[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 408 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 408
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the rules for tax-
exempt enterprise zone facility bonds and to extend the tax incentives
for empowerment zones.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 5, 2015
Ms. Stabenow (for herself and Mr. Blunt) 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 modify the rules for tax-
exempt enterprise zone facility bonds and to extend the tax incentives
for empowerment zones.
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 ``Empowering Jobs Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF RULES FOR TAX-EXEMPT ENTERPRISE ZONE FACILITY
BONDS.
(a) In General.--Clause (i) of section 1394(b)(3)(B) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
(1) by striking ``References'' and inserting the following:
``(I) In general.--Except as
provided in subclause (II),
references'', and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subclause:
``(II) Special rule for employee
residence test.--For purposes of
subsection (b)(6) and (c)(5) of section
1397C, an employee shall be treated as
a resident of an empowerment zone if
such employee is a resident of an
empowerment zone, an enterprise
community, or a qualified low-income
community within an applicable
nominating jurisdiction.''.
(b) Definitions.--
(1) Qualified low-income community.--Paragraph (3) of
section 1394(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended
by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D)
and (E), respectively, and by inserting after subparagraph (B)
the following new subparagraph:
``(C) Qualified low-income community.--For purposes
of subparagraph (B)--
``(i) In general.--The term `qualified low-
income community' means any population census
tract if--
``(I) the poverty rate for such
tract is at least 20 percent, or
``(II) the median family income for
such tract does not exceed 80 percent
of statewide median family income (or,
in the case of a tract located within a
metropolitan area, metropolitan area
median family income if greater).
Subclause (II) shall be applied using
possessionwide median family income in the case
of census tracts located within a possession of
the United States.
``(ii) Targeted populations.--The Secretary
shall prescribe regulations under which 1 or
more targeted populations (within the meaning
of section 103(20) of the Riegle Community
Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of
1994) may be treated as a qualified low-income
communities.
``(iii) Areas not within census tracts.--In
the case of an area which is not tracted for
population census tracts, the equivalent county
divisions (as defined by the Bureau of the
Census for purposes of defining poverty areas)
shall be used for purposes of determining
poverty rates and median family income.
``(iv) Modification of income requirement
for census tracts within high migration rural
counties.--
``(I) In general.--In the case of a
population census tract located within
a high migration rural county, clause
(i)(II) shall be applied to areas not
located within a metropolitan area by
substituting `85 percent' for `80
percent'.
``(II) High migration rural
county.--For purposes of this clause,
the term `high migration rural county'
means any county which, during the 20-
year period ending with the year in
which the most recent census was
conducted, has a net out-migration of
inhabitants from the county of at least
10 percent of the population of the
county at the beginning of such
period.''.
(2) Applicable nominating jurisdiction.--Subparagraph (D)
of section 1394(b)(3) of such Code, as redesignated by
paragraph (1), is amended by adding at the end the following
new clause:
``(iii) Applicable nominating
jurisdiction.--The term `applicable nominating
jurisdiction' means, with respect to any
empowerment zone or enterprise community, any
local government that nominated such community
for designation under section 1391.''.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Clause (iii) of section 1394(b)(3)(B) of such Code is
amended by striking ``or an enterprise community'' and
inserting ``, an enterprise community, or a qualified low-
income community within an applicable nominating
jurisdiction''.
(2) Subparagraph (D) of section 1394(b)(3) of such Code, as
redesignated by subsection (b)(1), is amended by striking
``Definitions'' and inserting ``Other definitions''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to bonds issued before, on, or after the date of the enactment of
this Act and not redeemed before the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF EMPOWERMENT ZONE TAX INCENTIVES.
(a) In General.--Clause (i) of section 1391(d)(1)(A), as amended by
the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, is amended by striking
``December 31, 2014'' and inserting ``December 31, 2016''.
(b) Treatment of Certain Termination Dates Specified in
Nominations.--In the case of a designation of an empowerment zone the
nomination for which included a termination date which is
contemporaneous with the date specified in subparagraph (A)(i) of
section 1391(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as in effect
before the enactment of this Act), subparagraph (B) of such section
shall not apply with respect to such designation if, after the date of
the enactment of this section, the entity which made such nomination
amends the nomination to provide for a new termination date in such
manner as the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary's designee)
may provide.
(c) Effective Dates.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply to periods after December 31, 2014.
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