HEARINGS LAW LIBR APR 1 2 1966 BERKELE UNIVERSITY OF BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EIGHTY-NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON H.R. 4972 A BILL TO AMEND THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT, AS COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE HARLEY O. STAGGERS, West Virginia, Chairman WALTER ROGERS, Texas SAMUEL N. FRIEDEL, Maryland TORBERT H. MACDONALD, Massachusetts JOHN JARMAN, Oklahoma LEO W. O'BRIEN, New York JOHN E. MOSS, California HORACE R. KORNEGAY, North Carolina FRED D. ROONEY, Pennsylvania DAVID E. SATTERFIELD III, Virginia J. OLIVA HUOT, New Hampshire CHARLES P. FARNSLEY, Kentucky WILLIAM L. SPRINGER, Illinois ALBERT W. WATSON, South Carolina W. B. WILLIAMSON, Clerk KENNETH J. PAINTER, Assistant Clerk ANDREW STEVENSON KURT BORCHARDT Professional Staff JAMES M. MENGER, Jr. WILLIAM J. DIXON Conlon, Charles F., executive secretary, National Association of Tax 78 McDowell, Robert O., attorney for the Property Valuation Depart ment, State of Kansas... 116 Ogden, James N., representing the Association of American Railroads. 10, 72 Peters, William E., State tax attorney, Lincoln, Nebr.. 121 Roncalio, Hon. Teno, a Representative in Congress from the State of Sanders, Paul H., professor of law, Vanderbilt University School of Travis, Broley E., consulting valuation engineer, Sacramento, Calif.. Additional material submitted for the record by American Trucking Associations, Inc., letter from W. A. Bresnahan, managing director.. 146 Arkansas Public Service Commission, statement of Earl Berry, director, tax division__ 91 Association of American Railroads: Appendix A-List of 20 States wherein excessive ad valorem Exhibit No. 1-Letter from, and background material on, James Exhibit No. 2-Background material on Dr. Harold M. Groves__. States wherein tax cases were settled with decisions adverse to 110 Avery, Gov. William H., of Kansas, letter from. Iowa State Tax Commission, statement of Lynn Potter, chairman__. North Dakota State Board of Equalization, Lloyd Omdahl, secretary, statement of.. 101 141 Oregon State Tax Commission, letter from C. H. Mack, chairman__ Peters, William E., State tax attorney, Lincoln, Nebr., supplemental statement of__ 144 123 South Dakota State Department of Revenue, statement of 139 Speer, John B., New Mexico State Tax Commission attorney, letter from... 143 118 142 122 44 125 Additional material submitted for the record by-Continued Public notice from the Illinois State Journal and Register, listing Section 561, chapter 120, Revenue Code, 1965 Illinois Revised Tennessee Public Service Commission, statement of, presented by Transportation Association of America, letter from Harold F. Ham- Washington State Tax Commission: Letter from George Kinnear, chairman_ Ratio comparison, 1960 through 1965 (chart) – Wyoming State Board of Equalization: Exhibit I-Chapter 11-A-Ad valorem tax assessments by the Exhibit II-Excerpts from minutes with reference to Chicago, Page 34 36 37 140 146 145 145 123 M Exhibit IV-Comparison of railroad assessments in Wyoming, Exhibit V-Assessed valuations of class I railroads in Wyoming Exhibit VI—Percentage changes in ad valorem assessed valuation Exhibit VIII-General Order No. 2, 1962-Buildings and/or Exhibit IX-General Order No. 2, 1966-Inventories - - Exhibit XI-General Order No. 4, 1966-Personal property- Statement of... Exhibit III-Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad tonnage 123 131 132 133 133 133 134 134 135 136 137 138 126 TAX ASSESSMENTS ON COMMON CARRIER PROPERTY TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 1966 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Washington, D.C. The committee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 2123, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Harley O. Staggers (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. The committee this morning is opening hearings on 13 identical bills, starting with H.R. 4972, introduced by our colleague, Mr. Rogers of Texas. (The identical bills are: H.R. 5074, H.R. 5310, H.R. 5375, H.R. 5425, H.R. 5656, H.R. 7183, H.R. 7313, H.R. 7589, H.R. 7917, H.R. 8238, H.R. 8763, and H.R. 9450.) The CHAIRMAN. The purpose of the bill is to declare that it is an unreasonable and unjust discrimination against and an undue burden upon interstate commerce for a State to assess a valuation on carrier property at a rate higher than it assesses all other property in the State, and collaterally, to provide a remedy in the Federal courts for carriers against the collection of a tax based on an unlawful assessment. (The bill referred to, and departmental reports thereon, follow :) [H.R. 4972, 89th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, in order to make unlawful, as unreasonable and unjust discrimination against and undue burden upon interstate commerce, certain property tax assessments of common carrier property, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, is amended by inserting after section 25 thereof a new section 25a as follows: "SEC. 25a. (1) The following action by any State, or subdivision or agency thereof, whether such action be taken pursuant to a constitutional provision, statute, or administrative order or practice, or otherwise, is hereby declared to constitute an unreasonable and unjust discrimination against and an undue burden upon interstate commerce and is hereby forbidden and declared to be unlawful: (a) the assessment, for purposes of a property tax levied by any taxing district, of property owned or used by any common carrier subject to this Act engaged in transportation of persons or property in interstate commerce at a value which bears a higher ratio to the true market value of such property than the assessed value of all other property in the taxing district subject to the same property tax levy bears to the true market value of all such property; (b) the collection of any tax on the portion of said assessment so declared to be unlawful. "(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1341, title 28, United States Code, or of the constitution or laws of any State, the district of the United States shall have jurisdiction, upon complaint and after hearing to issue such writs of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, as may be necessary to restrain any State, or subdivision or agency thereof, or any person from |