[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15607-15608]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 
      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.
       (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.

[[Page 15608]]


                                 ______
                                 
      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.
  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 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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