I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1410
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for a nonrefundable
tax credit for law enforcement officers who purchase armor vests, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 23, 1997
Mr. BARR of Georgia (for himself, Mr. SOLOMON, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr.
BACHUS, Mr. NEY, Mr. EHRLICH, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. JONES, Mrs.
CHENOWETH, Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania, Mr. COBLE, Mr. CHABOT, Mr.
GRAHAM, Mr. GUTKNECHT, and Mr. CHAMBLISS) introduced the follow-
ing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide
for a nonrefundable tax credit for law enforcement offi-
cers who purchase armor vests, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Law Officer’s Armor
Vest Tax Credit Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR AN ARMOR VEST PURCHASE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is
amended by inserting after section 23 the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 24. PURCHASE OF AN ARMOR VEST BY A LAW EN-
FORCEMENT OFFICER.
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an in-
dividual who is a law enforcement officer, there shall be
allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter
an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount paid by
the taxpayer for the purchase of an armor vest.
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(1) MAXIMUM
CREDIT.—The credit allowed
under subsection (a) shall not exceed $1,200 for
each law enforcement officer.
‘‘(2) LIMITATION
TO
ONE
VEST.—The credit
under this section shall be allowed with respect to
the purchase of only one vest by the law enforcement
officer within a 3-year period.
‘‘(3) CARRYFORWARD OF UNUSED CREDITS.—If
the credit allowable under subsection (a) for any tax-
able year exceeds the limitation imposed by section
26(a) for such taxable year reduced by the sum of
the credits allowable under this subpart (other than
this section and section 23), such excess shall be
carried to the succeeding taxable year and added to
the credit allowable under subsection (a) for such
taxable year. No credit may be carried forward
under this subsection to any taxable year following
the third taxable year after the taxable year in which
the armor vest is purchased. For purposes of the
preceding sentence, credits shall be treated as used
on a first-in first-out basis.
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—
‘‘(1) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘law en-
forcement officer’ means any officer, agent, or
employee of the United States or any State, ter-
ritory, or political subdivision thereof as author-
ized by law or by a Government agency to en-
gage in or supervise the prevention, detection,
investigation, or prosecution of any violation of
Federal, State, territorial, or local criminal law.
‘‘(B) CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.—Such term
includes—
‘‘(i) a sworn correctional officer of the
United States or any State, territory, or
political subdivision thereof as authorized
by law, and
‘‘(ii) a private campus or educational
institution security officer who has been
granted special police powers under law.
‘‘(2) ARMOR
VEST.—The term ‘armor vest’
means—
‘‘(A) body armor, Type I or Type II–A,
which protects against .357 Magnum jacketed
soft point bullets, with nominal masses of 10.2
g (158 gr) impacting at a velocity of 381 me-
ters (1250 feet) per second or less, and 9mm
full metal jacketed bullets, with nominal masses
of 8.0 g (124 gr), impacting at a velocity of 332
meters (1080 feet) per second or less; or
‘‘(B) body armor which exceeds the speci-
fications stated in subparagraph (A), and which
the law enforcement officer’s agency or depart-
ment permits the officer to wear on duty.
‘‘(3) SPECIAL
RULE.—No credit shall be al-
lowed under subsection (a) if—
‘‘(A) the law enforcement officer has been
issued an armor vest by such officer’s agency or
department for such officer’s indefinite personal
use, or
‘‘(B) the law enforcement officer has been
offered, within the 12-month period prior to the
acquisition of the armor vest, an armor vest by
such officer’s agency or department for such of-
ficer’s indefinite personal use, but has declined
to accept such offer.
‘‘(e) RECAPTURE FOR CERTAIN DISPOSITIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the taxpayer disposes of
property with respect to the purchase of which a
credit was allowed under subsection (a) at any time
within the 36-month period beginning on the date
the taxpayer acquired such property, then the tax
imposed under this chapter for the taxable year in
which such disposition occurs shall be increased by
an amount equal to the amount allowed as a credit
for the purchase of such property.
‘‘(2) DEATH OF OWNER; CASUALTY LOSS; IN-
VOLUNTARY
CONVERSION; 
ETC.—Paragraph (1)
shall not apply to—
‘‘(A) a disposition of an armor vest on ac-
count of the death of any individual having a
legal or equitable interest therein occurring dur-
ing such 36-month period,
‘‘(B) a disposition of an armor vest on ac-
count of the law enforcement officer losing such
officer’s status as a law enforcement officer,
whether involuntary or not, during such 36-
month period,
‘‘(C) a disposition of an armor vest during
such 36-month period if such vest is damaged,
destroyed, or rendered unusable by—
‘‘(i) any bullet,
‘‘(ii) theft or casualty loss, or
‘‘(iii) compulsory or involuntary con-
version (within the meaning of section
1033), or
‘‘(D) a disposition of an armor vest during
such 36-month period pursuant to a settlement
in a divorce or legal separation proceeding pur-
suant to which the armor vest is sold.’’
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1
of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 23 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 24. Purchase of an armor vest by a law enforcement offi-
cer.’’
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after
December 31, 1996.
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