Secure U.S. Leadership in Space Act of 2024
This bill allows the financing of spaceports with tax-exempt facility bonds. The bill defines spaceport as any facility located at or near a launch or reentry site used for (1) manufacturing, assembling, or repairing spacecraft, space cargo, or other facilities; (2) flight control operations; (3) providing launch services and reentry services; or (4) transferring crew, spaceflight participants, or space cargo to or from spacecraft.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7470 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7470
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat spaceports like
airports for purposes of exempt facility bond rules.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 28, 2024
Mr. Dunn of Florida (for himself, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Gallagher, Mr.
Vasquez, and Mr. Gimenez) 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 treat spaceports like
airports for purposes of exempt facility bond rules.
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 ``Secure U.S. Leadership in Space Act
of 2024''.
SEC. 2. SPACEPORTS ARE TREATED LIKE AIRPORTS UNDER EXEMPT FACILITY BOND
RULES.
(a) In General.--Section 142(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended to read as follows:
``(1) airports and spaceports,''.
(b) Treatment of Ground Leases.--Section 142(b)(1) of such Code is
amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) Special rule for spaceport ground leases.--
For purposes of subparagraph (A), spaceport property
located on land leased by a governmental unit from the
United States shall not fail to be treated as owned by
a governmental unit if the requirements of this
paragraph are met by the lease and any subleases of the
property.''.
(c) Definition of Spaceport.--Section 142 of such Code is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(p) Spaceport.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a)(1), the
term `spaceport' means any facility located at or in close
proximity to a launch site or reentry site used for--
``(A) manufacturing, assembling, or repairing
spacecraft, space cargo, other facilities described in
this paragraph, or any component of the foregoing,
``(B) flight control operations,
``(C) providing launch services and reentry
services, or
``(D) transferring crew, spaceflight participants,
or space cargo to or from spacecraft.
``(2) Additional terms.--For purposes of paragraph (1)--
``(A) Space cargo.--The term `space cargo' includes
satellites, scientific experiments, other property
transported into space, and any other type of payload,
whether or not such property returns from space.
``(B) Spacecraft.--The term `spacecraft' means a
launch vehicle or a reentry vehicle.
``(C) Other terms.--The terms `launch', `launch
site', `crew', `space flight participant', `launch
services', `launch vehicle', `payload', `reenter',
`reentry services', `reentry site', a `reentry vehicle'
shall have the respective meanings given to such terms
by section 50902 of title 51, United States Code (as in
effect on the date of enactment of this subsection).
``(3) Public use requirement.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a facility shall not be required to be
available for use by the general public to be treated as a
spaceport for purposes of this section.
``(4) Manufacturing facilities and industrial parks
allowed.--With respect to spaceports, subsection (c)(2)(E)
shall not apply to spaceport porperty described in paragraph
(1)(A).''.
(d) Exception From Federally Guaranteed Bond Prohibition.--Section
149(b)(3) of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following
new subparagraph:
``(F) Exception for spaceports.--A bond shall not
be treated as federally guaranteed merely because of
the payment of rent, user fees, or other charges by the
United States (or any agency or instrumentality
thereof) in exchange for the use of the spaceport by
the United States (or any agency or instrumentality
thereof).''.
(e) Exclusion From State Ceiling.--Section 146(g) of such Code is
amended by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (5), by striking
the period and inserting ``, and'' at the end of paragraph (6), and by
inserting after paragraph (6) the following new paragraph:
``(7) any exempt facility bond issued as part of an issue
95 percent or more of the net proceeds of which are to be used
to provide a spaceport (as defined in section 142).''.
(f) Conforming Amendment.--The heading for section 142(c) of such
Code is amended by inserting ``Spaceports,'' after ``Airports,''.
(g) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to obligations issued after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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