An Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to provide that income from the conducting of certain bingo games by certain tax-exempt organizations will not be subject to tax, and for other purposes.
Public Law 95-502 · H.R. 8533 · 95th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Oct 21, 1978 · Taxation
Sponsor: Rep. William Brodhead (D-MI-17)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
=Title I: Replacement of Locks and Dam 26; Upper Mississippi River System Comprehensive Master Management Plan= - Directs the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission to prepare a preliminary comprehensive master plan for the management of the Upper Mississippi River System in cooperation with the appropriate Federal, State, and local officials by January 1, 1981. Requires the Commission to submit to Congress for approval a final master plan by January 1, 1982. Sets forth guidelines for the development of such plan, and specifies studies which the Commission shall conduct for such purposes. Authorizes $12,000,000 to be appropriated to the Commission through the United States Water Resources Council for the preparation of such plan.
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of the Corps of Engineers, to replace locks and dam 26, Mississippi Riverm Alton, Illinois and Missouri, in substantial accordance with the project report dated July 31, 1976.
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of the Corps of Engineers, to replace as a part of such project, the terrestial wildlife habitat inundated by project construction, and to manage such lands for wildlife mitigation purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to construct a project-related recreation development near Ellis Island, Missouri, on a cost-sharing basis with Missouri. Directs that such recreation area be administered in accordance with the Federal Water Project Recreation Act.
Establishes the Mississippi River navigation channel above Cairo, Illinois, at nine feet. Prohibits the Secretary or other Federal officials from studying the feasibility of deepening the navigation channels in specified rivers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
Prohibits the replacement or constuction of locks and dams (except as authorized by this Act) to increase the traffic capacity of the Upper Mississippi River System until the master plan has been approved by Congress.
Authorizes appropriations for the replacement of the locks and dam and the wildlife habitat.
=Title II: Inland Waterways Revenue Act of 1978= - Inland Waterways Revenue Act - Imposes a four cents-per-gallon fuel excise tax upon vessels in commercial waterway transportation. Specifies a schedule for subsequent increases of such tax. Describes inland and intracoastal waterways for the purposes of such tax. Provides for the payment of such funds into a new Treasury fund, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.
Directs the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with certain other departments and officials, to conduct a thorough study with respect to inland waterway user taxes and charges. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to submit to Congress by September 30, 1981, such report with findings and recommendations. Requires such study to include specific considerations relating to the taxing mechanism, economic effects, economic feasibility of waterway improvement projects, Federal assistance, and policy and future development.
Authorizes appropriations not to exceed $8,000,000 to carry out such study.
=Title III: Proceeds from Bingo Games= - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that tax-exempt organizations and political organizations are not subject to tax on income fom certain bingo games conducted in accordance with State and local law. Prohibits the exclusion if bingo is an activity ordinarily carried out on a commercial basis.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 14 actions.
- Oct 21, 1978Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 95-502.
- Oct 20, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Oct 13, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · House agreed to Senate amendment (See H. Res. 1432).
- Oct 10, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Senate Finance Committee
- Sep 27, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Finance Committee
- Sep 25, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up under motion to suspend rules and pass in House.
- Sep 22, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Ways and Means Committee
- Jul 26, 1977CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Ways and Means Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.