,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #beig  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #ad1     
#bjad ,mr4 ,casey introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,finance 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend the ,internal      
,revenue ,code of #aihf to provide for  
the establishment of ,promise ,zones4   
#a4 ,short title  ,this ,act may be     
cited as the ,promise ,zone ,job        
,creation ,act of #bjad4  #b4  ,promise 
,zones  7a7  ,in general  ,subchapter ,y
 of chapter #a of the ,internal ,revenue
 ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at 
the end the following new part3  ,,iv   
,promise ,zones  ,sec4 #adjj,v-#a4      
,designation of ,promise ,zones4 ,sec4  
#adjj,v-#b4 ,promise ,zone employment   
credit4 ,sec4 #adjj,v-#c4 ,expensing of 
,promise ,zone property4  #adjj,v-#a4   
,designation of ,promise ,zones  7a7    
,in general  ,for purposes of this part1
 the term ,promise ,zone means any      
area--  7#a7 which is nominated by #a or

 more local governments or ,indian      
,tribes 7as defined in section #d7ac7 of
 the ,native ,american ,housing         
,assistance and ,self-,determination    
,act of #aiif 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #dajc7ac77 
for designation as a ,promise ,zone     
7hereafter in this section referred to  
as a nominated area71  7#b7 which has a 
continuous boundary1  7#c7 the          
population of which does not exceed     
#bjj1jjj1 and  7#d7 which the ,secretary
 of ,housing and ,urban ,development and
 the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 acting 
jointly1 designate as a ,promise ,zone1 
after consultation with the ,secretary  
of ,commerce1 the ,secretary of         
,education1 the ,attorney ,general1 the 
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services1 the ,secretary of ,labor1 the
 ,secretary of the ,treasury1 the       
,secretary of ,transportation1 and other
 agencies as appropriate4  7b7  ,number 
of designations  7#a7  ,in general  ,not
 more than #bj nominated areas may be   
designated as ,promise ,zones4  7#b7    

,number of designations in rural areas  
,of the areas designated under paragraph
 7#a71 #f of such areas shall be areas--
  7,a7 which are outside of a           
metropolitan statistical area 7within   
the meaning of section                  
#adc7k77#b77;,b771 or  7,b7 which are   
determined by the ,secretary of         
,agriculture to be rural areas4  7c7    
,period of designations  7#a7  ,in      
general  ,the ,secretary of ,housing and
 ,urban ,development and the ,secretary 
of the ,agriculture shall1 acting       
jointly1 designate #bj areas as ,promise
 ,zones before ,january #a1 #bjag4  7#b7
  ,effective dates of designations  ,the
 designation of any ,promise ,zone shall
 take effect--  7,a7 for purposes of    
priority consideration in ,federal grant
 programs and initiatives 7other than   
this part71 upon execution of the       
,promise ,zone agreement1 and  7,b7 for 
purposes of this part1 on ,january #a of
 the first calendar year beginning after
 the date of the execution of the       

,promise ,zone agreement4  7#c7         
,termination of designations  ,the      
designation of any ,promise ,zone shall 
end on the earlier of--  7,a7 the end of
 the #aj-year period beginning on the   
date that such designation takes effect1
 or  7,b7 the date of the revocation of 
such designation4  7#d7  ,application to
 certain ,zones already designated  ,in 
the case of any area designated as a    
,promise ,zone by the ,secretary of     
,housing and ,urban ,development and the
 ,secretary of ,agriculture before the  
date of the enactment of this ,act1 such
 area shall be taken into account as a  
,promise ,zone designated under this    
section and shall reduce the number of  
,promise ,zones remaining to be         
designated under paragraph 7#a74  7d7   
,limitations on designations  ,no area  
may be designated under this section    
unless--  7#a7 the entities nominating  
the area have the authority to nominate 
the area of designation under this      
section1  7#b7 such entities provide    

written assurances satisfactory to the  
,secretary of ,housing and ,urban       
,development and the ,secretary of      
,agriculture that the competitiveness   
plan described in the application under 
subsection 7e7 for such area will be    
implemented and that such entities will 
provide the ,secretary of ,housing and  
,urban ,development and the ,secretary  
of ,agriculture with such data regarding
 the economic conditions of the area    
7before1 during1 and after the area's   
period of designation as a ,promise     
,zone7 as such ,secretary may require1  
and  7#c7 the ,secretary of ,housing and
 ,urban ,development and the ,secretary 
of ,agriculture determine that any      
information furnished is reasonably     
accurate4  7e7  ,application  ,no area  
may be designated under this section    
unless the application for such         
designation--  7#a7 demonstrates that   
the nominated area satisfies the        
eligibility criteria described in       
subsection 7a71  7#b7 includes a        

competitiveness plan which--  7,a7      
addresses the need of the nominated area
 to attract investment and jobs and     
improve educational opportunities1  7,b7
 leverages the nominated area's economic
 strengths and outlines targeted        
investments to develop competitive      
advantages1  7,c7 demonstrates          
collaboration across a wide range of    
stakeholders1  7,d7 outlines a strategy 
which connects the nominated area to    
drivers of regional economic growth1 and
  7,e7 proposes a strategy for focusing 
on increased access to high quality     
affordable housing and improved public  
safety4  7f7  ,selection criteria  ,from
 among the nominated areas eligible for 
designation under this section1 the     
,secretary of ,housing and ,urban       
,development and the ,secretary of      
,agriculture shall designate ,promise   
,zones on the basis of--  7#a7 the      
effectiveness of the competitiveness    
plan submitted under subsection 7e7 and 
the assurances made under subsection    

7d71 and  7#b7 unemployment rates1      
poverty rates1 vacancy rates1 crime     
rates1 and such other factors as the    
,secretary of ,housing and ,urban       
,development and the ,secretary of      
,agriculture may identify1 including    
household income1 home-ownership1 labor 
force participation1 and educational    
attainment1 and  7#c7 other criteria as 
determined by the ,secretary of ,housing
 and ,urban ,development and the        
,secretary of ,agriculture4  ,the       
,secretary of ,housing and ,urban       
,development and the ,secretary of      
,agriculture may set minimal standards  
for the levels of unemployment and      
poverty that must be satisfied for      
designation as a ,promise ,zone4        
#adjj,v-#b4  ,promise ,zone employment  
credit  7a7  ,amount of credit  ,for    
purposes of section #ch1 the amount of  
the ,promise ,zone employment credit    
determined under this section with      
respect to any employer for any taxable 
year is the applicable percentage of the

 qualified wages paid or incurred during
 the calendar year which ends with or   
within such taxable year4  7b7          
,applicable percentage  ,for purposes of
 this section1 the term applicable      
percentage means--  7#a7 in the case of 
qualified wages described in subsection 
7c77#a77;,a71 #bj percent1 and  7#b7 in 
the case of qualified wages described in
 subsection 7c77#a77;,b71 #aj percent4  
7c7  ,qualified wages  ,for purposes of 
this section--  7#a7  ,in general  ,the 
term qualified wages means any wages    
paid or incurred by an employer for     
services performed by an employee while 
such employee is--  7,a7 a qualified    
zone employee1 or  7,b7 a qualified     
resident employee4  7#b7  ,only first   
#ae1jjj of wages per year taken into    
account  ,with respect to each qualified
 employee1 the amount of qualified wages
 taken into account for a calendar year 
shall not exceed #ae1jjj4  7#c7         
,coordination with work opportunity     
credit  7,a7  ,in general  ,the term    

qualified wages shall not include wages 
taken into account in determining the   
credit under section #ea4  7,b7         
,coordination with dollar limitation    
,the #ae1jjj amount in paragraph 7#b7   
shall be reduced for any calendar year  
by the amount of wages paid or incurred 
during such year which are taken into   
account in determining the credit under 
section #ea4  7#d7  ,wages  ,the term   
wages has the meaning given such term by
 section #acig7;a74  7d7  ,qualified    
employee  ,for purposes of this         
section--  7#a7  ,qualified employee    
,the term qualified employee means any  
employee who is a qualified zone        
employee or a qualified resident        
employee4  7#b7  ,qualified zone        
employee  ,except as otherwise provided 
in this subsection1 the term qualified  
zone employee means1 with respect to any
 period1 any employee of an employer    
if--  7,a7 substantially all of the     
services performed during such period by
 such employee for such employer are    

performed within a ,promise ,zone in a  
trade or business of the employer1 and  
7,b7 the principal place of abode of    
such employee while performing such     
services is within a ,promise ,zone4    
7#c7  ,qualified resident employee      
,except as otherwise provided in this   
subsection1 the term qualified resident 
employee means1 with respect to any     
period1 an employee of an employer if   
the principal place of abode of such    
employee during such period is within a 
,promise ,zone1 but substantially all of
 the services performed during such     
period by such employee for such        
employer are not performed within a     
,promise ,zone in a trade or business of
 the employer4  7#d7  ,certain          
individuals not eligible  ,the terms    
qualified zone employee and qualified   
resident employee shall not include any 
individual described in paragraph 7#b7  
of section #acif7;d77#b7 7determined    
after application of paragraph 7#c7     
thereof74  7e7  ,special rules  ,rules  

similar to the rules of section #acig   
shall apply for purposes of this        
section4  7f7  ,taxpayer reporting  ,no 
credit shall be determined under this   
section with respect to any taxpayer for
 any taxable year unless such taxpayer  
provides the ,secretary with such       
information as the ,secretary may       
require to allow the ,secretary to      
evaluate the effectiveness of the       
program established under this part4    
#adjj,v-#c4  ,expensing of ,promise     
,zone property  7a7  ,in general  ,a    
taxpayer may elect to treat the cost of 
any ,promise ,zone property as an       
expense which is not chargeable to      
capital account4 ,any cost so treated   
shall be allowed as a deduction for the 
taxable year in which the ,promise ,zone
 property is placed in service4  7b7    
,promise ,zone property  ,for purposes  
of this section--  7#a7  ,in general    
,except as otherwise provided in this   
subsection1 the term ,promise ,zone     
property means property--  7,a7 which   

is--  7i7 tangible property 7to which   
section #afh applies7 with an applicable
 recovery period 7within the meaning of 
section #afh7 of #bj years or less1     
7ii7 water utility property described in
 section #afh7;e77#e71  7iii7 computer  
software described in section           
#agi7;d77#a77;,a77ii71 or  7iv7         
qualified leasehold improvement property
 7as defined in section #afh7;e771  7,b7
 which is acquired by purchase 7as      
defined in section #agi7;d77#b77 for use
 in the active conduct of a trade or    
business1 and  7,c7 which is originally 
placed in service by the taxpayer in a  
,promise ,zone4  7#b7  ,exception for   
certain property  ,such term shall not  
include any property to which section   
#afh7;g7 applies4  7c7  ,election  ,an  
election under this section shall be    
made under rules similar to the rules of
 section #agi7;c74  7d7  ,coordination  
with section #agi  ,for purposes of     
section #agi1 ,promise ,zone property   
shall not be treated as section #agi    

property4  7e7  ,application of other   
rules  ,rules similar to the rules of   
paragraphs 7#c71 7#d71 7#e71 7#g71 7#i7 
and 7#aj7 of section #agi7;d7 shall     
apply for purposes of this section4  7f7
  ,taxpayer reporting  ,this section    
shall not apply with respect to any     
taxpayer for any taxable year unless    
such taxpayer provides the ,secretary   
with such information as the ,secretary 
may require to allow the ,secretary to  
evaluate the effectiveness of the       
program established under this part4  4 
7b7  ,conforming amendments  7#a7       
,section #ch7;b7 of such ,code is       
amended by striking plus at the end of  
paragraph 7#ce71 by striking the period 
at the end of paragraph 7#cf7 and       
inserting 1 plus1 and by adding at the  
end the following new paragraph3  7#cg7 
the ,promise ,zone employment credit    
determined under section #adjj,v-#b4  4 
7#b7 ,the table of parts for subchapter 
,y of chapter #a of such ,code is       
amended by adding at the end the        

following new item3  ,part              
,,iv--,promise ,zones  4  7c7 ,effective
 date ,the amendments made by this      
section shall apply to taxable years    
ending after ,december #ca1 #bjad4