No Taxation with Radiation Act of 2010

Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Here's a modest proposal for change.



Executive Overview: fast-track nuclear power plant construction by

1. giving the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission exclusive regulatory power over plants that choose to operate under the provisions of this act,
   
2. giving a single "rocket docket" court exclusive original jurisdiction over all nuclear claims,
   
3. creating a ten-mile tax-free zone around all operational nuclear power plants and a tax-free zone in each county that agrees to and is approved to accept nuclear waste, and
   
4. providing for tax-free nuclear bonds and a $10,000 guarantee for individual investors.

I. The name of this Act is the "No Taxation with Radiation Act of 2010."

II. All current and proposed nuclear power plants in the United States may elect whether to operate under the provisions of this Act [hereafter, "Federal Plants"]. Plants that choose not to operate under the Act shall be subject to all relevant state and local laws but shall be exempt from all requirements of this Act other than national security regulations promulgated by the Department of Defense. Federal Plants are hereby exempt from all state and local environmental, labor, and public utility laws and regulations.

III. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission [hereafter, "NRC"] shall promulgate comprehensive and exclusive regulations for the construction, operation, and decommission of Federal Plants. The DOE shall issue all necessary permits for the construction, operation, and decommissioning of Federal plants.

IV. The United States Department of Defense [hereafter, "DOD"] shall promulgate national security regulations to ensure the safety of all nuclear power plants, nuclear materials, and nuclear waste, whether or not the nuclear power plant elects to operate under the provisions of this Act.

V. One new federal district court shall be established at [Kansas City, Missouri] with exclusive original jurisdiction over all challenges to the construction, operation, or decommissioning of a Federal Plant. This court shall be provided with enough judges and staff to decide the average case within one month or less. Appeals shall be made to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

VI. Federal Plants are hereby authorized to sell tax-free construction bonds. The United States Treasury shall guarantee each individual investor the first $10,000 of investments in such bonds for any given Federal Plant. Corporate investors, including money market funds, shall not receive guarantees.


VII. Federal Plants may elect to opt out of this program if their State (or tribe, if the plant is located on a Native American reservation) enacts a specific procedure for doing so.

VIII. All individuals with a primary residence within ten miles of an operational nuclear power plant that was constructed as a Federal Plant shall be exempt from personal federal income tax, whether or not the plant opts out of the federal program at a later date. All individuals with a primary residence in a county that agrees to and is approved to accept nuclear waste shall be exempt from personal federal income tax.