I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5839 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a business tax 
credit for resilient construction. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 18, 2012 
Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky (for himself and Mr. DIAZ-BALART) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
a business tax credit for resilient construction. 
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 ‘‘Disaster Savings and 
Resilient Construction Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. RESILIENT CONSTRUCTION TAX CREDIT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting after section 45R the fol-
lowing new section: 
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‘‘(A) 1 percent of the cost of construction, 
or 
‘‘(B) $25,000. 
‘‘(2) RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.—In the case of 
a qualified residential property, the applicable 
amount is the lesser of— 
‘‘(A) 1 percent of the cost of construction, 
or 
‘‘(B) $3,000. 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED PROPERTY.—For purposes of this 
section: 
‘‘(1) QUALIFIED COMMERCIAL PROPERTY.—The 
term ‘qualified commercial property’ means a build-
ing that is— 
‘‘(A) located in the United States, 
‘‘(B) defined in the scope of the 2009 or 
later International Building Code published by 
the International Code Council, and 
‘‘(C) designed and constructed to meet re-
silient construction requirements. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED
RESIDENTIAL
PROPERTY.— 
The term ‘qualified residential property’ means a 
building that is— 
‘‘(A) located in the United States, 
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‘‘(B) defined in the scope of the 2009 or 
later International Residential Code published 
by the International Code Council, and 
‘‘(C) designed and constructed to meet re-
silient construction requirements. 
‘‘(d) RESILIENT CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS.— 
For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The resilient construction 
requirements with respect to a property are that the 
property is designed and constructed to— 
‘‘(A) resist hazards brought on by a major 
disaster and continues to provide its primary 
functions after a major disaster, 
‘‘(B) reduce the magnitude or duration of 
a disruptive event, and 
‘‘(C) have the absorptive capacity, adaptive 
capacity, recoverability to withstand a poten-
tially disruptive event. 
‘‘(2) TREATED
AS
MEETING
RESILIENCY
RE-
QUIREMENTS.—For purposes of paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(A) in the case of a qualified commercial 
property, the property shall be treated as meet-
ing the requirements specified in paragraph (1) 
if the property is a building which— 
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‘‘(i) was designed to meet the require-
ments of the 2009 or later International 
Building Code published by the Inter-
national Code Council and received the In-
surance Institute for Business and Home 
Safety FORTIFIED for Safer Business 
designation, or 
‘‘(ii) was designed and built in a juris-
diction that requires commercial buildings 
to meet the requirements of the 2009 or 
later International Building Code pub-
lished by the International Code Council© 
with amendments that are equivalent or 
more restrictive than the requirements de-
scribed in FORTIFIED for Safer Business 
Standards published by the Insurance In-
stitute for Business and Home Safety and 
received a certificate of occupancy (or 
other documentation stating that it has 
met the requirements of the building code) 
from the jurisdiction, and 
‘‘(B) in the case of a qualified residential 
property, the property shall be treated as meet-
ing the requirements specified in paragraph (1) 
if the property is a building which was designed 
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to meet the requirements of the 2009 or later 
International Residential Code published by the 
International Code Council, and meets one of 
the following requirements: 
‘‘(i) The building received the Insur-
ance Institute for Business and Home 
Safety as FORTIFIED for Safer Living 
designation. 
‘‘(ii) The building received the Insur-
ance Institute for Business and Home 
Safety 
as 
FORTIFIED 
for 
Existing 
Homes designation. 
‘‘(iii) It was designed and built in a 
jurisdiction that requires residential build-
ings to meet the requirements of the 2009 
or later International Building Code pub-
lished by the International Code Council© 
with amendments that are equivalent or 
more restrictive than the requirements de-
scribed in FORTIFIED for Safer Living 
Builders Guide published by the Insurance 
Institute for Business and Home Safety 
and received a certificate of occupancy (or 
other documentation stating that it has 
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met the requirements of the building code) 
from the jurisdiction. 
‘‘(3) ABSORPTIVE
CAPACITY.—The term ‘ab-
sorptive capacity’ means the ability of the construc-
tion to endure a disruption without significant devi-
ation from normal operating performance. 
‘‘(4) ADAPTIVE CAPACITY.—The term ‘adaptive 
capacity’ means the ability of the construction to 
adapt to a drastic change in normal operating condi-
tions. 
‘‘(5) 
RECOVERABILITY.—The 
term 
‘recoverability’ means the ability of the construction 
to recover quickly, and at low cost, from potentially 
disruptive events. 
‘‘(e) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 
section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘eligi-
ble contractor’ means the person who constructed 
the qualified building. 
‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘construction’ 
includes new construction and reconstruction and re-
habilitation that meets resilient construction require-
ments. 
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‘‘(3) DISASTER AREA.—The term ‘disaster area’ 
has the meanings given such terms by section 
165(h)(3). 
‘‘(4) 
FEDERALLY
DECLARED
MAJOR
DIS-
ASTER.—The term ‘federally declared major dis-
aster’ means a disaster subsequently determined by 
the President of the United States to be a ‘major 
disaster’ that warrants assistance by the Federal 
Government under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. 
‘‘(f) BASIS REDUCTION.—For purposes of this sub-
title, the basis of any property for which a credit is allow-
able under subsection (a) shall be reduced by the amount 
of such credit so allowed. 
‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 
any property for which a certificate for occupancy is issued 
after December 31, 2015.’’. 
(b) CREDIT MADE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS 
CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of such Code, as amended by this 
Act, is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of para-
graph (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 resilient construction credit deter-
mined under section 45S(a).’’. 
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(c) BASIS ADJUSTMENT.—Subsection (a) of section 
1016 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (31), by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
(32) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(38) to the extent provided in section 45S(f), 
in the case of amounts with respect to which a credit 
has been allowed under section 45S.’’. 
(d) DEDUCTION FOR CERTAIN UNUSED BUSINESS 
CREDITS.—Section 196(c) (defining qualified business 
credits) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (13), by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
(14) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding after paragraph 
(14) the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(15) the resilient construction credit deter-
mined under section 45S(a).’’. 
(e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of such Code is amended by inserting after section 45R 
the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 45S. Resilient construction.’’. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to property for which a certificate 
for occupancy is issued after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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