II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1024 

To revitalize suburban communities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2005 

Mrs. CLINTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To revitalize suburban communities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Suburban Core Oppor5 tunity, Restoration, and Enhancement (SCORE) Act of 

6 2005’’. 

7 SEC. 2. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act— 

9 (1) the term ‘‘unit of local government’’ means 

10 any city, other than a metropolitan city located in a 

11 metropolitan statistical area, county, town, township, 

12 parish, village, hamlet, or other general purpose po-
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1 litical subdivision of a State that contains within its 

2 boundaries an eligible SCORE project area; 

3 (2) the term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 

4 United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

5 Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Is6 lands, and America Samoa; 

7 (3) the term ‘‘metropolitan area’’ means a 

8 standard metropolitan statistical area as established 

9 by the Office of Management and Budget; 

10 (4) the term ‘‘metropolitan city’’ means— 

11 (A) a city within a metropolitan area which 

12 is the central city of such area, as defined and 

13 used by the Office of Management and Budget; 

14 or 

15 (B) any other city, within a metropolitan 

16 area, which has a population of 50,000 or more; 

17 (5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

18 of Housing and Urban Development; and 

19 (6) the term ‘‘SCORE project area’’ means any 

20 area that— 

21 (A) is not eligible to be designated as a re22 newal community under section 1400E of the 

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
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1 (B) is not smaller than a census-des2 ignated place (‘‘CDP’’) as defined by the 

3 United States Bureau of the Census; and 

4 (C) includes some of the following: 

5 (i) Close proximity to existing develop6 ment and infrastructure, including access 

7 to mass transit. 

8 (ii) Substandard, deteriorating, dis9 tressed, abandoned, or underutilized resi10 dential, commercial, and industrial prop11 erties. 

12 (iii) An average housing cost-burden 

13 of at least 50 percent of gross income. 

14 (iv) A commercial property vacancy 

15 rate 30 percent higher than the average 

16 commercial vacancy rate for all metropoli17 tan areas. 

18 (v) An older, economically obsolescent 

19 regional mall, commonly referred to as a 

20 ‘‘Greyfield mall’’. 

21 (b) BASIS AND MODIFICATION OF DEFINITIONS.— 

22 Where appropriate, the definitions in subsection (a) shall 

23 be based, with respect to any fiscal year, on the most re24 cent data compiled by the United States Bureau of the 

25 Census and the latest published reports of the Office of 
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1 Management and Budget available 90 days prior to the 

2 beginning of such fiscal year. The Secretary may by regu3 lation change or otherwise modify the meaning of the 

4 terms defined in subsection (a) in order to reflect any 

5 technical change or modification thereof made subsequent 

6 to such date by the United States Bureau of the Census 

7 or the Office of Management and Budget. 

8 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF SCORE PROJECT AREAS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—From among the areas nominated 

10 for designation under this section, the Secretary may des11 ignate 1 or more SCORE project areas. 

12 (b) LIMITATIONS ON DESIGNATION.—No area may 

13 be designated under subsection (a) unless— 

14 (1) the area is nominated by 1 or more units 

15 of local government, including municipal and county 

16 authorities; 

17 (2) the unit of local government provides writ18 ten assurances and other documentation satisfactory 

19 to the Secretary that— 

20 (A) it convened a SCORE advisory com21 mittee to enter into a collaborative community 

22 planning process to determine the SCORE 

23 project area to be nominated; 

24 (B) the SCORE advisory committee held a 

25 series of open meetings to develop a vision 
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1 statement with the consensus of the community 

2 that describes— 

3 (i) the geographical extent of the 

4 SCORE project area; 

5 (ii) the community’s goals in applying 

6 for such a designation; and 

7 (iii) the community’s plan for the use 

8 of any funds received under this Act; and 

9 (C) the SCORE advisory committee passed 

10 a resolution, that was later adopted by the unit 

11 of local government, adopting the vision state12 ment agreed to in subparagraph (B); and 

13 (3) the Secretary determines that any informa14 tion furnished is reasonably accurate. 

15 SEC. 4. PLANNING GRANTS FOR SCORE PROJECT AREAS. 

16 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award a 

18 grant to a unit of local government to plan activities 

19 in accordance with the provisions of this section. 

20 (2) AMOUNT.—A grant awarded under sub21 section (a) shall not exceed $250,000. 

22 (3) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary shall award 

23 grants under this section on a competitive basis. 

24 (b) APPLICATION.—A unit of local government seek25 ing a grant under this section on behalf of a designated 
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1 SCORE project area shall submit an application to the 

2 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

3 such information as the Secretary may require. 

4 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant awarded to a unit of 

5 local government on behalf of a designated SCORE 

6 project area pursuant to subsection (a) shall be used to 

7 create a strategic plan for the SCORE project area. Such 

8 a strategic plan shall include plans for— 

9 (1) increasing the types of housing available 

10 within the SCORE project area; 

11 (2) protecting natural resources, farmland, and 

12 critical environmental lands within the SCORE 

13 project area; 

14 (3) preserving or increasing the amount of open 

15 space, public plazas, parks, and recreation areas 

16 within the SCORE project area; 

17 (4) increasing the construction of mixed use 

18 properties and buildings within the SCORE project 

19 area; 

20 (5) enhancing and promoting public transpor21 tation and improved circulation and access within 

22 the SCORE project area, including the construction 

23 and renovation of streets for pedestrian use, improv24 ing access to and condition of transit stations and 
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1 facilities, and the creation of commercial and mixed 

2 use properties adjacent to transit stations; 

3 (6) preserving the character of the community 

4 within the SCORE project area, including limits on 

5 the choice of architectural designs and the loss of 

6 historic features; and 

7 (7) programs or initiatives that enhance the 

8 economic base of the SCORE project area, including 

9 the creation of business improvement districts, fa10 cade enhancement programs, retail store recruit11 ment, and community marketing. 

12 (d) SCORE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any unit of local govern14 ment seeking to receive funds under this section 

15 shall work in close association with a SCORE advi16 sory committee. 

17 (2) PUBLIC HEARING.—The SCORE advisory 

18 committee shall hold at least one hearing, open to 

19 the public, concerning the strategic plan with stake20 holders and other interested groups within the com21 munity so that the opinions of such parties can be 

22 taken into account and so that outside groups can 

23 learn of the strategic plan. 

24 (3) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Copies of the strategic 

25 plan as well as the date and time of the hearing 
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1 shall be made available to the public at least two 

2 weeks prior to the hearing. 

3 (4) 90 DAY PERIOD FOR COMMENTS.—After the 

4 hearing, any interested party shall have 90 days in 

5 which to submit comments to the strategic plan ad6 visory committee. At the end of this period, the 

7 SCORE advisory committee shall hold an additional 

8 hearing, open to the public, to discuss any revisions 

9 made to the strategic plan. 

10 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

12 appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to 

13 carry out the provisions of this section. 

14 (2) AMOUNTS AVAILABLE UNTIL EXPENDED.— 

15 Amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) shall re16 main available until expended. 

17 SEC. 5. REVITALIZATION GRANTS FOR SCORE PROJECT 

18 AREAS. 

19 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award a 

21 grant to a unit of local government to fund activities 

22 to revitalize SCORE project areas in accordance 

23 with the provisions of this section. 
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1 (2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—No unit of local 

2 government may receive grants under this section to3 taling more than $50,000,000. 

4 (3) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary shall award 

5 grants under this section on a competitive basis. 

6 (b) APPLICATION.—A unit of local government seek7 ing a grant under this section shall submit an application 

8 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con9 taining such information as the Secretary may require. 

10 (c) SCORE REINVESTMENT FUND.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any unit of local govern12 ment receiving a grant pursuant to subsection (a) 

13 shall establish a separate fund, to be known as a 

14 SCORE Reinvestment Fund, to be administered by 

15 the unit local government, in consultation with a 

16 SCORE advisory committee. The SCORE Reinvest17 ment Fund shall be credited with all grant funds 

18 made available under this Act. 

19 (2) DISTRIBUTION.—A unit of local govern20 ment, in consultation with a SCORE advisory com21 mittee, shall distribute such sums as are necessary 

22 from the SCORE Reinvestment Fund to fund 

23 projects to revitalize SCORE project areas. 

24 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant awarded to a unit 

2 of local government and distributed from a SCORE 

3 Reinvestment Fund shall be used to— 

4 (A) acquire real, commercial, or industrial 

5 property and existing structures within a 

6 SCORE project area; 

7 (B) pay for the costs of hiring engineers to 

8 develop or redevelop real, commercial, or indus9 trial property and existing structures within a 

10 SCORE project area; and 

11 (C) pay for the construction, reconstruc12 tion, alteration, rehabilitation, or to make sub13 stantial improvements to real, commercial, or 

14 industrial property and existing structures with 

15 a SCORE project area. 

16 (2) LIMITATION.—No more than 20 percent of 

17 the sums distributed from a SCORE Reinvestment 

18 Fund shall be allocated to any single project to revi19 talize SCORE project areas. 

20 (e) CERTIFICATION OF ASSESSED VALUES.—Any 

21 unit of local government receiving a grant pursuant to 

22 subsection (a) must determine and certify the assessed 

23 value of all taxable real property within the SCORE 

24 project area as of the date the unit of local government 

25 applied for the grant, and for each fiscal year thereafter. 
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1 (f) RECEIPT OF REVENUE.—A unit of local govern2 ment receiving a grant pursuant to subsection (a) shall 

3 ensure that— 

4 (1) it will receive for each fiscal year the equiv5 alent of any tax revenues generated from taxes lev6 ied on the assessed value of real property within the 

7 SCORE project area as of the date it applied for the 

8 grant; 

9 (2) until an amount equal to the amount of the 

10 grant awarded pursuant to subsection (a) is col11 lected, the SCORE Reinvestment Fund will receive 

12 all taxes generated as result of any increase in the 

13 assessed value of all taxable real property within a 

14 SCORE project area after the date it applied for the 

15 grant; and 

16 (3) after an amount equal to the amount of the 

17 grant awarded pursuant to subsection (a) is col18 lected, the SCORE Reinvestment Fund will receive 

19 50 percent of all taxes generated as result of any in20 crease in the assessed value of all taxable real prop21 erty within a SCORE project area after the date it 

22 applied for the grant. 

23 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated $250,000,000 for fiscal 

25 year 2006 to carry out the provisions of this section. 
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1 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT FOR AUDITS AND REPORTS BY 

2 UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 

3 (a) REPORTS.—The Secretary may not award a grant 

4 under section 5 for a fiscal year unless the unit of local 

5 government shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

6 annual report in such form and containing such informa7 tion as the Secretary determines to be necessary for— 

8 (1) securing a record and a description of the 

9 purposes for which a grant received by a unit of 

10 local government pursuant to section 5 was ex11 pended and of the recipients of such expenditures; 

12 (2) determining whether the grant awarded was 

13 expended in accordance with the purposes and limi14 tations required pursuant to subsection (d) of sec15 tion 5; and 

16 (3) determining the percentage of the grant 

17 awarded that was expended by the unit of local gov18 ernment for administrative expenses during the pre19 ceding fiscal year. 

20 (b) AUDIT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

22 award a grant under section 5 for a fiscal year un23 less the unit of local government shall establish such 

24 fiscal controls and fund accounting procedures as 

25 may be necessary to ensure the proper disbursal of, 
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1 and accounting for, amounts received by the unit of 

2 local government under such section. 

3 (2) STANDARDS.—The Secretary may not 

4 award a grant under section 5 unless the unit of 

5 local government shall— 

6 (A) provide for a single financial and com7 pliance audit of each SCORE Reinvestment 

8 Fund; 

9 (B) perform an audit biennially and that 

10 such an audit will cover expenditures in each 

11 fiscal year; and 

12 (C) conduct such an audit in accordance 

13 with standards established by the Comptroller 

14 General of the United States for the audit of 

15 governmental organizations, programs, activi16 ties, and functions. 

17 (3) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph 

18 (2), the term ‘‘financial and compliance audit’’ 

19 means an audit to determine whether the financial 

20 statements of an audited SCORE Reinvestment 

21 Fund present fairly the financial position, and the 

22 results of financial operations, of the SCORE Rein23 vestment Fund in accordance with generally accept24 ed accounting principles, and whether the SCORE 

25 Reinvestment Fund has complied with laws and reg-
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1 ulations that may have a material effect upon the fi2 nancial statements. 

3 (c) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The Secretary 

4 may not award a grant under section 5 for a fiscal year 

5 unless the unit of local government shall make copies of 

6 the reports and audits described in this section available 

7 for public inspection. 

8 (d) EVALUATIONS BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 

9 The Comptroller General of the United States shall, from 

10 time to time, evaluate the expenditures by units of local 

11 government of grants awarded under section 5 in order 

12 to ensure that expenditures are consistent with the provi13 sions of this section. 

14 SEC. 7. INTERACTION WITH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 

15 BLOCK GRANT PROGRAMS. 

16 (a) BUSINESS LOCATED WITHIN SCORE PROJECT

17 AREAS.—A business located within an area designated as 

18 a SCORE project area under section 3 that is receiving 

19 Federal funds provided to States and units of general local 

20 government under section 106 of the Housing and Com21 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306), or, 

22 if applicable, receiving funds as a result of a guarantee 

23 or grant under section 108 of that same Act, shall be 

24 deemed to have met for any job creation or job retention 

25 effort undertaken with such funds— 
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1 (1) the certification requirement of section 

2 104(b)(3) of such Act; and 

3 (2) the requirements of section 105(c) of such 

4 Act. 

5 (b) HOUSING UNITS IN SCORE PROJECT AREAS.— 

6 All units of housing that are located within an area des7 ignated as a SCORE project area under section 3 and that 

8 are receiving Federal funds provided to States and units 

9 of general local government under section 106 of the 

10 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

11 U.S.C. 5306), or, if applicable, receiving funds as a result 

12 of a guarantee or grant under section 108 of that same 

13 Act, shall be considered a single structure with respect to 

14 the requirements of section 105(c) of such Act. 

15 (c) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN SCORE 

16 PROJECT AREAS.—Any economic development project lo17 cated within an area designated as a SCORE project area 

18 under section 3 that is receiving Federal funds provided 

19 to States and units of general local government under sec20 tion 106 of the Housing and Community Development Act 

21 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306), or, if applicable, receiving 

22 funds as a result of a guarantee or grant under section 

23 108 of that same Act, shall be exempt from the public 

24 benefit standards established under section 105(e) of such 

25 Act. 
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1 SEC. 8. TAX BENEFITS FOR SCORE PROJECT AREAS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following new subchapter: 

5 ‘‘Subchapter Z—SCORE Project Areas 

6 Benefits 

‘‘Sec. 1400M. Tax benefits for SCORE project areas. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 1400M. TAX BENEFITS FOR SCORE PROJECT AREAS. 

8 ‘‘(a) EXPANSION OF WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX

9 CREDIT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 51, 

11 a SCORE project area business employee shall be 

12 treated as a member of a targeted group. 

13 ‘‘(2) SCORE PROJECT AREA BUSINESS EM14 PLOYEE.—For purposes of this subsection— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘SCORE 

16 project area business employee’ means, with re17 spect to any period, any employee of a SCORE 

18 project area business if substantially all the 

19 services performed during such period by such 

20 employee for such business are performed in the 

21 SCORE project area in which the business is 

22 located. 

23 ‘‘(B) SCORE PROJECT AREA BUSINESS.— 

24 The term ‘SCORE project area business’ means 
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1 any trade or business which is located in a 

2 SCORE project business area. 

3 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULES FOR DETERMINING

4 AMOUNT OF CREDIT.—For purposes of applying 

5 subpart F of part IV of subchapter B of this 

6 chapter to wages paid or incurred to any 

7 SCORE project area business employee— 

8 ‘‘(i) section 51(a) shall be applied by 

9 substituting ‘the sum of 15 percent of the 

10 qualified first-year wages, 10 percent of 

11 the qualified second-year wages, and 5 per12 cent of the qualified third-year wages’ for 

13 ‘40 percent of the qualified first-year 

14 wages’, 

15 ‘‘(ii) in lieu of paragraphs (2) and (3) 

16 of subsection (b), the following definitions 

17 and special rule shall apply: 

18 ‘‘(I) QUALIFIED FIRST-YEAR

19 WAGES.—The term ‘qualified first20 year wages’ means, with respect to 

21 any individual, qualified wages attrib22 utable to service rendered during the 

23 1-year period beginning with the later 

24 of the day the individual begins work 

25 for the employer or the first day of 
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1 the designation of the SCORE project 

2 area in which the employer is located. 

3 ‘‘(II) QUALIFIED SECOND-YEAR

4 WAGES.—The term ‘qualified second5 year wages’ means, with respect to 

6 any individual, qualified wages attrib7 utable to service rendered during the 

8 1-year period beginning on the day 

9 after the last day of the 1-year period 

10 with respect to such individual deter11 mined under subclause (I). 

12 ‘‘(III) QUALIFIED THIRD-YEAR

13 WAGES.—The term ‘qualified third14 year wages’ means, with respect to 

15 any individual, qualified wages attrib16 utable to service rendered during the 

17 1-year period beginning on the day 

18 after the last day of the 1-year period 

19 with respect to such individual deter20 mined under subclause (II). 

21 ‘‘(IV) ONLY FIRST $15,000 OF

22 WAGES PER YEAR TAKEN INTO AC23 COUNT.—The amount of the qualified 

24 first, second, and third year wages 

25 which may be taken into account with 
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1 respect to any individual shall not ex2 ceed $15,000 per year, and 

3 ‘‘(iii) subsections (c)(4) and (I)(2) of 

4 section 51 shall not apply. 

5 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL ALLOWANCE FOR CERTAIN SCORE 

6 PROJECT AREA PROPERTY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL ALLOWANCE.—In the case of 

8 any qualified SCORE project area property— 

9 ‘‘(A) the depreciation deduction provided 

10 by section 167(a) for the taxable year in which 

11 such property is placed in service shall include 

12 an allowance equal to 50 percent of the ad13 justed basis of such property, and 

14 ‘‘(B) the adjusted basis of the qualified 

15 SCORE project area property shall be reduced 

16 by the amount of such deduction before com17 puting the amount otherwise allowable as a de18 preciation deduction under this chapter for such 

19 taxable year and any subsequent taxable year. 

20 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED SCORE PROJECT AREA PROP21 ERTY.—For purposes of this subsection— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

23 SCORE project area property’ means prop24 erty— 
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1 ‘‘(i) which is nonresidential real prop2 erty or residential rental property, 

3 ‘‘(ii) substantially all of the use of 

4 which is in the active conduct of a trade or 

5 business by the taxpayer in the SCORE 

6 project area in which such property is lo7 cated, 

8 ‘‘(iii) the original use of which in the 

9 SCORE project area commences with the 

10 taxpayer after the date of the designation 

11 of such area, and 

12 ‘‘(iv) which is acquired by the tax13 payer by purchase (as defined in section 

14 179(d)) after the date of such designation, 

15 but only if no written binding contract for 

16 the acquisition was in effect before such 

17 date. 

18 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) 30 PERCENT ADDITIONAL ALLOW20 ANCE PROPERTY.—Such term shall not in21 clude property to which section 168(k) ap22 plies. 

23 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVE DEPRECIATION

24 PROPERTY.—The term ‘qualified New York 

25 Liberty Zone property’ shall not include 
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1 any property described in section 

2 168(k)(2)(D)(I). 

3 ‘‘(iii) ELECTION OUT.—For purposes 

4 of this subsection, rules similar to the rules 

5 of section 168(k)(2)(D)(iii) shall apply. 

6 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of 

7 this subsection, rules similar to the rules of 

8 subparagraph (E) of section 168(k)(2) shall 

9 apply, except that— 

10 ‘‘(i) ‘the date of the designation of the 

11 SCORE project area’ shall be substituted 

12 for ‘September 10, 2001’ each place it ap13 pears, and 

14 ‘‘(ii) clause (I) thereof shall be applied 

15 without regard to ‘and before January 1, 

16 2005’. 

17 ‘‘(D) ALLOWANCE AGAINST ALTERNATIVE

18 MINIMUM TAX.—For purposes of this sub19 section, rules similar to the rules of section 

20 168(k)(2)(G) shall apply. 

21 ‘‘(c) SCORE PROJECT AREA.—For purposes of this 

22 section, the term ‘SCORE project area’ means an area 

23 designated under the Suburban Core Opportunity, Res24 toration, and Enhancement (SCORE) Act of 2005.’’. 
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sub2 chapters for chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

3 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

4 item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER Z—SCORE PROJECT AREAS BENEFITS’’. 

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