{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://carey.house.gov/2026/06/23/carey-conservation-easement-settlement-implements-secure-2-0-reforms-and-furthers-congressional-historic-preservation-goals/", "Carey Conservation Easement Settlement Implements SECURE 2.0 Reforms and Furthers Congressional Historic Preservation Goals", "2026-06-23", "2026", "2026-06", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Mike Carey", "C001126", "carey.house.gov", "carey", "https://carey.house.gov/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio-15), a member of the Ways & Means Committee, introduced the Historic Preservation and Land Conservation Certainty Act to end the multi-year backlog of litigation surrounding the conservation easement program. This new settlement program aligns with Congressional reforms included in the SECURE 2.0 provisions of the 2022 Omnibus. This legislation is structured to help fairly and expeditiously clear the backlog of easement cases at the U.S. Tax Court, and to promote historic preservation, natural habitat protection, and economic revitalization policy goals.\n\n\u201cHistoric preservationists and property owners should feel confident when using this Congressional tax incentive to protect historic buildings and natural habitats,\u201d said Rep. Carey. \u201cLitigation surrounding conservation easements has caused a backlog at the U.S. Tax Court for years and the program currently isn\u2019t working as Congress intended. The Historic Preservation and Land Conservation Certainty Act will generate billions in current-year revenues for Treasury and will help to resolve the backlog of cases at the U.S. Tax Court, in addition to addressing abuse within the program.\u201d\n\nThe Historic Preservation and Land Conservation Certainty Act aligns with the parameters of the SECURE 2.0 Section of the 2022 Omnibus, which included reforms to Section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code. These amendments to IRC \u00a7 170(h) provide an efficient process to resolve tax controversy surrounding the program, and will:\n\nIntroduce a time-limited, self-executing settlement initiative for partnerships with open cases over qualified conservation contributions made in taxable years ending on or before December 31, 2024;\n\nResolve disputes via standardized deduction limits, mechanical tax/penalty calculations, and a streamlined filing process that is consistent with the reforms passed in SECURE 2.0;\n\nEnsure that property owners who claimed ratios in excess of the limits passed in SECURE 2.0 pay higher settlements that account for penalties where applicable and provide a settlement cap for long-term holding period, family partnerships and historic preservation transactions;\n\nAvoid the costly case-by-case valuation litigation that has clogged the U.S. Tax Court; and,\n\nIncentivize partners to elect to resolve tax controversy through a single payment to Treasury thereby significantly reducing the strain on IRS and Tax Court resources.\n\nFull text of the bill can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-24T06:25:30Z", "2026-06-24T06:26:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://carey.house.gov/2026/06/23/carey-conservation-easement-settlement-implements-secure-2-0-reforms-and-furthers-congressional-historic-preservation-goals/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6707129068672657, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}