[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 143 (Thursday, October 1, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7103-S7105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
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By Mr. CORNYN:
S. 2117. A bill to prevent certain discriminatory taxation of natural
gas pipeline property; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2117
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LIMITATION ON DISCRIMINATORY TAXATION OF NATURAL
GAS PIPELINE PROPERTY.
(a) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Assessment.--The term ``assessment'' means valuation
for a property tax that is 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 natural gas 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) Natural gas pipeline property.--The term ``natural gas
pipeline property'' means all property (whether real,
personal, and intangible) used by a natural gas pipeline
providing transportation or storage of natural gas subject to
the jurisdiction of the Federal Regulatory Commission.
(5) Public utility property.--The term ``public utility
property'' means property (excluding natural gas 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.--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:
(1) Assessments.--Assess natural gas pipeline property at
value that has a higher ratio to the true market value of the
natural gas pipeline property than the ratio that the
assessed value of commercial and industrial property in the
same assessment jurisdiction has to the true market value of
such commercial and industrial property.
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(2) Assessment taxes.--Levy or collect a tax on an
assessment that may not be made under paragraph (1).
(3) Ad valorem taxes.--Levy or collect an ad valorem
property tax on natural gas pipeline property at a tax rate
that exceeds the tax rate applicable to commercial and
industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction.
(4) Other taxes.--Impose any other tax that discriminates
against a natural gas pipeline providing transportation or
storage of natural gas subject to the jurisdiction of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
SEC. 2. JURISDICTION OF COURTS; RELIEF.
(a) Grant of Jurisdiction.--Notwithstanding section 1341 of
title 28, United States Code, 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 section
1.
(b) Relief in General.--Except as provided in this
subsection, relief may be granted under this Act only if the
ratio of assessed value to true market value of natural gas
pipeline property exceeds by at least 5 percent the ratio of
assessed value to true market value of commercial and
industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction. If
the ratio of the assessed value of commercial and industrial
property in the assessment jurisdiction to the true market
value of 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 section 1 for which relief under this Act may be
granted:
(1) An assessment of the natural gas pipeline property at a
value that has a higher ratio of assessed value to the true
market value of the natural gas 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).
(2) The collection of an ad valorem property tax on the
natural gas 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.
______
By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cornyn, Mr.
Whitehouse, Mr. Lee, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Graham, Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Booker, and Mr. Scott):
S. 2123. A bill to reform sentencing laws and correctional
institutions, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
SENTENCING REFORM AND CORRECTIONS ACT
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce, along
with a broad bipartisan group of colleagues, a truly landmark piece of
legislation.
It is the result of months of hard work and thoughtful deliberations.
It is the largest criminal justice reform bill in a generation.
This bill represents a consensus among my colleagues and me.
There are elements of the criminal justice system that we agree can
and should be improved. We all agree that statutory mandatory minimum
sentences can serve an important role in protecting public safety and
bringing justice to crime victims, and this bill will preserve the
primary mandatory minimums to keep some certainty and uniformity in
Federal sentences and to encourage criminals to cooperate with law
enforcement. We even add two new mandatory minimums for crimes
involving interstate domestic violence and supplying weapons or other
defense materials to prohibited countries or terrorists, but our
current system has produced some specific instances of severe and
excessive sentences.
So we all agree that we need to lower some of the harshest enhanced
mandatory minimums, and we all agree that we can do a better job of
targeting those enhanced mandatory sentences to the most serious
violent and repeat offenders.
This bill does just that. It even expands some of those enhanced
mandatory minimums to criminals with prior violent felonies and State
crimes involving the unlawful use of firearms. That will be a big help
in cities across the country who face rising homicide rates from
violent offenders who have been released from prison.
We also all agree that our current system could benefit from giving
judges a bit more discretion in sentencing. That is why we are
expanding the current safety valve.
We also create a second safety valve so that nonviolent offenders who
have minor criminal histories or play low-level roles in drug
organizations are not improperly swept up by mandatory minimums.
Finally, we all agree that we must improve our prisons and stop the
revolving door. Those of us introducing the bill have agreed to give
lower-risk inmates a chance to return to society earlier and with
better prospects to become productive, law-abiding citizens.
There are other parts of this bill that are also important, but I
will not go into them at this time. As I said, this is the biggest
criminal justice reform in a generation.
Instead, I wish to end with the idea that this bill is about the
Senate. Senators from both sides of the aisle and Senators with very
different perspectives have come together to solve an important problem
facing the United States. This is how the U.S. Senate can work, should
work, and I am pleased to be a part of it and the chairman of the
Judiciary Committee.
Finally, I extend my sincere thanks to my colleagues who joined me in
this effort: Senators Durbin, Cornyn, Whitehouse, Lee, Graham, Schumer,
Booker, and Scott, and my friend Ranking Member Leahy.
I close by again thanking the ranking member of the Judiciary
Committee, Senator Leahy, for the great help that he has been, not only
as my friend, but also for his work on this piece of legislation.
______
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
S. 2125. A bill to make the Community Advantage Pilot Program of the
Small Business Administration permanent, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Small
Business Lending and Inequality Reduction Act of 2015.
It is a simple bill with a straightforward goal: to increase economic
activity in underserved communities to help create jobs and reduce
economic inequality. We must help low and moderate income communities
grow by partnering with organizations that can channel expertise and
resources to these communities. The bill I am introducing today would
assist community development institutions provide more funding to small
businesses.
This bill would increase their ability to lend in underserved
communities and promote development and economic growth. The more
lending they can offer to underserved communities, the more those
communities can prosper.
One example of this process can be found from CDC Small Business
Finance, an organization that has created more than 165,000 jobs and
funded more than 10,000 small businesses. In Anaheim, CA, for example,
they provided $178,000 in financing to help Gretchen Shoemaker and her
family successfully launch a restaurant based on Gretchen's
grandmother's Southern-style cooking in an historic area of Anaheim.
Another example is Leatherby Family Creamery, an ice-cream parlor in
Sacramento that opened in 1982 with the goal of creating a family-
friendly community gathering place. They received a loan backed by the
Small Business Administration that allowed them to modernize and expand
their business. Leatherby's now has three locations and has sustained
itself for over 30 years despite bumps in the economy. It is truly
dedicated to its communities as well, donating to over 180
associations, schools, and organizations in 2015 alone.
Overall, it should be clear: these loans provided real dividends back
to the communities.
With more access to financial services--which my bill would provide--
there will be more improvements to businesses, nonprofits, and our
communities.
The bill I am introducing today would do two main things: First, it
allows community development institutions to increase their lending by
providing them access to loans backed by the Small Business
Administration.
It would do this by authorizing and making permanent an existing
pilot program run by the Small Business Administration and raising the
maximum loan amount so that small businesses have access to additional
funding. There are currently over 95 approved
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lenders in the pilot program, which has approved over $214 million in
over 1,650 loans.
Small businesses eligible for loans under the program include small
businesses located in areas of high poverty and unemployment; small
businesses that have more than 50 percent of employees living in low-
or moderate-income communities; and Small businesses owned by veterans.
Second, this bill would expand the ability of Community Development
Financial Institutions to access funding from the Federal Home Loan
Bank System, which in turn allows them to provide more loans to low-
income communities.
These are two simple actions that can have a significant impact on
small businesses and communities in California and across the country.
I am proud to say that the Opportunity Finance Network, which is an
association of community development financial institutions, supports
this bill.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation and am
hopeful that this Congress will move it forward.
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