II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1245 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit for 

property owners who remove lead-based paint hazards. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 11, 2009 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself and Ms. SNOWE) 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 provide 

a tax credit for property owners who remove lead-based 

paint hazards. 

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; FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2009’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that: 

7 (1) Lead is a metal that can produce a wide 

8 range of health effects in humans when ingested. 

9 Children are more vulnerable to lead poisoning than 

10 adults. 


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1 (2) Lead poisoning is a serious, entirely pre2 ventable threat to a child’s intelligence, behavior, 

3 and learning. In severe cases, lead poisoning can re4 sult in death. 

5 (3) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre6 vention, the Department of Housing and Urban De7 velopment, the Environmental Protection Agency, 

8 and other Federal agencies have established a na9 tional interagency strategy to eradicate childhood 

10 lead poisoning as a public health issue by 2010. 

11 (4) Despite this goal, according to available es12 timates, there are still approximately 18,000,000 

13 housing units that pose a hazard due to conditions 

14 such as peeling paint and settled dust on floors and 

15 windowsills that contain lead at levels above Federal 

16 safety standards. 

17 (5) In fiscal year 2008, funding for Federal 

18 lead abatement programs, such as the Lead Hazard 

19 Control Grant Program, only provided for lead 

20 abatement for 12,600 homes. 

21 (6) Childhood lead poisoning can be dramati22 cally reduced by the abatement or complete removal 

23 of all lead-based paint. Empirical studies also have 

24 shown substantial reductions in lead poisoning when 

25 the affected properties have undergone ‘‘interim conVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:57 Jun 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1245.IS S1245

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1 trol measures’’ that are far less costly than abate2 ment. 

3 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en4 courage the safe removal of lead hazards from homes and 

5 thereby decrease the number of children who suffer re6 duced intelligence, learning difficulties, behavioral prob7 lems, and other health consequences due to lead-poisoning. 

8 SEC. 2. HOME LEAD HAZARD REDUCTION ACTIVITY TAX 

9 CREDIT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part IV of sub11 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

12 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

13 section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 30E. HOME LEAD HAZARD REDUCTION ACTIVITY. 

15 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—There shall be al16 lowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter 

17 for the taxable year an amount equal to 50 percent of the 

18 lead hazard reduction activity cost paid or incurred by the 

19 taxpayer during the taxable year for each eligible dwelling 

20 unit. 

21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The amount of the credit allowed 

22 under subsection (a) for any eligible dwelling unit for any 

23 taxable year shall not exceed— 

24 ‘‘(1) either— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $3,000 in the case of lead hazard re2 duction activity cost including lead abatement 

3 measures described in clauses (i), (ii), (iv) and 

4 (v) of subsection (c)(1)(A), or 

5 ‘‘(B) $1,000 in the case of lead hazard re6 duction activity cost including interim lead con7 trol measures described in clauses (i), (iii), (iv), 

8 and (v) of subsection (c)(1)(A), reduced by 

9 ‘‘(2) the aggregate lead hazard reduction activ10 ity cost taken into account under subsection (a) with 

11 respect to such unit for all preceding taxable years. 

12 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur13 poses of this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) LEAD HAZARD REDUCTION ACTIVITY

15 COST.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘lead hazard 

17 reduction activity cost’ means, with respect to 

18 any eligible dwelling unit— 

19 ‘‘(i) the cost for a certified risk asses20 sor to conduct an assessment to determine 

21 the presence of a lead-based paint hazard, 

22 ‘‘(ii) the cost for performing lead 

23 abatement measures by a certified lead 

24 abatement supervisor, including the re25 moval of paint and dust, the permanent 


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1 enclosure or encapsulation of lead-based 

2 paint, the replacement of painted surfaces, 

3 windows, or fixtures, or the removal or 

4 permanent covering of soil when lead-based 

5 paint hazards are present in such paint, 

6 dust, or soil, 

7 ‘‘(iii) the cost for performing interim 

8 lead control measures to reduce exposure 

9 or likely exposure to lead-based paint haz10 ards, including specialized cleaning, re11 pairs, maintenance, painting, temporary 

12 containment, ongoing monitoring of lead13 based paint hazards, and the establishment 

14 and operation of management and resident 

15 education programs, but only if such meas16 ures are evaluated and completed by a cer17 tified lead abatement supervisor using ac18 cepted methods, are conducted by a quali19 fied contractor, and have an expected use20 ful life of more than 10 years, 

21 ‘‘(iv) the cost for a certified lead 

22 abatement supervisor, those working under 

23 the supervision of such supervisor, or a 

24 qualified contractor to perform all prepara25 tion, cleanup, disposal, and clearance testVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:57 Jun 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1245.IS S1245

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1 ing activities associated with the lead 

2 abatement measures or interim lead con3 trol measures, and 

4 ‘‘(v) costs incurred by or on behalf of 

5 any occupant of such dwelling unit for any 

6 relocation which is necessary to achieve oc7 cupant protection (as defined under section 

8 35.1345 of title 24, Code of Federal Regu9 lations). 

10 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The term ‘lead hazard 

11 reduction activity cost’ does not include any 

12 cost to the extent such cost is funded by any 

13 grant, contract, or otherwise by another person 

14 or any governmental agency. 

15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE DWELLING UNIT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 

17 dwelling unit’ means, with respect to any tax18 able year, any dwelling unit— 

19 ‘‘(i) placed in service before 1960, 

20 ‘‘(ii) located in the United States, 

21 ‘‘(iii) in which resides, for a total pe22 riod of not less than 50 percent of the tax23 able year, at least 1 child who has not at24 tained the age of 6 years or 1 woman of 

25 child-bearing age, and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) each of the residents of which 

2 during such taxable year has an adjusted 

3 gross income of less than 185 percent of 

4 the poverty line (as determined for such 

5 taxable year in accordance with criteria es6 tablished by the Director of the Office of 

7 Management and Budget). 

8 ‘‘(B) DWELLING UNIT.—The term ‘dwell9 ing unit’ has the meaning given such term by 

10 section 280A(f)(1). 

11 ‘‘(3) LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD.—The term 

12 ‘lead-based paint hazard’ has the meaning given 

13 such term by section 745.63 of title 40, Code of 

14 Federal Regulations. 

15 ‘‘(4) CERTIFIED LEAD ABATEMENT SUPER16 VISOR.—The term ‘certified lead abatement super17 visor’ means an individual certified by the Environ18 mental Protection Agency pursuant to section 

19 745.226 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, or 

20 an appropriate State agency pursuant to section 

21 745.325 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. 

22 ‘‘(5) CERTIFIED INSPECTOR.—The term ‘cer23 tified inspector’ means an inspector certified by the 

24 Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to sec25 tion 745.226 of title 40, Code of Federal RegulaVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:57 Jun 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1245.IS S1245

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1 tions, or an appropriate State agency pursuant to 

2 section 745.325 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula3 tions. 

4 ‘‘(6) CERTIFIED RISK ASSESSOR.—The term 

5 ‘certified risk assessor’ means a risk assessor cer6 tified by the Environmental Protection Agency pur7 suant to section 745.226 of title 40, Code of Federal 

8 Regulations, or an appropriate State agency pursu9 ant to section 745.325 of title 40, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations. 

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

12 ‘qualified contractor’ means any contractor who has 

13 successfully completed a training course on lead safe 

14 work practices which has been approved by the De15 partment of Housing and Urban Development and 

16 the Environmental Protection Agency. 

17 ‘‘(8) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR CREDIT

18 ALLOWANCE.—No credit shall be allowed under sub19 section (a) with respect to any eligible dwelling unit 

20 for any taxable year unless— 

21 ‘‘(A) after lead hazard reduction activity is 

22 complete, a certified inspector or certified risk 

23 assessor provides written documentation to the 

24 taxpayer that includes— 

25 ‘‘(i) evidence that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the eligible dwelling unit 

2 passes the clearance examinations re3 quired by the Department of Housing 

4 and Urban Development under part 

5 35 of title 40, Code of Federal Regu6 lations, 

7 ‘‘(II) the eligible dwelling unit 

8 does not contain lead dust hazards (as 

9 defined by section 745.227(e)(8)(viii) 

10 of such title 40), or 

11 ‘‘(III) the eligible dwelling unit 

12 meets lead hazard evaluation criteria 

13 established under an authorized State 

14 or local program, and 

15 ‘‘(ii) documentation showing that the 

16 lead hazard reduction activity meets the 

17 requirements of this section, and 

18 ‘‘(B) the taxpayer files with the appro19 priate State agency and attaches to the tax re20 turn for the taxable year— 

21 ‘‘(i) the documentation described in 

22 subparagraph (A), 

23 ‘‘(ii) documentation of the lead hazard 

24 reduction activity costs paid or incurred 


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1 during the taxable year with respect to the 

2 eligible dwelling unit, and 

3 ‘‘(iii) a statement certifying that the 

4 dwelling unit qualifies as an eligible dwell5 ing unit for such taxable year. 

6 ‘‘(9) BASIS REDUCTION.—The basis of any 

7 property for which a credit is allowable under sub8 section (a) shall be reduced by the amount of such 

9 credit (determined without regard to subsection (d)). 

10 ‘‘(10) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Any deduction 

11 allowable for costs taken into account in computing 

12 the amount of the credit for lead-based paint abate13 ment shall be reduced by the amount of such credit 

14 attributable to such costs. 

15 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION BASED ON AMOUNT OF TAX.—The 

16 credit allowed under subsection (a) for the taxable year 

17 shall not exceed the excess of— 

18 ‘‘(1) the sum of the regular tax liability (as de19 fined in section 26(b)) plus the tax imposed by sec20 tion 55, over 

21 ‘‘(2) the sum of the credits allowable under sub22 part A and sections 27, 29, 30, 30A, 30B, 30C, and 

23 30D for the taxable year. 

24 ‘‘(e) CARRYFORWARD ALLOWED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the credit amount allow2 able under subsection (a) for a taxable year exceeds 

3 the amount of the limitation under subsection (d) 

4 for such taxable year (referred to as the ‘unused 

5 credit year’ in this subsection), such excess shall be 

6 allowed as a credit carryforward for each of the 20 

7 taxable years following the unused credit year. 

8 ‘‘(2) RULES.—Rules similar to the rules of sec9 tion 39 shall apply with respect to the credit 

10 carryforward under paragraph (1).’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) Section 1016(a) of the Internal Revenue 

13 Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ in para14 graph (36), by striking the period and inserting ‘‘, 

15 and’’ in paragraph (37), and by inserting at the end 

16 the following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(38) in the case of an eligible dwelling unit 

18 with respect to which a credit for any lead hazard 

19 reduction activity cost was allowed under section 

20 30E, to the extent provided in section 30E(c)(9).’’. 

21 (2) The table of sections for subpart B of part 

22 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

23 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec24 tion 30D the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 30E. Home lead hazard reduction activity.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to lead hazard reduction activity 

3 costs incurred after December 31, 2008, in taxable years 

4 ending after that date. 

Æ 


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