On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, which proposes a total of $1.2 trillion in infrastructure investment. In addition to the expected impact on the municipal finance industry generally, the Act contains a few industry-specific provisions, including:
• Broadband Projects (Section 80401). This provision creates a new type of tax-exempt, private activity bond to finance high-speed broadband infrastructure, intending to attract private investment in previously unserved or underserved areas, particularly in rural communities.
• Carbon Capture Facilities (Section 80402). This provision creates a new type of tax-exempt, private activity bond to finance facilities and equipment that capture, treat, transport, or store carbon dioxide produced from industrial, manufacturing and energy-generating facilities, incentivizing private investment in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.
• Qualified Highway or Surface Freight Transportation Facilities (Section 80403). This provision increases the amount of special volume cap for qualified highway or surface freight transportation facilities from the current limit of $15 billion to $30 billion, allowing additional public-private partnerships for highway and other surface transportation projects.
The full text of the legislation is available here: https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr3684/BILLS-117hr3684enr.pdf.
Gilmore & Bell has made this material available for informational purposes only. This material is general in nature, not intended as legal advice for any particular transaction, and should not be relied upon or used for any particular transaction without consulting legal counsel. Please contact your Gilmore & Bell attorney if you have any questions or would like additional information.
Posted: Nov 16, 2021