A bill to prevent the estate tax law from operating to encourage or to require the destruction of open lands by amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to provide that real property which is farmland, woodland, or open land and forms part of an estate may be valued, for estate tax purposes, at its value as farmland, woodland, or open land (rather than at its fair market value), and to provide for the revocation of such lower valuation and recapture of unpaid tax with interest in appropriate circumstances.
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the executor of an estate to elect to determine the value of certain farmland, woodland, or open space in the estate according to its current use value, rather than its fair market value. Requires such land to have been devoted to farming, woodland, or open space for the 60 months preceding the decedent's death. Provides for recapture of tax that would have been assessed and paid at fair market value if all or any part of such property is: (1) converted to an unqualified use; (2) rezoned for an unqualified use at the land owner's request; or (3) sold. Requires filing of a tax return within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter in which such a sale takes pace.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on October 1, 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 October 1, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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?
CHARLES MATHIAS (R-MD) introduced it on October 1, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 October 1, 1980, 16780 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16780 days ago, on October 1, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers