II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1558

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

holders of Community Open Space bonds the proceeds of which are

used for qualified environmental infrastructure projects, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 5, 1999

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself and Mr. HATCH) 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 holders of Community Open Space bonds

the proceeds of which are used for qualified environmental infrastructure projects, 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 ‘‘Community Open

5 Space Bonds Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR HOLDERS OF COMMUNITY OPEN

2 SPACE BONDS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part IV of subchapter A of chap4 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to

5 credits against tax) is amended by adding at the end the

6 following new subpart:

7 ‘‘Subpart H—Nonrefundable Credit for Holders of

8 Community Open Space Bonds

‘‘Sec. 54. Credit to holders of Community Open Space bonds.

9 ‘‘SEC. 54. CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF COMMUNITY OPEN

10 SPACE BONDS.

11 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of a tax12 payer who holds a Community Open Space bond on a cred13 it allowance date which occurs during the taxable year,

14 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed

15 by this chapter for such taxable year an amount equal to

16 the sum of the credits determined under subsection (b)

17 with respect to credit allowance dates during such year

18 on which the taxpayer holds such bonds.

19 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF CREDIT.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the credit

21 determined under this subsection with respect to any

22 credit allowance date for a Community Open Space

23 bond is an amount equal to the product of—
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1 ‘‘(A) the credit rate determined by the Sec2 retary under paragraph (2), multiplied by

3 ‘‘(B) the face amount of the bond held by

4 the taxpayer on the credit allowance date.

5 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—During each calendar

6 month, the Secretary shall determine a credit rate

7 which shall apply to bonds issued during the fol8 lowing calendar month. The credit rate for any 3-

9 month period ending on a credit allowance date is

10 the percentage which the Secretary estimates will on

11 average equal the yield on corporate bonds out12 standing on the day before the date of such deter13 mination.

14 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR ISSUANCE AND RE15 DEMPTION.—In the case of a bond which is issued

16 during the 3-month period ending on a credit allow17 ance date, the amount of the credit determined

18 under this subsection with respect to such credit al19 lowance date shall be a ratable portion of the credit

20 otherwise determined based on the portion of the 3-

21 month period during which the bond is outstanding.

22 A similar rule shall apply when the bond is re23 deemed.

24 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION BASED ON AMOUNT OF TAX.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The credit allowed under

2 subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed

3 the excess of—

4 ‘‘(A) the sum of the regular tax liability

5 (as defined in section 26(b)) plus the tax im6 posed by section 55, over

7 ‘‘(B) the sum of the credits allowable

8 under this part (other than this subpart and

9 subpart C).

10 ‘‘(2) CARRYFORWARD OF UNUSED CREDIT.—If

11 the credit allowable under subsection (a) exceeds the

12 limitation imposed by paragraph (1) for such taxable

13 year, such excess shall be carried to each of the 5

14 taxable years following the unused credit year and

15 added to the credit allowable under subsection (a)

16 for each such taxable year, subject to the application

17 of paragraph (1) to such taxable year.

18 ‘‘(d) COMMUNITY OPEN SPACE BOND.—For pur19 poses of this section—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Community

21 Open Space bond’ means any bond issued as part of

22 an issue if—

23 ‘‘(A) 95 percent or more of the proceeds of

24 such issue are to be used for a qualified envi25 ronmental infrastructure project,
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1 ‘‘(B) the bond is issued by a State or local

2 government,

3 ‘‘(C) the issuer—

4 ‘‘(i) designates such bond for purposes

5 of this section,

6 ‘‘(ii) has a reasonable expectation that

7 at least 10 percent of the proceeds of such

8 issue will be spent for qualifying environ9 mental infrastructure projects within 6

10 months of the date such bonds are issued,

11 ‘‘(iii) certifies such proceeds will be

12 used with due diligence for qualified envi13 ronmental infrastructure projects, and

14 ‘‘(iv) has a reasonable expectation

15 that any property acquired or improved in

16 connection with the proceeds of such issue,

17 other than property improved in connection

18 with a qualified environmental infrastruc19 ture project described in paragraph

20 (2)(A)(v), shall continue to be dedicated to

21 a qualified use for a period of not less than

22 15 years from the date of such issue,

23 ‘‘(D) such bond satisfies public approval

24 requirements similar to the requirements of sec25 tion 147(f)(2),
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1 ‘‘(E) except as provided in paragraph

2 (4)(B), the payment of the principal of such

3 issue is secured by taxes of general applicability

4 imposed by a general purpose governmental

5 unit, and

6 ‘‘(F) the term of each bond which is part

7 of such issue does not exceed 15 years.

8 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUC9 TURE PROJECT.—

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

11 environmental infrastructure project’ means—

12 ‘‘(i) acquisition of qualified property

13 for use as open space, wetlands, public

14 parks, or greenways, or to improve access

15 to public lands by non-motorized means,

16 ‘‘(ii) construction, rehabilitation, or

17 repair of a visitor facility in connection

18 with qualified property, including nature

19 centers, campgrounds, and hiking or biking

20 trails,

21 ‘‘(iii) remediation of qualified property

22 to enhance water quality by—

23 ‘‘(I) restoring natural hydrology

24 or planting trees and streamside vege25 tation,
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1 ‘‘(II) controlling erosion,

2 ‘‘(III) restoring wetlands, or

3 ‘‘(IV) treating conditions caused

4 by the prior disposal of toxic or other

5 waste,

6 ‘‘(iv) acquisition of a qualified ease7 ment in order to maintain the use and

8 character of the property in connection to

9 which such easement is granted as open

10 space, including an easement to allow ac11 cess to public land by non-motorized

12 means, and

13 ‘‘(v) environmental assessment and re14 mediation of real property and public in15 frastructure owned by a governmental unit

16 and located in an area where or on which

17 there has been a release (or threat of re18 lease) or disposal of any hazardous sub19 stance (within the meaning of section 198),

20 but not including any property described in

21 subparagraph (D).

22 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED PROPERTY.—The term

23 ‘qualified property’ means real property—

24 ‘‘(i) which is, or is to be, owned by—

25 ‘‘(I) a governmental unit, or
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1 ‘‘(II) an organization described

2 in section 501(c)(3) and exempt from

3 taxation under section 501(a) and

4 which has as one if its purposes envi5 ronmental preservation, and

6 ‘‘(ii) which is reasonably anticipated

7 to be available for use by members of the

8 general public, unless such use would

9 change the character of the property and

10 be contrary to the qualified use of the

11 property.

12 ‘‘(C) SAFE HARBOR FOR MANAGEMENT

13 CONTRACTS.—For purposes of subparagraph

14 (B), property shall not be treated as qualified

15 property if any rights or benefits of such prop16 erty inure to a private person other than rights

17 or benefits under a management contract or

18 similar type of operating agreement to which

19 rules similar to the rules applicable to tax-ex20 empt bonds apply.

21 ‘‘(D) CERCLA PROPERTY.—Property is de22 scribed in this subparagraph if any portion of

23 such property is included, or proposed to be in24 cluded, in the national priorities list under sec25 tion 105(a)(8)(B) of the Comprehensive Envi-
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1 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil2 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B)).

3 ‘‘(E) LIMIT ON DISPOSITION OF PROP4 ERTY.—Any disposition of any interest in prop5 erty acquired or improved in connection with a

6 qualified environmental project described in this

7 paragraph (except a project described in sub8 paragraph (A)(v)) shall contain an option (re9 corded pursuant to applicable State or local

10 law) to purchase such property for an amount

11 equal to the original acquisition price of such

12 property for any interested organizations de13 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) if such orga14 nization purchases such property subject to a

15 restrictive covenant requiring a continued quali16 fied use of such property.

17 ‘‘(3) TEMPORARY PERIOD EXCEPTION.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A bond shall not be

19 treated as failing to meet the requirement of

20 paragraph (1)(A) solely by reason of the fact

21 that the proceeds of the issue of which such

22 bond is a part—

23 ‘‘(i) are invested for a reasonable tem24 porary period (but not more than 36

25 months) until such proceeds are needed for
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1 the purpose for which such issue was

2 issued, or

3 ‘‘(ii) are used within 90 days of the

4 close of such temporary period to redeem

5 bonds which are a part of such issue.

6 Any earnings on such proceeds during the pe7 riod under clause (i) shall be treated as pro8 ceeds of the issue for purposes of applying

9 paragraph (1)(A).

10 ‘‘(B) INVESTMENT OF PROCEEDS.—For

11 purposes of subparagraph (A), proceeds shall

12 only be invested in—

13 ‘‘(i) Government securities, and

14 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a sinking fund es15 tablished by the issuer, State and local

16 government securities issued by the Treas17 ury.

18 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULES FOR PROJECTS DE19 SCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (2)(A)(v).—

20 ‘‘(A) LIMIT ON USE OF PROCEEDS FOR

21 PROJECT.—This subsection shall not apply to

22 any bond issued as part of an issue if an

23 amount of the proceeds from such issue are

24 used for a qualified environmental infrastruc25 ture project described in paragraph (2)(A)(v)
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1 and involving public infrastructure in excess of

2 an amount equal to 5 percent of the total

3 amount of such proceeds used for all projects

4 described in such paragraph (2)(A)(v).

5 ‘‘(B) PRIVATE USE AND REPAYMENT OF

6 PROCEEDS.—In the case of proceeds of an issue

7 which are used for a qualified environmental in8 frastructure project described in paragraph

9 (2)(A)(v), the issue of which such bonds are a

10 part shall not fail to meet the requirements of

11 this subsection solely because the proceeds of a

12 disposition of any interest in such property are

13 used to redeem such bonds as long as the pur14 chaser of such property makes an irrevocable

15 election not to claim any deduction with respect

16 to such project under section 198.

17 ‘‘(5) RECAPTURE OF CREDIT AMOUNT.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, during the taxable

19 year, any bond that is part of an issue under

20 this section fails to meet the requirements of

21 this subsection—

22 ‘‘(i) such bond shall not be treated as

23 a Community Open Space bond for such

24 taxable year and any succeeding taxable

25 year, and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the issuer of such bond shall be

2 liable for payment to the United States of

3 the credit recapture amount.

4 Such payment shall be made at such time and

5 in such manner as determined by the Secretary.

6 ‘‘(B) CREDIT RECAPTURE AMOUNT.—For

7 purposes of subparagraph (A), the credit recap8 ture amount is an amount equal to the sum

9 of—

10 ‘‘(i) the aggregate amount of credit

11 allowed with respect to such bond for the

12 3 preceding taxable years, plus

13 ‘‘(ii) interest (at the underpayment

14 rate established under section 6621) on the

15 credit amount from the date such credit

16 was allowed to the payment date under

17 subparagraph (A).

18 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF BONDS DES19 IGNATED.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is a Community

21 Open Space bond limitation for each calendar year

22 equal to—

23 ‘‘(A) $1,900,000,000 for each of years

24 2000 through 2004, and
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1 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (3),

2 zero after 2004.

3 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF LIMITATION AMONG

4 STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The limitation amount

6 to be allocated under paragraph (1) for any cal7 endar year shall be allocated among States and

8 local governments with an approved application

9 on a competitive basis by the Community Open

10 Space Bonds Board (referred to in this sub11 section as the ‘Board’) established under sec12 tion 3 of the Community Open Space Bonds

13 Act of 1999.

14 ‘‘(B) APPROVED APPLICATION.—For pur15 poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘approved

16 application’ means an application which is ap17 proved by the Board, and which includes such

18 information as the Board requires.

19 ‘‘(C) ALLOCATION TO EACH STATE.—The

20 Board shall, in accordance with the criteria for

21 approval of applications, allocate amounts in

22 any calendar year to at least 1 approved appli23 cation from each State, or local government of

24 such State, which submits such application.
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1 ‘‘(3) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED LIMITATION.—If

2 for any calendar year—

3 ‘‘(A) the limitation amount under para4 graph (1), exceeds

5 ‘‘(B) the aggregate limitation amount allo6 cated to States and local governments under

7 this section,

8 the limitation amount under paragraph (1) for the

9 following calendar year shall be increased by the

10 amount of such excess. No limitation amount shall

11 be carried forward under this paragraph more than

12 3 years.

13 ‘‘(f) OTHER DEFINITIONS; SPECIAL RULES.—For

14 purposes of this subpart—

15 ‘‘(1) BOND.—The term ‘bond’ includes any ob16 ligation.

17 ‘‘(2) CREDIT ALLOWANCE DATE.—The term

18 ‘credit allowance date’ means—

19 ‘‘(A) March 15,

20 ‘‘(B) June 15,

21 ‘‘(C) September 15, and

22 ‘‘(D) December 15.

23 Such term includes the last day on which the bond

24 is outstanding.
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1 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED EASEMENT.—The term ‘quali2 fied easement’ means a perpetual easement—

3 ‘‘(A) which would be a qualified conserva4 tion contribution under section 170(h) if such

5 easement were a contribution under such sec6 tion, and

7 ‘‘(B) which is to be held by an entity de8 scribed in subclause (I) or (II) of subsection

9 (d)(2)(B)(i).

10 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED USE.—The term ‘qualified use’

11 means, with respect to property, a use which is con12 sistent with the purpose of the qualified environ13 mental infrastructure project related to such prop14 erty.

15 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes the

16 District of Columbia, any possession of the United

17 States, and any Indian tribe (as defined in section

18 45A(c)(6)).

19 ‘‘(6) PARTNERSHIP; S CORPORATION; AND

20 OTHER PASS-THRU ENTITIES.—Under regulations

21 prescribed by the Secretary, in the case of a partner22 ship, trust, S corporation, or other pass-thru entity,

23 rules similar to the rules of section 41(g) shall apply

24 with respect to the credit allowable under subsection

25 (a).
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1 ‘‘(g) CREDIT INCLUDED IN GROSS INCOME.—Gross

2 income includes the amount of the credit allowed to the

3 taxpayer under this section and the amount so included

4 shall be treated as interest income.

5 ‘‘(h) BONDS HELD BY REGULATED INVESTMENT

6 COMPANIES.—If any Community Open Space bond is held

7 by a regulated investment company, the credit determined

8 under subsection (a) shall be allowed to shareholders of

9 such company under procedures prescribed by the Sec10 retary.

11 ‘‘(i) CREDITS MAY BE STRIPPED.—Under regula12 tions prescribed by the Secretary—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There may be a separation

14 (including at issuance) of the ownership of a Com15 munity Open Space bond and the entitlement to the

16 credit under this section with respect to such bond.

17 In case of any such separation, the credit under this

18 section shall be allowed to the person which, on the

19 credit allowance date, holds the instrument evidenc20 ing the entitlement to the credit and not to the hold21 er of the bond.

22 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—In the case

23 of a separation described in paragraph (1), the rules

24 of section 1286 shall apply to the Community Open

25 Space bond as if it were a stripped bond and to the
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1 credit under this section as if it were a stripped cou2 pon.

3 ‘‘(j) TREATMENT FOR ESTIMATED TAX PURPOSES.—

4 Solely for purposes of sections 6654 and 6655, the credit

5 allowed by this section to a taxpayer by reason of holding

6 a Community Open Space bond on a credit allowance date

7 shall be treated as if it were a payment of estimated tax

8 made by the taxpayer on such date.

9 ‘‘(k) CREDIT MAY BE TRANSFERRED.—Nothing in

10 any law or rule of law shall be construed to limit the trans11 ferability of the credit allowed by this section through sale

12 and repurchase agreements.

13 ‘‘(l) REPORTING.—Issuers of Community Open Space

14 bonds shall submit reports similar to the reports required

15 under section 149(e).’’

16 (b) REPORTING.—Subsection (d) of section 6049 of

17 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to returns

18 regarding payments of interest) is amended by adding at

19 the end the following:

20 ‘‘(8) REPORTING OF CREDIT ON COMMUNITY

21 OPEN SPACE BONDS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of sub23 section (a), the term ‘interest’ includes amounts

24 includible in gross income under section 54(f)

25 and such amounts shall be treated as paid on
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1 the credit allowance date (as defined in section

2 54(f)(2)).

3 ‘‘(B) REPORTING TO CORPORATIONS,

4 ETC.—Except as otherwise provided in regula5 tions, in the case of any interest described in

6 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, subsection

7 (b)(4) of this section shall be applied without

8 regard to subparagraphs (A), (H), (I), (J), (K),

9 and (L)(i).

10 ‘‘(C) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Sec11 retary may prescribe such regulations as are

12 necessary or appropriate to carry out the pur13 poses of this paragraph, including regulations

14 which require more frequent or more detailed

15 reporting.’’

16 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—

17 (1) The table of subparts for part IV of sub18 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code

19 of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing:

‘‘Subpart H. Nonrefundable Credit for Holders of Community

Open Space Bonds.’’

21 (2) Section 6401(b)(1) of such Code is amend22 ed by striking ‘‘and G’’ and inserting ‘‘G, and H’’.
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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall apply to obligations issued after Decem3 ber 31, 1999.

4 SEC. 3. COMMUNITY OPEN SPACE BONDS BOARD.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

6 Executive Branch a board to be known as the Community

7 Open Space Bonds Board (in this section referred to as

8 the ‘‘Board’’).

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

10 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be com11 posed of 18 members, as follows:

12 (A) 3 members shall be individuals who are

13 not otherwise Federal officers or employees and

14 who are appointed by the President, by and

15 with the advice and consent of the Senate.

16 (B) 8 members, not be affiliated with the

17 same political party, shall be individuals who

18 represent Governors, or other chief executive of19 ficers, of a State, mayors, and county commis20 sioners and who are appointed by the President,

21 by and with the advice and consent of the Sen22 ate.

23 (C) 1 member shall be the Administrator

24 of the Environmental Protection Agency or the

25 Administrator’s designee.
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1 (D) 1 member shall be the Secretary of

2 Agriculture or the Secretary’s designee.

3 (E) 1 member shall be the Secretary of

4 Housing and Urban Development or the Sec5 retary’s designee.

6 (F) 1 member shall be the Secretary of In7 terior or the Secretary’s designee.

8 (G) 1 member shall be the Secretary of

9 Transportation or the Secretary’s designee.

10 (H) 1 member shall be the Secretary of the

11 Treasury or the Secretary’s designee.

12 (I) 1 member shall be the Director of the

13 Federal Emergency Management Agency or the

14 Director’s designee.

15 (2) QUALIFICATIONS AND TERMS.—

16 (A) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the

17 Board described in paragraph (1)(A) shall be

18 appointed without regard to political affiliation

19 and solely on the basis of their professional ex20 perience and expertise in 1 or more of the fol21 lowing areas:

22 (i) Tax-exempt organizations which

23 have as a principal purpose environmental

24 protection and land conservation.

25 (ii) Community planning.
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1 (iii) Real estate investment and bond

2 financing.

3 In the aggregate, the members of the Board de4 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) should collectively

5 bring to bear expertise in all of the areas de6 scribed in the preceding sentence and should

7 represent each position contained in such para8 graph and different regions of the country.

9 (B) TERMS.—Each member who is de10 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of para11 graph (1) shall be appointed for a term of 3

12 years, except that of the members first

13 appointed—

14 (i) 3 members shall be appointed for

15 a term of 1 year,

16 (ii) 4 members shall be appointed for

17 a term of 2 years, and

18 (iii) 4 members shall be appointed for

19 a term of 3 years.

20 (C) REAPPOINTMENT.—An individual who

21 is described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of

22 paragraph (1) may be appointed to no more

23 than one 3-year term on the Board.

24 (D) VACANCY.—Any vacancy on the Board

25 shall be filled in the same manner as the origi-
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1 nal appointment. Any member appointed to fill

2 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the

3 term for which the member’s predecessor was

4 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder

5 of that term.

6 (3) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days

7 after the date on which all members of the Board

8 have been appointed, the Board shall hold its first

9 meeting. Subsequent meetings shall be determined

10 by the Board by majority vote or held at the call of

11 the Chairperson.

12 (4) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of

13 the Board shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser

14 number of members may hold hearings.

15 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The member described in

16 paragraph (1)(C) shall serve as the Chairperson of

17 the Board.

18 (6) REMOVAL.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any member of the

20 Board appointed under subparagraph (A) or

21 (B) of paragraph (1) may be removed at the

22 will of the President.

23 (B) SECRETARIES; DIRECTOR; ADMINIS24 TRATOR.—An individual described in subpara25 graphs (C) through (I) of paragraph (1) shall
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1 be removed upon termination of service in the

2 office described in each such subparagraph.

3 (c) DUTIES OF THE BOARD.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall review ap5 plications for allocation of the Community Open

6 Space bond limitation amounts under section

7 54(e)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and

8 approve applications in accordance with published

9 criteria.

10 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Board

11 shall promulgate a regulation to develop criteria for

12 approval of applications under paragraph (1), taking

13 into consideration the following guidelines:

14 (A) A distribution pattern of the overall

15 limitation amount available for the year which

16 results in the financing of each category of

17 qualified environmental infrastructure project

18 and results in an even distribution among dif19 ferent regions of the country and sizes of com20 munities.

21 (B) State or local government support of

22 proposed projects.

23 (C) Proposed projects which meet local and

24 regional environmental protection or planning

25 goals and leverage or make more efficient or in-
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1 novative the use of other public or private re2 sources.

3 (D) Proposed projects which are intended

4 to maintain the viability of existing central

5 business districts, preserve the community’s dis6 tinct character and values, and encourage the

7 reuse of property already served by public infra8 structure.

9 (E) The extent of expected improvement in

10 environmental quality, outdoor recreation op11 portunities, and access to public lands.

12 (3) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Board shall annu13 ally report with respect to the conduct of its respon14 sibilities under this section to the President and

15 Congress and such report shall include—

16 (A) the overall progress of the Community

17 Open Space bond program, and

18 (B) the overall limitation amount allocated

19 during the year and a description of the

20 amount, region, and qualified environmental in21 frastructure project financed by each allocation.

22 (4) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—The Board shall

23 carry out its duties under this subsection in such a

24 way to ensure that all conflicts of interest of its

25 members are avoided.
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1 (d) POWERS OF THE BOARD.—

2 (1) HEARINGS.—The Board may hold such

3 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take

4 such testimony, and receive such evidence as the

5 Board considers advisable to carry out the purposes

6 of this section.

7 (2) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

8 The Board may secure directly from any Federal de9 partment or agency such information as the Board

10 considers necessary to carry out the provisions of

11 this section, including the published and unpublished

12 data and analytical products of the Bureau of Labor

13 Statistics. Upon request of the Chairperson of the

14 Board, the head of such department or agency shall

15 furnish such information to the Board.

16 (3) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Board may use

17 the United States mails in the same manner and

18 under the same conditions as other departments and

19 agencies of the Federal Government.

20 (e) BOARD PERSONNEL MATTERS.—

21 (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each mem22 ber of the Board who is not otherwise an officer or

23 employee of the Federal Government shall be com24 pensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

25 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level III
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1 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title

2 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel

3 time) during which such member is engaged in the

4 performance of the duties of the Board. All members

5 of the Board who otherwise are officers or employees

6 of the United States shall serve without compensa7 tion in addition to that received for their services as

8 officers or employees of the United States.

9 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the

10 Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

11 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for

12 employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter

13 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from

14 their homes or regular places of business in the per15 formance of services for the Board.

16 (3) STAFF.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the

18 Board may, without regard to the civil service

19 laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an

20 executive director and such other additional

21 personnel as may be necessary to enable the

22 Board to perform its duties. The employment of

23 an executive director shall be subject to con24 firmation by the Board.
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1 (B) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of

2 the Board may fix the compensation of the ex3 ecutive director and other personnel without re4 gard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub5 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United

6 States Code, relating to classification of posi7 tions and General Schedule pay rates, except

8 that the rate of pay for the executive director

9 and other personnel may not exceed the rate

10 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule

11 under section 5316 of such title.

12 (4) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—

13 Any Federal Government employee may be detailed

14 to the Board without additional reimbursement

15 (other than the employee’s regular compensation),

16 and such detail shall be without interruption or loss

17 of civil service status or privilege.

18 (5) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER19 MITTENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Board

20 may procure temporary and intermittent services

21 under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code,

22 at rates for individuals which do not exceed the daily

23 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed

24 for level V of the Executive Schedule under section

25 5316 of such title.
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1 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

2 (1) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes the Dis3 trict of Columbia, any possession of the United

4 States, and any Indian tribe (as defined in section

5 45A(c)(6)).

6 (2) QUALIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUC7 TURE PROJECT.—The term ‘qualified environmental

8 infrastructure project’ has the same meaning given

9 that term in section 54(d)(2) of the Internal Rev10 enue Code of 1986.

11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Board such sums

13 as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

14 (h) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by

16 this section shall take effect on the date of the en17 actment of this Act.

18 (2) INITIAL NOMINATIONS.—The President

19 shall submit the initial nominations under subpara20 graphs (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(1) to the Sen21 ate not later than 90 days after the date of the en22 actment of this Act.

23 (3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than January 1,

24 2000, the Board shall publish in the Federal Reg-
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1 ister the guidelines and criteria for submission and

2 approval of applications under subsection (c).

Æ