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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 574 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 574

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit 
     against income tax for employees who participate in qualified 
                        apprenticeship programs.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 25, 2015

 Mr. Scott (for himself and Mr. Booker) 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 employers a credit 
     against income tax for employees who participate in qualified 
                        apprenticeship programs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Leveraging and Energizing America's 
Apprenticeship Programs Act'' or the ``LEAP Act''.

SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN QUALIFIED APPRENTICESHIP 
              PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section:

``SEC. 45S. EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN QUALIFIED APPRENTICESHIP 
              PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 38, the apprenticeship 
credit determined under this section for the taxable year is an amount 
equal to the sum of the applicable credit amounts (as determined under 
subsection (b)) for each apprentice of the employer that exceeds the 
applicable apprenticeship level (as determined under subsection (e)) 
during such taxable year.
    ``(b) Applicable Credit Amount.--For purposes of subsection (a), 
the applicable credit amount for each apprentice for each taxable year 
is equal to--
            ``(1) in the case of an apprentice who has not attained 25 
        years of age at the close of the taxable year, $1,500, or
            ``(2) in the case of an apprentice who has attained 25 
        years of age at the close of the taxable year, $1,000.
    ``(c) Limitation on Number of Years Which Credit May Be Taken Into 
Account.--The apprenticeship credit shall not be allowed for more than 
2 taxable years with respect to any apprentice.
    ``(d) Apprentice.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`apprentice' means any employee who is employed by the employer--
            ``(1) in an officially recognized apprenticeable 
        occupation, as determined by the Office of Apprenticeship of 
        the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of 
        Labor, and
            ``(2) pursuant to an apprentice agreement registered with--
                    ``(A) the Office of Apprenticeship of the 
                Employment and Training Administration of the 
                Department of Labor, or
                    ``(B) a recognized State apprenticeship agency, as 
                determined by the Office of Apprenticeship of the 
                Employment and Training Administration of the 
                Department of Labor.
    ``(e) Applicable Apprenticeship Level.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the 
        applicable apprenticeship level shall be equal to--
                    ``(A) in the case of any apprentice described in 
                subsection (b)(1), the amount equal to 80 percent of 
                the average number of such apprentices of the employer 
                for the 3 taxable years preceding the taxable year for 
                which the credit is being determined, rounded to the 
                next lower whole number; and
                    ``(B) in the case of any apprentices described in 
                subsection (b)(2), the amount equal to 80 percent of 
                the average number of such apprentices of the employer 
                for the 3 taxable years preceding the taxable year for 
                which the credit is being determined, rounded to the 
                next lower whole number.
            ``(2) First year of new apprenticeship programs.--In the 
        case of an employer which did not have any apprentices during 
        any taxable year in the 3 taxable years preceding the taxable 
        year for which the credit is being determined, the applicable 
        apprenticeship level shall be equal to zero.
    ``(f) Coordination With Other Credits.--The amount of credit 
otherwise allowable under sections 45A, 51(a), and 1396(a) with respect 
to any employee shall be reduced by the credit allowed by this section 
with respect to such employee.
    ``(g) Certain Rules To Apply.--Rules similar to the rules of 
subsections (i)(1) and (k) of section 51 shall apply for purposes of 
this section.''.
    (b) Credit Made Part of General Business Credit.--Subsection (b) of 
section 38 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
``plus'' at the end of paragraph (35), by striking the period at the 
end of paragraph (36) and inserting ``, plus'', and by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph:
            ``(37) the apprenticeship credit determined under section 
        45S(a).''.
    (c) Denial of Double Benefit.--Subsection (a) of section 280C of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ``45S(a),'' 
after ``45P(a),''.
    (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart D of 
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 45S. Employees participating in qualified apprenticeship 
                            programs.''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to individuals commencing apprenticeship programs after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON GOVERNMENT PRINTING COSTS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall coordinate with 
the heads of Federal departments and independent agencies to--
            (1) determine which Government publications could be 
        available on Government websites and no longer printed and to 
        devise a strategy to reduce overall Government printing costs 
        over the 10-year period beginning with fiscal year 2015, except 
        that the Director shall ensure that essential printed documents 
        prepared for social security recipients, medicare 
        beneficiaries, and other populations in areas with limited 
        Internet access or use continue to remain available;
            (2) establish government wide Federal guidelines on 
        employee printing; and
            (3) issue guidelines requiring every department, agency, 
        commission, or office to list at a prominent place near the 
        beginning of each publication distributed to the public and 
        issued or paid for by the Federal Government--
                    (A) the name of the issuing agency, department, 
                commission, or office;
                    (B) the total number of copies of the document 
                printed;
                    (C) the collective cost of producing and printing 
                all of the copies of the document; and
                    (D) the name of the entity publishing the document.
                                 <all>
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