II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1306 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish refundable tax 

credits for expenses relating to ensuring safety and accessibility in historic structures. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2017 

Mr. LEAHY 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 establish 

refundable tax credits for expenses relating to ensuring 

safety and accessibility in historic structures. 

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 ‘‘Historic Downtown 

5 Preservation and Access Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CREDITS FOR EXPENSES RELATED TO ENSURING 

2 SAFETY AND ACCESSIBILITY IN HISTORIC 

3 BUILDINGS. 

4 (a) CREDIT FOR INSTALLATION OF SPRINKLERS AND

5 ELEVATORS IN HISTORIC BUILDINGS.—Subpart C of part 

6 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue 

7 Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 36B 

8 the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 36C. ACCESSIBILITY AND FIRE PREVENTION EX10 PENSES FOR HISTORIC BUILDINGS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be allowed a credit 

12 against the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable 

13 year an amount equal to 50 percent of the qualified his14 toric building expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer 

15 during such taxable year. 

16 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The credit allowed under sub17 section (a) with respect to any taxpayer for any taxable 

18 year shall not exceed $50,000. 

19 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED HISTORIC BUILDING EXPENSES.— 

20 For purposes of this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified historic 

22 building expenses’ means amounts paid or incurred 

23 to install in a certified historic structure an elevator 

24 system or a sprinkler system that meets the require25 ments found in the most recent edition of NFPA 13: 

26 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS.—In the 

2 case of a certified historic structure that is des3 ignated as a National Historic Landmark in accord4 ance with section 101(a) of the National Historic 

5 Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470a(a)) and that is 

6 open to the public, the term ‘qualified historic build7 ing expenses’ shall not include an expense described 

8 in paragraph (1), unless the installation of property 

9 described in such paragraph meets the requirements 

10 for a certified rehabilitation under section 

11 47(c)(2)(C). 

12 ‘‘(3) CERTIFIED HISTORIC STRUCTURE.—The 

13 term ‘certified historic structure’ has the meaning 

14 given such term in section 47(c)(3), except that such 

15 term shall not include any structure which is a sin16 gle-family residence.’’. 

17 (b) CREDIT FOR ABATEMENT OF HAZARDOUS SUB18 STANCES IN HISTORIC BUILDINGS.—Subpart C of part IV 

19 of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code 

20 of 1986, as amended by subsection (a), is amended by in21 serting after section 36C the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 36D. ABATEMENT OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES IN 

23 HISTORIC BUILDINGS. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be allowed a credit 

25 against the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable 


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1 year an amount equal to the hazardous substance abate2 ment expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer during 

3 such taxable year. 

4 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The credit allowed under sub5 section (a) with respect to any taxpayer for any taxable 

6 year shall not exceed $50,000. 

7 ‘‘(c) HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE ABATEMENT EX8 PENSES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec10 tion, the term ‘hazardous substance abatement ex11 penses’ means amounts paid or incurred for any— 

12 ‘‘(A) lead paint abatement services, 

13 ‘‘(B) radon abatement services, and 

14 ‘‘(C) asbestos abatement services, 

15 with respect to a certified historic structure. 

16 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS.—In the 

17 case of a certified historic structure that is des18 ignated as a National Historic Landmark in accord19 ance with section 101(a) of the National Historic 

20 Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470a(a)) and that is 

21 open to the public, the term ‘hazardous substance 

22 abatement expenses’ shall not include an expense de23 scribed in paragraph (1), unless the services de24 scribed in such paragraph meet the requirements for 

25 a certified rehabilitation under section 47(c)(2)(C). 


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1 ‘‘(3) CERTIFIED HISTORIC STRUCTURE.—The 

2 term ‘certified historic structure’ has the same 

3 meaning given such term in section 36C(c)(3). 

4 ‘‘(d) LEAD PAINT ABATEMENT SERVICES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

6 the term ‘lead paint abatement services’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) any lead paint abatement measures 

8 performed by a certified lead abatement super9 visor, including the removal of paint and dust, 

10 the permanent enclosure or encapsulation of 

11 lead-based paint, the replacement of painted 

12 surfaces, windows, or fixtures, or the removal 

13 or permanent covering of soil when lead-based 

14 paint hazards are present in such paint, dust, 

15 or soil, and 

16 ‘‘(B) any preparation, cleanup, disposal, 

17 and clearance testing activities associated with 

18 the lead paint abatement measures which are 

19 performed by a certified lead abatement super20 visor, those working under the supervision of 

21 such supervisor, or a qualified contractor. 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The term ‘lead paint abate23 ment services’ shall not include any services to the 

24 extent such services are funded by any grant, conVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Jun 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1306.IS S1306

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1 tract, or otherwise by another person or any govern2 mental agency. 

3 ‘‘(3) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED.—No credit 

4 shall be allowed under subsection (a) with respect to 

5 any lead paint abatement services for a certified his6 toric structure for any taxable year unless— 

7 ‘‘(A) after such services are complete, a 

8 certified inspector or certified risk assessor pro9 vides written documentation to the taxpayer 

10 that includes— 

11 ‘‘(i) evidence that the certified historic 

12 structure meets lead hazard evaluation cri13 teria established by the Environmental 

14 Protection Agency or under an authorized 

15 State or local program, and 

16 ‘‘(ii) documentation showing that the 

17 lead paint abatement services meet the re18 quirements of this section, and 

19 ‘‘(B) the taxpayer files with the appro20 priate State agency and attaches to the tax re21 turn for the taxable year— 

22 ‘‘(i) the documentation described in 

23 subparagraph (A), and 

24 ‘‘(ii) documentation of the amounts 

25 paid or incurred for lead paint abatement 


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1 services during the taxable year with re2 spect to the certified historic structure. 

3 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) CERTIFIED LEAD ABATEMENT SU5 PERVISOR.—The term ‘certified lead abatement 

6 supervisor’ means an individual certified by the 

7 Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to 

8 section 745.226 of title 40, Code of Federal 

9 Regulations, or an appropriate State agency 

10 pursuant to section 745.325 of title 40, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations. 

12 ‘‘(B) CERTIFIED INSPECTOR.—The term 

13 ‘certified inspector’ means an inspector certified 

14 by the Environmental Protection Agency pursu15 ant to section 745.226 of title 40, Code of Fed16 eral Regulations, or an appropriate State agen17 cy pursuant to section 745.325 of title 40, Code 

18 of Federal Regulations. 

19 ‘‘(C) CERTIFIED RISK ASSESSOR.—The 

20 term ‘certified risk assessor’ means a risk as21 sessor certified by the Environmental Protec22 tion Agency pursuant to section 745.226 of title 

23 40, Code of Federal Regulations, or an appro24 priate State agency pursuant to section 


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1 745.325 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula2 tions. 

3 ‘‘(D) LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD.—The 

4 term ‘lead-based paint hazard’ has the meaning 

5 given such term by section 745.63 of title 40, 

6 Code of Federal Regulations. 

7 ‘‘(E) QUALIFIED CONTRACTOR.—The term 

8 ‘qualified contractor’ means a Lead-Safe Cer9 tified Firm or certified renovator under the 

10 Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program 

11 of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

12 ‘‘(e) RADON ABATEMENT SERVICES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

14 the term ‘radon abatement services’ means, in the 

15 case of a certified historic structure for which the in16 door radon level is greater than 2 picocuries per liter 

17 of air, any radon abatement services performed by a 

18 qualified radon mitigation professional. 

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The term ‘radon abatement 

20 services’ shall not include any services to the extent 

21 such services are funded by any grant, contract, or 

22 otherwise by another person or any governmental 

23 agency. 

24 ‘‘(3) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED.—No credit 

25 shall be allowed under subsection (a) with respect to 


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1 any radon abatement services for a certified historic 

2 structure for any taxable year unless— 

3 ‘‘(A) after such services are complete, a 

4 qualified radon measurement professional pro5 vides written documentation to the taxpayer 

6 that includes— 

7 ‘‘(i) evidence that the certified historic 

8 structure meets radon hazard evaluation 

9 criteria established under an authorized 

10 State or local program, and 

11 ‘‘(ii) documentation showing that the 

12 radon abatement services meet the require13 ments of this section, and 

14 ‘‘(B) the taxpayer files with the appro15 priate State agency and attaches to the tax re16 turn for the taxable year— 

17 ‘‘(i) the documentation described in 

18 subparagraph (A), and 

19 ‘‘(ii) documentation of the amounts 

20 paid or incurred for radon abatement serv21 ices during the taxable year with respect to 

22 the certified historic structure. 

23 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) QUALIFIED RADON MEASUREMENT

25 PROFESSIONAL.—The term ‘qualified radon 


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1 measurement professional’ means an individual 

2 who has demonstrated the minimum degree of 

3 appropriate technical knowledge and skills spe4 cific to radon measurement in conformance with 

5 the requirements of— 

6 ‘‘(i) a certification standard promul7 gated by the American National Standards 

8 Institute or International Organization for 

9 Standardization, 

10 ‘‘(ii) a State, local or other govern11 mental licensing (or equivalent) program, 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(iii) any other recognized or accred14 ited certification process as determined by 

15 the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED RADON MITIGATION PRO17 FESSIONAL.—The term ‘qualified radon mitiga18 tion professional’ means an individual who has 

19 demonstrated the minimum degree of appro20 priate technical knowledge and skills specific to 

21 radon mitigation in conformance with the re22 quirements of— 

23 ‘‘(i) a certification standard promul24 gated by the American National Standards 


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1 Institute or International Organization for 

2 Standardization, 

3 ‘‘(ii) a State, local or other govern4 mental licensing (or equivalent) program, 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(iii) any other recognized or accred7 ited certification process as determined by 

8 the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(C) RADON.—The term ‘radon’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 302 of the 

11 Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 

12 2662). 

13 ‘‘(f) ASBESTOS ABATEMENT SERVICES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

15 the term ‘asbestos abatement services’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) any asbestos abatement measures 

17 performed by an accredited asbestos abatement 

18 contractor or supervisor, 

19 ‘‘(B) any interim asbestos control meas20 ures to reduce exposure or likely exposure to as21 bestos hazards, but only if such measures are 

22 evaluated and completed by an accredited as23 bestos abatement contractor or supervisor using 

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1 visor, and have an expected useful life of more 

2 than 10 years, and 

3 ‘‘(C) any preparation, cleanup, disposal, 

4 and clearance testing activities associated with 

5 the asbestos abatement measures or interim as6 bestos control measures which are performed by 

7 an accredited asbestos abatement contractor or 

8 supervisor, or those working under the super9 vision of such supervisor. 

10 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The term ‘asbestos abate11 ment services’ shall not include any services to the 

12 extent such services are funded by any grant, con13 tract, or otherwise by another person or any govern14 mental agency. 

15 ‘‘(3) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED.—No credit 

16 shall be allowed under subsection (a) with respect to 

17 any asbestos abatement services for a certified his18 toric structure for any taxable year unless— 

19 ‘‘(A) after such services are complete, an 

20 accredited asbestos inspector provides written 

21 documentation to the taxpayer that includes— 

22 ‘‘(i) evidence that the certified historic 

23 structure meets asbestos hazard evaluation 

24 criteria established under an authorized 

25 State or local program, and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) documentation showing that the 

2 asbestos abatement services meet the re3 quirements of this section, and 

4 ‘‘(B) the taxpayer files with the appro5 priate State agency and attaches to the tax re6 turn for the taxable year— 

7 ‘‘(i) the documentation described in 

8 subparagraph (A), and 

9 ‘‘(ii) documentation of the amounts 

10 paid or incurred for asbestos abatement 

11 services during the taxable year with re12 spect to the certified historic structure. 

13 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) ACCREDITED ASBESTOS ABATEMENT

15 CONTRACTOR OR SUPERVISOR.—The term ‘ac16 credited asbestos abatement contractor or su17 pervisor’ means any person accredited as a con18 tractor or supervisor under the Asbestos Model 

19 Accreditation Plan of the Environmental Pro20 tection Agency. 

21 ‘‘(B) ACCREDITED ASBESTOS INSPEC22 TOR.—The term ‘accredited asbestos inspector’ 

23 means any person accredited as an inspector 

24 under the Asbestos Model Accreditation Plan of 

25 the Environmental Protection Agency. 


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1 ‘‘(C) ASBESTOS.—The term ‘asbestos’ has 

2 the meaning given the term in section 202 of 

3 the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 2642). 

5 ‘‘(D) ASBESTOS HAZARD.—The term ‘as6 bestos hazard’ has the meaning given the term 

7 ‘imminent hazard to the health and safety’ in 

8 section 11 of the Asbestos School Hazard De9 tection and Control Act of 1980 (20 U.S.C. 

10 3610). 

11 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL RULES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) BASIS REDUCTION.—The basis of any 

13 property for which a credit is allowable under sub14 section (a) shall be reduced by the amount of such 

15 credit. 

16 ‘‘(2) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Any deduction al17 lowable for costs taken into account in computing 

18 the amount of the credit for qualified abatement ex19 penses shall be reduced by the amount of such credit 

20 attributable to such costs.’’. 

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) Section 1324 of title 31, United States 

23 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, 36C, 36D’’ after 

24 ‘‘, 36B’’. 


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1 (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 

2 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the 

4 item relating to section 36B the following new items: 

‘‘Sec. 36C. Accessibility and fire prevention expenses for historic buildings. 

‘‘Sec. 36D. Abatement of hazardous substances in historic buildings.’’. 

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in tax7 able years beginning after the date of the enactment of 

8 this Act. 

Æ 


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