A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to clarify the tax exemption for interest on obligations of volunteer fire departments.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that bonds issued by a volunteer fire department to finance the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, or improvement of firefighting property shall be treated as the obligation of a political subdivision of a State (interest on such bonds is tax-exempt). Provides that a volunteer fire department qualifies for preferential tax treatment of its bonds if it: (1) is organized and operated to provide firefighting services in an area which does not have any other firefighting services; (2) is required by a local government to furnish firefighting services; (3) receives over half of its funding from local government; and (4) makes no charge for its services.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 8, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 8, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
DAVID EVANS (D-IN) introduced it on May 8, 1980, and 26 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 13 Democrats, 13 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 8, 1980, 16926 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16926 days ago, on May 8, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers