Native American Business Incubators Program Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1900 To establish a business incubators program within the Department of the Interior to promote economic development in Indian reservation communities. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 27, 2019 Ms. HAALAND (for herself, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. COLE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To establish a business incubators program within the De- partment of the Interior to promote economic develop- ment in Indian reservation communities. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Busi- 4 ness Incubators Program Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1900 IH (1) entrepreneurs face specific challenges when 1 transforming ideas into profitable business enter- 2 prises; 3 (2) entrepreneurs that want to provide products 4 and services in reservation communities face an ad- 5 ditional set of challenges that requires special knowl- 6 edge; 7 (3) a business incubator is an organization that 8 assists entrepreneurs in navigating obstacles that 9 prevent innovative ideas from becoming viable busi- 10 nesses by providing services that include— 11 (A) workspace and facilities resources; 12 (B) access to capital, business education, 13 and counseling; 14 (C) networking opportunities; 15 (D) mentorship opportunities; and 16 (E) an environment intended to help estab- 17 lish and expand business operations; 18 (4) the business incubator model is suited to ac- 19 celerating entrepreneurship in reservation commu- 20 nities because the business incubator model pro- 21 motes collaboration to address shared challenges and 22 provides individually tailored services for the purpose 23 of overcoming obstacles unique to each participating 24 business; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1900 IH (5) business incubators will stimulate economic 1 development by providing Native entrepreneurs with 2 the tools necessary to grow businesses that offer 3 products and services to reservation communities. 4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) BUSINESS INCUBATOR.—The ‘‘business in- 7 cubator’’ means an organization that— 8 (A) provides physical workspace and facili- 9 ties resources to startups and established busi- 10 nesses; and 11 (B) is designed to accelerate the growth 12 and success of businesses through a variety of 13 business support resources and services, includ- 14 ing— 15 (i) access to capital, business edu- 16 cation, and counseling; 17 (ii) networking opportunities; 18 (iii) mentorship opportunities; and 19 (iv) other services intended to aid in 20 developing a business. 21 (2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘eligible 22 applicant’’ means an applicant eligible to apply for 23 a grant under section 4(b). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1900 IH (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 1 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 2 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 3 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 4 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 5 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 6 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 8 (5) NATIVE AMERICAN; NATIVE.—The terms 9 ‘‘Native American’’ and ‘‘Native’’ have the meaning 10 given the term ‘‘Indian’’ in section 4 of the Indian 11 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 12 (25 U.S.C. 5304). 13 (6) NATIVE BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘Native 14 business’’ means a business concern that is at least 15 51-percent owned and controlled by 1 or more Na- 16 tive Americans. 17 (7) NATIVE ENTREPRENEUR.—The term ‘‘Na- 18 tive entrepreneur’’ means an entrepreneur who is a 19 Native American. 20 (8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 21 the program established under section 4(a). 22 (9) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘reservation’’ 23 has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 24 Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1452). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1900 IH (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 1 means the Secretary of the Interior. 2 (11) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 3 term ‘‘tribal college or university’’ has the meaning 4 given the term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ in sec- 5 tion 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 6 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)). 7 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 9 program in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic De- 10 velopment under which the Secretary shall provide finan- 11 cial assistance in the form of competitive grants to eligible 12 applicants for the establishment and operation of business 13 incubators that serve reservation communities by pro- 14 viding business incubation and other business services to 15 Native businesses and Native entrepreneurs. 16 (b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 18 grant under the program, an applicant shall— 19 (A) be— 20 (i) an Indian tribe; 21 (ii) a tribal college or university; 22 (iii) an institution of higher education; 23 or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1900 IH (iv) a private nonprofit organization 1 or tribal nonprofit organization that— 2 (I) provides business and finan- 3 cial technical assistance; and 4 (II) will commit to serving 1 or 5 more reservation communities; 6 (B) be able to provide the physical work- 7 space, equipment, and connectivity necessary 8 for Native businesses and Native entrepreneurs 9 to collaborate and conduct business on a local, 10 regional, national, and international level; and 11 (C) in the case of an entity described in 12 clauses (ii) through (iv) of subparagraph (A), 13 have been operational for not less than 1 year 14 before receiving a grant under the program. 15 (2) JOINT PROJECT.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Two or more entities 17 may submit a joint application for a project 18 that combines the resources and expertise of 19 those entities at a physical location dedicated to 20 assisting Native businesses and Native entre- 21 preneurs under the program. 22 (B) CONTENTS.—A joint application sub- 23 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1900 IH (i) contain a certification that each 1 participant of the joint project is one of 2 the eligible entities described in paragraph 3 (1)(A); and 4 (ii) demonstrate that together the par- 5 ticipants meet the requirements of sub- 6 paragraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1). 7 (c) APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS.— 8 (1) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Each eligi- 9 ble applicant desiring a grant under the program 10 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 11 time, in such manner, and containing such informa- 12 tion as the Secretary may require, including— 13 (A) a certification that the applicant— 14 (i) is an eligible applicant; 15 (ii) will designate an executive direc- 16 tor or program manager, if such director 17 or manager has not been designated, to 18 manage the business incubator; and 19 (iii) agrees— 20 (I) to a site evaluation by the 21 Secretary as part of the final selection 22 process; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1900 IH (II) to an annual programmatic 1 and financial examination for the du- 2 ration of the grant; and 3 (III) to the maximum extent 4 practicable, to remedy any problems 5 identified pursuant to the site evalua- 6 tion under subclause (I) or an exam- 7 ination under subclause (II); 8 (B) a description of the 1 or more reserva- 9 tion communities to be served by the business 10 incubator; 11 (C) a 3-year plan that describes— 12 (i) the number of Native businesses 13 and Native entrepreneurs to be partici- 14 pating in the business incubator; 15 (ii) whether the business incubator 16 will focus on a particular type of business 17 or industry; 18 (iii) a detailed breakdown of the serv- 19 ices to be offered to Native businesses and 20 Native entrepreneurs participating in the 21 business incubator; and 22 (iv) a detailed breakdown of the serv- 23 ices, if any, to be offered to Native busi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1900 IH nesses and Native entrepreneurs not par- 1 ticipating in the business incubator; 2 (D) information demonstrating the effec- 3 tiveness and experience of the eligible applicant 4 in— 5 (i) conducting financial, management, 6 and marketing assistance programs de- 7 signed to educate or improve the business 8 skills of current or prospective businesses; 9 (ii) working in and providing services 10 to Native American communities; 11 (iii) providing assistance to entities 12 conducting business in reservation commu- 13 nities; 14 (iv) providing technical assistance 15 under Federal business and entrepre- 16 neurial development programs for which 17 Native businesses and Native entre- 18 preneurs are eligible; and 19 (v) managing finances and staff effec- 20 tively; and 21 (E) a site description of the location at 22 which the eligible applicant will provide physical 23 workspace, including a description of the tech- 24 nologies, equipment, and other resources that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1900 IH will be available to Native businesses and Na- 1 tive entrepreneurs participating in the business 2 incubator. 3 (2) EVALUATION CONSIDERATIONS.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—In evaluating each ap- 5 plication, the Secretary shall consider— 6 (i) the ability of the eligible appli- 7 cant— 8 (I) to operate a business incu- 9 bator that effectively imparts entre- 10 preneurship and business skills to Na- 11 tive businesses and Native entre- 12 preneurs, as demonstrated by the ex- 13 perience and qualifications of the eli- 14 gible applicant; 15 (II) to commence providing serv- 16 ices within a minimum period of time, 17 to be determined by the Secretary; 18 and 19 (III) to provide quality incuba- 20 tion services to a significant number 21 of Native businesses and Native entre- 22 preneurs; 23 (ii) the experience of the eligible appli- 24 cant in providing services in Native Amer- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1900 IH ican communities, including in the 1 or 1 more reservation communities described in 2 the application; and 3 (iii) the proposed location of the busi- 4 ness incubator. 5 (B) PRIORITY.— 6 (i) IN GENERAL.—In evaluating the 7 proposed location of the business incubator 8 under subparagraph (A)(iii), the Secretary 9 shall— 10 (I) consider the program goal of 11 achieving broad geographic distribu- 12 tion of business incubators; and 13 (II) except as provided in clause 14 (ii), give priority to eligible applicants 15 that will provide business incubation 16 services on or near the reservation of 17 the 1 or more communities that were 18 described in the application. 19 (ii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may 20 give priority to an eligible applicant that is 21 not located on or near the reservation of 22 the 1 or more communities that were de- 23 scribed in the application if the Secretary 24 determines that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1900 IH (I) the location of the business 1 incubator will not prevent the eligible 2 applicant from providing quality busi- 3 ness incubation services to Native 4 businesses and Native entrepreneurs 5 from the 1 or more reservation com- 6 munities to be served; and 7 (II) siting the business incubator 8 in the identified location will serve the 9 interests of the 1 or more reservation 10 communities to be served. 11 (3) SITE EVALUATION.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before making a grant 13 to an eligible applicant, the Secretary shall con- 14 duct a site visit, evaluate a video submission, or 15 evaluate a written site proposal (if the applicant 16 is not yet in possession of the site) of the pro- 17 posed site to ensure the proposed site will per- 18 mit the eligible applicant to meet the require- 19 ments of the program. 20 (B) WRITTEN SITE PROPOSAL.—A written 21 site proposal shall meet the requirements de- 22 scribed in paragraph (1)(E) and contain— 23 (i) sufficient detail for the Secretary 24 to ensure in the absence of a site visit or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1900 IH video submission that the proposed site will 1 permit the eligible applicant to meet the 2 requirements of the program; and 3 (ii) a timeline describing when the eli- 4 gible applicant will be— 5 (I) in possession of the proposed 6 site; and 7 (II) operating the business incu- 8 bator at the proposed site. 9 (C) FOLLOWUP.—Not later than 1 year 10 after awarding a grant to an eligible applicant 11 that submits an application with a written site 12 proposal, the Secretary shall conduct a site visit 13 or evaluate a video submission of the site to en- 14 sure the site is consistent with the written site 15 proposal. 16 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 17 (1) DURATION.—Each grant awarded under the 18 program shall be for a term of 3 years. 19 (2) PAYMENT.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 21 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall disburse 22 grant funds awarded to an eligible applicant in 23 annual installments. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900 pamtmann on DSKBF [Text truncated for display. 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