Title: Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Reform Act of 2017
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Reform Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make certain amounts in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund available, without appropriation, to pay
The bill also amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to require


[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1488 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1488

   To require full spending of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, to 
provide for expanded uses of the Fund, and to prevent cargo diversion, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 29, 2017

  Mrs. Murray (for herself and Ms. Cantwell) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require full spending of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, to 
provide for expanded uses of the Fund, and to prevent cargo diversion, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Reform 
Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. REFORM OF SPENDING FROM THE HARBOR MAINTENANCE TRUST FUND.

    (a) In General.--Section 9505(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Expenditures From Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.--
            ``(1) Required distributions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of any fiscal year 
                beginning after September 30, 2017, so much of the 
                amounts in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund as is 
                equal to the applicable amount shall be available, 
                without appropriation, for making expenditures--
                            ``(i) to carry out section 210 of the Water 
                        Resources Development Act of 1986,
                            ``(ii) for payments of rebates of tolls or 
                        charges pursuant to section 13(b) of the Act of 
                        May 13, 1954 (as in effect on April 1, 1987), 
                        and
                            ``(iii) for the payment of all expenses of 
                        administration incurred by the Department of 
                        the Treasury, the Army Corps of Engineers, and 
                        the Department of Commerce related to the 
                        administration of subchapter A of chapter 36 
                        (relating to harbor maintenance tax).
                    ``(B) Applicable amount.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), the applicable amount for any fiscal 
                year is an amount equal to the sum of--
                            ``(i) the amount of taxes received in the 
                        Treasury under section 4461 for the immediately 
                        preceding fiscal year, plus
                            ``(ii) any amounts credited to the Harbor 
                        Maintenance Trust Fund under section 9602(b) 
                        which is attributable to the portion of the 
                        amounts described in clause (i) that are 
                        deposited in such Trust Fund.
                    ``(C) Allocation of amounts.--Of the amounts 
                available under this paragraph for any fiscal year--
                            ``(i) $5,000,000 shall be available for 
                        purposes described in subparagraph (A)(iii),
                            ``(ii) $40,000,000 shall be available for 
                        purposes described in subparagraph (A)(ii), and
                            ``(iii) the remainder shall be available 
                        for purposes described in subparagraph (A)(i).
            ``(2) Other amounts.--The amounts in the Harbor Maintenance 
        Trust Fund after application of paragraph (1) shall be 
        available, as provided in appropriations Acts, for making 
        expenditures for purposes described in paragraph (1)(A).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to fiscal years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL MEASURES AT DONOR PORTS AND ENERGY TRANSFER PORTS.

    Section 2106 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 
2014 (33 U.S.C. 2238c) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Subject to the 
                availability of appropriations, the Secretary may'' and 
                inserting ``The Secretary shall''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``; 
                        and'' and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking 
                        the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; 
                        and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) shall be provided in equal amounts for each 
                fiscal year to--
                            ``(i) donor ports and medium-sized donor 
                        ports; and
                            ``(ii) energy transfer ports.'';
            (2) by striking subsection (f); and
            (3) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (f).

SEC. 4. EXPENDITURES FROM THE HARBOR MAINTENANCE TRUST FUND.

    (a) Operation and Maintenance of Harbor Projects.--Section 210(c) 
of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2238(c)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``fiscal year 2012'' and 
        inserting ``fiscal year 2016'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) Certain donor ports and energy transfer ports.--The 
        Secretary shall allocate to carry out activities under section 
        2106(c) of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 
        2014 (33 U.S.C. 2238c(c)) an amount that is not less than 20 
        percent of the funds made available under this section for each 
        fiscal year.''.
    (b) Definition of Expanded Uses.--Section 210(f)(3) of the Water 
Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2238(f)(3)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) An in-water improvement, if--
                            ``(i) the improvement benefits commercial 
                        navigation at the harbor; and
                            ``(ii) the improvement is located in or 
                        adjacent to a berth that is accessible to a 
                        Federal navigation project.
                    ``(D) An activity to maintain or improve slope 
                stability at a berth in a harbor that is accessible to 
                a Federal navigation project, if the activity benefits 
                commercial navigation at the harbor.''.
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