[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 109 (Thursday, July 7, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4914-S4915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-196. A concurrent resolution adopted by the General 
     Assembly of the State of Ohio urging the President of the 
     United States and the United States Congress to preserve the 
     tax-exempt status of municipal bonds; to the Committee on 
     Finance.

                  House Concurrent Resolution Number 7

       Whereas, A fundamental principle of tax-exempt financing is 
     the ability of local governments to issue bonds that are free 
     from federal taxation in order to raise capital to finance 
     infrastructure projects that are vital to our nation, such as 
     road, bridge, hospital, school, and utility system projects; 
     and
       Whereas, The exclusion of interest on state and local 
     obligations from federal gross income is an important 
     financing tool at a time when building and rebuilding 
     infrastructure is required to meet federal mandates, promote 
     community growth, and support economic development programs 
     that are critical to the state and local economies of our 
     nation; and
       Whereas, The federal tax exemption is part of a more-than-
     century-old system of reciprocal immunity under which owners 
     of municipal bonds are not required to pay state and federal 
     income tax on the interest they receive from municipal bonds; 
     and
       Whereas, The federal tax exemption provides a significant 
     difference between public sector and private sector debt 
     financing; and
       Whereas, The benefits of lower capital costs attributable 
     to tax-exempt financing include reduced property tax rates 
     for taxpayers, greater local investments, or both; and

[[Page S4915]]

       Whereas, From time to time the President and the Congress 
     of the United States have proposed legislation to tax or 
     alter the federal exemption of interest earned on municipal 
     bonds;
       Now therefore be it Resolved, That we, the members of the 
     131st General Assembly of the State of Ohio, oppose any 
     effort to eliminate or limit the federal tax exemption on 
     interest earned on municipal bonds, and urge the President, 
     and any future administration, and the Congress of the United 
     States, to retain the current tax-exempt status of municipal 
     bonds;
       and be it further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of 
     Representatives transmit duly authenticated copies of this 
     resolution to the President of the United States, the Speaker 
     and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the 
     President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States 
     Senate, each member of the Ohio Congressional delegation, and 
     the news media of Ohio.

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