Home > 106th Congressional Bills > S. 3152 (is) To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for distressed areas, and for other purposes. [Introduced in Senate] ...S. 3152 (is) To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for distressed areas, and for other purposes. [Introduced in Senate] ...
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3151
To provide for the abatement of noise and other adverse effects of
idling train engines, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 3 (legislative day, September 22), 2000
Mr. Torricelli introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the abatement of noise and other adverse effects of
idling train engines, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) railroad activity has significantly increased in recent
years;
(2) rail intermodal traffic has increased by 40 percent
over the last decade;
(3) more than 9,000,000 containers and trailers traveled
the Nation's rails in 1999, up 3.1 percent from the previous
year;
(4) the impact of increased railroad activity is having a
negative impact on the quality of life of many communities
throughout the United States;
(5) increased noise associated with railroad activities is
a serious and growing concern of many local communities;
(6) current Federal laws fail to provide local communities
with the authority to participate in railroad activity in their
community;
(7) Federal laws also fail to provide incentives to
communities and railroads for noise abatement and other
activities to address the concerns related to railroad
activity; and
(8) railroad noise abatement technology is an emerging
component of transportation research and should be given
greater support by the Federal Government.
SEC. 2. STUDY OF ADVERSE EFFECTS OF IDLING TRAIN ENGINES.
(a) Study Required.--The Secretary of Transportation shall provide
under section 150303 of title 36, United States Code, for the National
Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on noise impacts of railroad
operations, including idling train engines on the quality of life of
nearby communities, the quality of the environment (including
consideration of air pollution), and safety, and to submit a report on
the study to the Secretary. The report shall include recommendations
for mitigation to combat rail noise, standards for determining when
noise mitigation is required, needed changes in Federal law to give
Federal, State, and local governments flexibility in combating railroad
noise, and possible funding mechanisms for financing mitigation
projects.
(b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit
to Congress the report of the National Academy of Sciences on the
results of the study under subsection (a).
SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF SOUND BARRIERS FOR THE
ABATEMENT OF RAILROAD NOISE.
(a) In General.--Subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to general business
credits) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 45D. CREDIT FOR PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF SOUND BARRIERS AND
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OTHER ACTIVITIES FOR THE ABATEMENT
OF RAILROAD NOISE.
``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 38, in the case of an
eligible taxpayer, the amount of the railroad noise abatement credit
determined under this section for any taxable year shall be the amount
equal to 50 percent of the eligible railroad noise abatement
expenditures for the taxable year.
``(b) Eligible Taxpayer.--For purposes of this section, the term
`eligible taxpayer' means any rail carrier (including any railroad
carrier, as defined in section 20102 of title 49, United States Code)
that owns property adjacent to railroad tracks.
``(c) Eligible Railroad Noise Abatement Expenditures.--For purposes
of this section--
``(1) In general.--The term `eligible railroad noise
abatement expenditures' means amounts paid or incurred by an
eligible taxpayer for the purposes of installing sound barriers
on property (owned by the taxpayer) adjacent to railroad tracks
(including the costs of purchasing the sound barriers), and
implementing other activities, to abate for populations in the
vicinity of the operation of trains by that taxpayer the noise
of the trains to levels within standards prescribed by the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency that are
in effect as of the date of enactment of this section, but only
if the taxpayer consulted on the sound barriers or other noise
abatement activities, in advance, with the officials of the
government of each municipality or other political subdivision
of a State in which the taxpayer installs the sound barriers or
engages in the other sound abatement activities.
``(2) Sound barriers.--The term `sound barriers' means any
physical feature that abates the propagation of sound,
including--
``(A) trees, shrubbery, or other botanic life, or
``(B) a manmade structure.
``(3) Expenditures must be reasonable.--Amounts paid or
incurred for the purposes described in paragraph (1) shall
include only expenditures which are reasonable and shall not
include expenditures which are unnecessary to accomplish such
purposes.
``(d) Denial of Double Benefit.--In the case of the amount of the
credit determined under this section--
``(1) no deduction or credit shall be allowed for such
amount under any other provision of this chapter, and
``(2) no increase in the adjusted basis of any property
shall result from such amount.''.
(b) Inclusion in General Business Credit.--
(1) In general.--Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (relating to current year business credit) is amended
by striking ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (11), by striking
the period at the end of paragraph (12) and inserting ``,
plus'', and by adding at the end the following:
``(13) the railroad noise abatement credit determined under
section 45D(a).''.
(2) Transition rule.--Section 39(d) of such Code (relating
to transitional rules) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(9) No carryback of section 45d credit before
enactment.--No portion of the unused business credit for any
taxable year which is attributable to the railroad noise
abatement credit determined under section 45D may be carried
back to a taxable year ending before the date of the enactment
of section 45D.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart D of
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``Sec. 45D. Credit for purchase and
installation of sound barriers
for the abatement of railroad
noise.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2000.
SEC. 4. RAILROAD NOISE ABATEMENT ACTIVITIES.
The first sentence of section 130(a) of title 23, United States
Code, is amended by inserting ``and the entire cost of activities for
the abatement of the noise of trains (as defined by the Secretary),
including construction of sound barriers on public lands or on private
property with the consent of the property owner,''.
SEC. 5. RAILROAD NOISE ABATEMENT RESEARCH.
Section 20108(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
inserting before the period at the end the following: ``and research
and development on technologies for the abatement of railroad noise''.
SEC. 6. CONSOLIDATIONS, MERGERS, AND ACQUISITION OF CONTROL.
Section 11324 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and the chief
executive of any city'' after ``chief executive of each
State''; and
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph
(4);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(5) and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) the safety and environmental effects of the proposed
transaction, which shall include thorough consideration of a
traffic study and environmental impact statement, as well as
complete consideration of any appropriate safety studies;
``(7) a federalism impact assessment that addresses the
preemptive impact of, and associated costs incurred by State
and local governments as a result of, such proposed
transaction; and
``(8) all mitigation and impact costs attributed to the
transaction, and the extent to which existing local standards
will be compromised or lessened if the transaction is approved.
SEC. 7. IMPACT OF RAIL CARRIER ACTIONS ON LOCALITIES.
(a) Notification of Potential Impacts on Localities.--
(1) Requirement.--Before taking an action described in
paragraph (2), a rail carrier shall transmit a notification of
the planned action to the following:
(A) Affected states.--To the chief executive of
each State in which the action is to planned to be
taken.
(B) Affected communities.--To the chief executive
of each municipality or other political subdivision of
a State in which, or adjacent to which, the action is
to planned to be taken.
(2) Actions increasing noise.--The requirement for advance
notification in paragraph (1) applies to the following actions:
(A) Rail activation or expansion.--A rail
activation or expansion.
(B) Rail yard activation or expansion.--A rail yard
activation or expansion.
(C) Increased rail traffic.--An increase of rail
traffic.
(D) Other increases in noise of rail traffic.--Any
action that increases the noise of rail traffic.
(E) Land acquisitions.--A land acquisition.
(F) Other.--The initiation of any other new or
newly modified rail carrier operation to which the
Secretary of Transportation applies the notification
requirement under this subsection in regulations
prescribed by the Secretary.
(b) Opportunity for Public Comment.--
(1) Comment period.--The Secretary of Transportation shall
promulgate regulations that provide localities with a right to
submit to the Secretary public comments on the commencement of
an activity for which a notification is required under
subsection (a). The period for the submission of comments shall
be not less than 30 days prior to the commencement of the
activity.
(2) Appeals.--The Secretary shall also provide localities
with the opportunity to appeal to the Secretary for a final
determination of any action that may be taken within the
Department of Transportation on the activity.
(3) Suspension of action pending comment and appeal.--A
rail carrier may not initiate any action to which subsection
(a) applies during the period provided under paragraph (1) for
public comment on the action nor during a period for which an
appeal of the action is pending under paragraph (2).
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