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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1939

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against

income tax for dry cleaning equipment which uses reduced amounts

of hazardous substances.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 17, 1999

Mr. HELMS 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 allow a

credit against income tax for dry cleaning equipment

which uses reduced amounts of hazardous substances.

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 ‘‘Small Business Pollu5 tion Prevention and Opportunity Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR DRY CLEANING EQUIPMENT USING RE2 DUCED AMOUNTS OF HAZARDOUS SUB3 STANCES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 46 of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986 (relating to amount of investment cred6 it) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

7 (2), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3)

8 and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the fol9 lowing paragraph:

10 ‘‘(4) the dry cleaning equipment credit.’’

11 (b) DRY CLEANING EQUIPMENT CREDIT.—Section

12 48 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing new subsection:

14 ‘‘(c) DRY CLEANING EQUIPMENT USING REDUCED

15 AMOUNTS OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 46,

17 the dry cleaning equipment credit for any taxable

18 year is 20 percent of the basis of each qualified dry

19 cleaning property placed in service during the tax20 able year.

21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The credit under this sub22 section for the taxable year shall apply to only one

23 qualified dry cleaning property placed in service dur24 ing such year at each business premise of the tax25 payer.
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1 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED DRY CLEANING PROPERTY.—

2 For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘qualified

3 dry cleaning property’ means equipment designed

4 primarily to dry clean clothing and other fabric if—

5 ‘‘(A) such equipment does not use any haz6 ardous solvent as the primary process solvent,

7 ‘‘(B) the original use of such property

8 commences with the taxpayer, and

9 ‘‘(C) with respect to which depreciation (or

10 amortization in lieu of depreciation) is allow11 able.

12 ‘‘(4) HAZARDOUS SOLVENT.—For purposes of

13 paragraph (3)—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘hazardous

15 solvent’ means any solvent any portion of which

16 consists of a chlorinated solvent, a petroleum17 based solvent, or any other hazardous or regu18 lated substance.

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Such term shall not in20 clude any solvent—

21 ‘‘(i) not more than 10 percent of

22 which consists of petroleum or petroleum

23 derivatives, and

24 ‘‘(ii) which does not contain any sub25 stance determined by the Administrator of
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1 the Environmental Protection Agency, the

2 Director of the National Institute for Oc3 cupational Safety and Health, the Director

4 of the International Agency for Research

5 on Cancer, the Director of the National In6 stitute of Environmental Health Sciences’

7 National Toxicology Program, or the direc8 tor of any other appropriate Federal agen9 cy to possess—

10 ‘‘(I) carcinogenic potential in hu11 mans, or

12 ‘‘(II) bioaccumulative properties.

13 ‘‘(5) TERMINATION.—This subsection shall not

14 apply to property placed in service after December

15 31, 2004.’’

16 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—

17 (1) The section heading for section 48 of such

18 Code is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘SEC. 48. ENERGY CREDIT; REFORESTATION CREDIT; DRY

20 CLEANING EQUIPMENT CREDIT.’’

21 (2) The item relating to section 48 in the table

22 of sections for subpart E of part IV of subchapter

23 A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended to read as

24 follows:

‘‘Sec. 48. Energy credit; reforestation credit; dry cleaning equipment credit.’’
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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall apply to property placed in service on

3 or after January 1, 1999.

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