of each crash 
        involving a truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of more 
        than 10,000 pounds is $91,112 while the average cost of a fatal 
        crash is $3,604,518.
            (5) Investments by vehicle suppliers and truck and 
        motorcoach manufacturers in research and innovative design have 
        created a new generation of advanced safety systems and 
        technologies.
            (6) Advanced safety technologies will directly address, and 
        help mitigate the effects of, commercial motor vehicle crash 
        scenarios.
            (7) The Department of Transportation has set a goal to 
        reduce the traffic fatality rate to 1.0 per hundred million 
        vehicle miles traveled by 2011.
            (8) The accelerated production, sale, and deployment of 
        advanced safety technologies on commercial motor vehicles can 
        speed the progress toward this critical goal and reduce the 
        daily injuries and fatalities on the Nation's roads and 
        highways. This progress would also help to mitigate the 
        societal cost of these crashes.
            (9) Therefore, Congress finds that it is in the interest of 
        the United States to increase the deployment of advanced 
        vehicle safety technologies on commercial motor vehicles in the 
        domestic market by providing businesses with tax incentives, 
        designed to make such systems more affordable for purchase.

SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR ADVANCED COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SAFETY SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to business related 
credits) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 45Q. CREDIT FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ADVANCED SAFETY SYSTEMS.

    ``(a) Allowance of Credit.--For purposes of section 38, the 
commercial vehicle advanced safety system credit determined under this 
section is an amount equal to 50 percent of the cost of any qualified 
commercial vehicle advanced safety system placed in service by the 
taxpayer during the taxable year.
    ``(b) Limitations.--
            ``(1) Per system.--The credit allowable under subsection 
        (a) for each qualified commercial vehicle advanced safety 
        system shall not exceed $1,500.
            ``(2) Per vehicle.--The credit allowable under subsection 
        (a) with respect to property for each qualified commercial 
        vehicle shall not exceed--
                    ``(A) $3,500, reduced by
                    ``(B) the aggregate amount of credit allowed to the 
                taxpayer under this section with respect to such 
                vehicle for all prior taxable years.
            ``(3) Per taxpayer.--The credit allowable under subsection 
        (a) to the taxpayer for the taxable year shall not exceed 
        $350,000.
    ``(c) Qualified Commercial Vehicle Advanced Safety System.--For 
purposes of this section, the term `qualified commercial vehicle 
advanced safety system' means any property which is part of a system 
installed on a qualified commercial vehicle if--
            ``(1)(A) such system is a brake stroke monitoring system, 
        lane departure warning system, collision warning system, or 
        vehicle stability system, or
            ``(B) such system is specifically identified by the 
        Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
        Administration or the Administrator of the National Highway 
        Traffic Safety Administration for the purposes of this 
        paragraph as significantly enhancing the safety or security of 
        the driver, vehicle, passengers, or load of a qualified 
        commercial vehicle and such identification is in effect as of 
        the date such system is placed in service by the taxpayer,
            ``(2) such system is certified by the manufacturer of such 
        system (before such vehicle is first used by the taxpayer for 
        its intended purpose after installation of such system)--
                    ``(A) to be appropriate for the make, type, and 
                model of the qualified commercial vehicle on which it 
                is to be installed, and
                    ``(B) to function as designed if installed 
                properly,
            ``(3) in the case of a system which is not installed by the 
        manufacturer of the qualified commercial vehicle or by an 
        installer authorized by the manufacturer of such system, such 
        system is certified by the installer of such system to be 
        properly installed and functioning on the vehicle before such 
        vehicle is first used by the taxpayer for its intended purpose 
        after installation of such system,
            ``(4) the original use of such system begins with the 
        taxpayer, and
            ``(5) depreciation (or amortization in lieu of 
        depreciation) is allowable with respect to such system.
    ``(d) Qualified Commercial Vehicle.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `qualified commercial vehicle' 
        means any highway motor vehicle if--
                    ``(A) such vehicle--
                            ``(i) is to be used to transport persons or 
                        property in commerce, and
                            ``(ii) has a gross combination weight 
                        rating or a gross vehicle weight rating of 
                        26,001 pounds or more, or
                            ``(iii) the seating capacity of which is at 
                        least 15 individuals (not including the 
                        driver),
                    ``(B) the seating capacity of such vehicle is at 
                least 11 individuals (not including the driver) and 
                such vehicle is reasonably expected to be used as a 
                school bus (as defined in section 4221(d)(7)(C)), or
                    ``(C) such vehicle is reasonably expected to be 
                used as an intercity or local bus (as defined in 
                section 4221(d)(7)(B)).
    ``(e) Other Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Brake stroke monitoring system.--The term `brake 
        stroke monitoring system' means any onboard-monitoring system 
        for air-braked vehicles that--
                    ``(A) uses electronic sensors to determine if the 
                brakes are out of adjustment, not operational, or not 
                fully releasing, and
                    ``(B) displays warnings to the driver showing the 
                existence and exact location and nature of the problem.
            ``(2) Lane departure warning system.--The term `lane 
        departure warning system' means any system that alerts a driver 
        (including audio, visual, and tactile warnings) of unintended 
        movement out of the lane of travel or of an object or vehicle 
        in the adjacent lane blind spot.
            ``(3) Collision warning system.--The term `collision 
        warning system' means any system that monitors the roadway in 
        front or to the rear of the vehicle and warns the driver when a 
        potential collision risk exists by providing the driver with an 
        audible, visual, or tactile notification.
            ``(4) Vehicle stability system.--The term `vehicle 
        stability system' means any active safety system that 
        automatically intervenes when there is a high risk of rollover 
        or directional instability. For purposes of the preceding 
        sentence, active interventions include automatically reducing 
        vehicle speed or by selectively applying appropriate brakes to 
        better align the vehicle to the appropriate path of travel.
    ``(f) Controlled Groups.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, all 
        persons treated as a single employer under subsection (a) or 
        (b) of section 52 or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414 shall 
        be treated as a single taxpayer.
            ``(2) Inclusion of foreign corporations.--For purposes of 
        paragraph (1), in applying subsections (a) and (b) of section 
        52 to this section, section 1563 shall be applied without 
        regard to subsection (b)(2)(C) thereof.
    ``(g) Special Rules.--
            ``(1) Basis reduction.--The basis of any property for which 
        a credit is allowable under subsection (a) shall be reduced by 
        the amount of such credit.
            ``(2) Recapture.--The Secretary shall, by regulations, 
        provide for recapturing the benefit of any credit allowable 
        under subsection (a) with respect to any property which ceases 
        to be property eligible for such credit.
            ``(3) Property used outside united states not qualified.--
        No credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) with respect to 
        any property referred to in section 50(b)(1) or with respect to 
        the portion of the cost of any property taken into account 
        under section 179.
            ``(4) Property used by tax-exempt entity.--In the case of 
        any qualified commercial vehicle advanced safety system the use 
        of which is described in paragraph (3) or (4) of section 50(b) 
        and which is not subject to a lease--
                    ``(A) the person who sold such property to the 
                person or entity using such property shall be treated 
                as the taxpayer that placed such property in service, 
                but only if such person clearly discloses to such 
                person or entity in a document the amount of any credit 
                allowable under subsection (a) with respect to such 
                property (determined without regard to section 38(c)), 
                and
                    ``(B) paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c) 
                shall not apply to such person with respect to such 
                property.
            ``(5) Election not to take credit.--No credit shall be 
        allowed under subsection (a) for any qualified commercial 
        vehicle advanced safety system if the taxpayer elects to not 
        have this section apply to such system.
    ``(h) Supporting Documentation.--No credit shall be allowed under 
subsection (a) unless the qualified commercial vehicle owner receives 
such documentation as the Secretary may require, including--
            ``(1) at the time of purchase of the qualified advanced 
        commercial vehicle advanced safety system--
                    ``(A) documentation that identifies--
                            ``(i) the type of each such system to be 
                        installed on the vehicle, and
                            ``(ii) the purchase date of the vehicle 
                        containing such system (or the installation 
                        date of such system in the case of installation 
                        after the date of the first retail sale of such 
                        vehicle), and
                    ``(B) the certification required under subsection 
                (c)(2), and
            ``(2) in the case of a system for which a certification is 
        required under subsection (c)(3), at the time of the 
        installation of such system, the certification required under 
        subsection (c)(3).
    ``(i) Termination.--This section shall not apply to property placed 
in service after December 31, 2013.''.
    (b) Credit To Be Part of General Business Credit.--Subsection (b) 
of section 38 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to general 
business credit) is amended by striking ``plus'' at the end of 
paragraph (32), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (33) and 
inserting ``, plus'', and by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(34) the commercial vehicle advanced safety system credit 
        determined under section 45Q(a).''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 1016(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
        amended by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (35), by 
        striking the period at the end of paragraph (36) and inserting 
        ``, and'', and by adding at the end the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(37) to the extent provided in section 45Q(g)(1).''.
            (2) Subsection (m) of section 6501 of such Code is amended 
        by inserting ``45Q(g)(5),'' after ``45C(d)(4),''.
            (3) The table of sections for subpart D of part IV of 
        subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 45P the following new item:

``Sec. 45Q. Credit for commercial vehicle advanced safety systems.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to property placed in service after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
                                 <all>