I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5558 

To limit the discriminatory taxation of oil pipeline property. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2008 

Mr. PRICE of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To limit the discriminatory taxation of oil pipeline property. 

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 ‘‘Energy Infrastructure 

5 Tax Fairness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON DISCRIMINATORY TAXATION OF 

7 OIL PIPELINE PROPERTY. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

9 (1) ASSESSMENT.—The term ‘‘assessment’’ 

10 means valuation for a property tax levied by a taxing 

11 authority. 


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1 (2) ASSESSMENT JURISDICTION.—The term 

2 ‘‘assessment jurisdiction’’ means a geographical area 

3 used in determining the assessed value of property 

4 for ad valorem taxation. 

5 (3) COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROP6 ERTY.—The term ‘‘commercial and industrial prop7 erty’’ means property (excluding oil pipeline prop8 erty, public utility property, and land used primarily 

9 for agricultural purposes or timber growth) devoted 

10 to commercial or industrial use and subject to a 

11 property tax levy. 

12 (4) OIL PIPELINE PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘oil 

13 pipeline property’’ means all property, real personal 

14 and intangible: 

15 (A) owned or used by an oil pipeline pro16 viding interstate transportation of oil, refined 

17 petroleum products or other hazardous liquids; 

18 (B) owned or used by an oil pipeline for 

19 storage of oil, refined petroleum products or 

20 other hazardous liquids, which is connected to 

21 any property described in subparagraph (B); or 

22 (C) subject to the jurisdiction of the Fed23 eral Energy Regulatory Commission. 

24 (5) PUBLIC UTILITY PROPERTY.—The term 

25 ‘‘public utility property’’ means property (excluding 


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1 oil pipeline property) that is devoted to public serv2 ice and is owned or used by any entity that performs 

3 a public service and is regulated by any govern4 mental agency. 

5 (b) DISCRIMINATORY ACTS.—The acts specified in 

6 this subsection unreasonably burden and discriminate 

7 against interstate commerce. A State, subdivision of a 

8 State, authority acting for a State or subdivision of a 

9 State, or any other taxing authority (including a taxing 

10 jurisdiction and a taxing district) may not do any of the 

11 following such acts: 

12 (1) Assess oil pipeline property at a value that 

13 has a higher ratio to the true market value of the 

14 oil pipeline property than the ratio that the assessed 

15 value of other commercial and industrial property in 

16 the same assessment jurisdiction has to the true 

17 market value of the other commercial and industrial 

18 property, or levy or collect a tax on such an assess19 ment. 

20 (2) Levy or collect an ad valorem property tax 

21 on oil pipeline property at a tax rate that exceeds 

22 the tax rate applicable to commercial and industrial 

23 property in the same assessment jurisdiction. 


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1 (3) Impose any other tax that discriminates 

2 against oil pipeline property described in subsection 

3 (a)(4) of this section. 

4 SEC. 3. JURISDICTION OF COURTS; RELIEF. 

5 (a) GRANT OF JURISDICTION.—Notwithstanding sec6 tion 1341 of title 28, United States Code, and notions of 

7 comity, and without regard to the amount in controversy 

8 or citizenship of the parties, the district courts of the 

9 United States shall have jurisdiction, concurrent with 

10 other jurisdiction of the courts of the United States, of 

11 States, and of all other taxing authorities and taxing juris12 dictions, to prevent a violation of section 1. 

13 (b) RELIEF.—Except as otherwise provided in this 

14 subsection, relief may be granted under this Act only if 

15 the ratio of assessed value to true market value of oil pipe16 line property exceeds by at least 5 percent the ratio of 

17 assessed value to true market value of other commercial 

18 and industrial property in the same assessment jurisdic19 tion. If the ratio of the assessed value of other commercial 

20 and industrial property in the assessment jurisdiction to 

21 the true market value of all other commercial and indus22 trial property cannot be determined to the satisfaction of 

23 the court through the random-sampling method known as 

24 a sales assessment ratio study (to be carried out under 

25 statistical principles applicable to such a study), each of 


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1 the following shall be a violation of section 1 for which 

2 relief under this Act may be granted: 

3 (1) An assessment of the oil pipeline property 

4 at a value that has a higher ratio of assessed value 

5 to the true market value of the oil pipeline property 

6 than the ratio of the assessed value of all other 

7 property (excluding public utility property) subject 

8 to a property tax levy in the assessment jurisdiction 

9 has to the true market value of all other property 

10 (excluding public utility property). 

11 (2) The collection of an ad valorem property tax 

12 on the oil pipeline property at a tax rate that ex13 ceeds the tax rate applicable to all other taxable 

14 property (excluding public utility property) in the 

15 taxing jurisdiction. 

Æ 


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