SEEED Commission Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3385 To provide for the establishment of a Commission on the Advancement of Social Enterprise, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 20, 2019 Mr. CICILLINE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To provide for the establishment of a Commission on the Advancement of Social Enterprise, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Social Enterprise Eco- 4 system and Economic Development Commission Act of 5 2019’’ or as the ‘‘SEEED Commission Act of 2019’’. 6 SEC. 2. COMMISSION ON THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIAL 7 ENTERPRISE. 8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com- 9 mission to be known as the Commission on the Advance- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3385 IH ment of Social Enterprise (referred to in this section as 1 the ‘‘Commission’’). The purpose of the Commission is to 2 examine and make recommendations with respect to ways 3 the Federal Government can support and utilize the trans- 4 formative power of social enterprises. 5 (b) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 6 Federal Advisory Committee Act does not apply to the 7 Commission established under this section. 8 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the Commis- 9 sion shall be composed of the following or their designees: 10 (1) The Administrator of the Small Business 11 Administration. 12 (2) The Administrator of the Economic Devel- 13 opment Administration. 14 (3) The Assistant to the President for Domestic 15 Policy. 16 (4) The Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 17 (5) The Secretary of Labor. 18 (6) The Director of the National Economic 19 Council. 20 (7) The Chair of the Council of Economic Advi- 21 sors. 22 (8) The Secretary of the Treasury. 23 (9) The Secretary of Commerce. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3385 IH (10) The Secretary of Housing and Urban De- 1 velopment. 2 (d) OPERATION.— 3 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Do- 4 mestic Policy Council shall serve as the Chairperson 5 of the Commission. 6 (2) MEETINGS.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 8 meet at the call of the Chairperson. 9 (B) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meet- 10 ing shall take place not later than 30 days after 11 the date of enactment of this Act. 12 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 13 the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 14 lesser number of members may hold hearings. 15 (4) RULES.—The Commission may establish, by 16 majority vote, any rules for the conduct of Commis- 17 sion business, in accordance with this Act and other 18 applicable law. 19 (e) DUTIES.— 20 (1) DEFINING SOCIAL ENTERPRISE.—Not later 21 than 1 year after the initial meeting of the Commis- 22 sion, the Commission shall establish criteria for 23 identifying social enterprises for purposes of Federal 24 programs. The Commission will draw upon existing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3385 IH leading research and scholarship in this area as well 1 as the input of practitioners and policy experts with- 2 in the social enterprise field. 3 (2) STUDY ACTIVITIES.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 5 identify opportunities for the Federal Govern- 6 ment to more effectively engage social enter- 7 prises in creating jobs and strengthening local 8 economies while achieving optimal outcomes in 9 addressing policy challenges at the national, 10 State, and local level. The Commission shall re- 11 ceive and consider reports and testimony from 12 individuals, government departments, State and 13 local elected officials, community-based organi- 14 zations, nonprofit organizations, faith-based or- 15 ganizations, foundations, and other public and 16 private organizations statewide and of national 17 significance on the following: 18 (i) How social enterprise can accel- 19 erate progress on social issues. 20 (ii) How social enterprises work in a 21 cross-sector manner. 22 (iii) How social enterprise can ad- 23 vance social and economic development 24 goals. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3385 IH (B) AREAS OF STUDY AND RECOMMENDA- 1 TION.—The areas studied and potential rec- 2 ommendations offered by the Commission under 3 this paragraph shall include the following: 4 (i) The role of social enterprises in the 5 United States economy. 6 (ii) The role of social enterprises in 7 addressing economic, social, and environ- 8 mental policy challenges across all levels of 9 government. 10 (iii) The role of social enterprises as 11 community support and development enti- 12 ties. 13 (iv) A statistical and qualitative exam- 14 ination of social enterprise within the 15 United States and its contribution to the 16 social and economic development of the 17 United States. 18 (v) Means through which the Federal 19 Government can assist in enhancing the 20 capacity of social enterprises. 21 (vi) Corporate legal structures that 22 foster or impede the development of social 23 enterprises. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3385 IH (vii) How to reform the Internal Rev- 1 enue Code to reduce obstacles that social 2 enterprises face when addressing social 3 issues and creating economic value through 4 innovative methods. 5 (viii) How to reform Federal securi- 6 ties laws to encourage impact investing. 7 (ix) How the Federal Government can 8 leverage existing Community Development 9 Financial Institutions programs. 10 (x) How various sectors (including but 11 not limited to philanthropic, for-profit, and 12 nonprofit sectors) and levels of government 13 currently interact with social enterprises. 14 (xi) Review of the current process 15 through which social enterprises—both for- 16 profit and nonprofit organizations—can 17 obtain Federal loans, grants, and contracts 18 and offer recommendations for improving 19 these processes in light of the special needs 20 and contributions of social enterprises. 21 (xii) Review of the current process, 22 policies, and procedures through which so- 23 cial enterprises—both for-profit and non- 24 profit organizations—can access Federal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3385 IH contracting opportunities and offer rec- 1 ommendations for improving the access of 2 social enterprises to Federal procurement 3 opportunities. 4 (xiii) How the Federal Government 5 can play a role in developing a purchasing 6 directory of social enterprises within the 7 United States that can be supported by 8 citizens, businesses, and government. 9 (xiv) Opportunities for the Federal 10 Government to develop and expand re- 11 search and the collection and analysis of 12 longitudinal data on social enterprises. 13 (xv) Barriers to social enterprise 14 growth. 15 (xvi) Opportunities for the develop- 16 ment of an entity or initiative to support 17 intermediaries that will promote and invest 18 in social enterprise. 19 (xvii) Identification of the appropriate 20 entity within the Federal Government that 21 shall be charged with the responsibility of 22 preparing an annual report to Congress on 23 the impact of social enterprises in the 24 United States and the extent to which the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3385 IH Federal Government interacts with, sup- 1 ports, and invests in social enterprises. 2 And, where appropriate, this entity shall 3 monitor and update the areas of study list- 4 ed in this subparagraph. 5 (f) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 6 (1) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold 7 such hearings and collect such information as appro- 8 priate for carrying out this section. 9 (2) INFORMATION.—Except as otherwise pro- 10 hibited by law, the Commission may secure directly 11 from any Federal department or agency information 12 the Commission considers necessary to carry out this 13 section. Upon the request of the Commission, the 14 head of the any Federal agency shall furnish infor- 15 mation requested under this paragraph to the Com- 16 mission. 17 (3) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Commission 18 may enter into contracts for research to inform the 19 deliberations of the Commission. 20 (4) MAILS.—The Commission may use the 21 United States mails in the same manner and under 22 the same conditions as other agencies of the Federal 23 Government. 24 (g) COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3385 IH (1) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—On the 1 affirmative vote of 2⁄3 of the members of the Com- 2 mission and the approval of the appropriate Federal 3 agency head, an employee of the Federal Govern- 4 ment at GS–13 level or higher may be detailed to 5 the Commission without reimbursement, and such 6 detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil 7 service status, benefits, or privileges. 8 (2) STAFF.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.— 10 (i) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSA- 11 TION.—The chairperson, in accordance 12 with rules agreed upon by the Commission, 13 may appoint and fix the compensation of a 14 staff director and such other personnel as 15 may be necessary to enable the Commis- 16 sion to carry out its functions, without re- 17 gard to the provisions of title 5, United 18 States Code, governing appointments in 19 the competitive service, and without regard 20 to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub- 21 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title re- 22 lating to classification and General Sched- 23 ule pay rates, except that no rate of pay 24 fixed under this subsection may exceed the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3385 IH equivalent of that payable for a position at 1 Level V of the Executive Schedule under 2 section 5316 of title 5, United States 3 Code. 4 (ii) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EM- 5 PLOYEES.— 6 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any personnel 7 of the Commission who are employees 8 shall be employees under section 2105 9 of title 5, United States Code, for 10 purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 11 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title. 12 (II) MEMBERS OF THE COMMIS- 13 SION.—Subparagraph (I) shall not be 14 construed to apply to members of the 15 Commission. 16 (B) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwith- 17 standing section 1342 of title 31, United States 18 Code, the Commission may accept and use vol- 19 untary and uncompensated services as the Com- 20 mission determines necessary. 21 (h) CONTRACTS FOR RESEARCH.— 22 (1) RESEARCHERS AND EXPERTS.—On an af- 23 firmative vote of 2⁄3 of the members of the Commis- 24 sion, the Commission may select nongovernmental 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3385 IH researchers and experts to assist the Commission in 1 carrying out the duties of the Commission under this 2 section. 3 (2) OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—Nothing in this 4 subsection limits the ability of the Commission to 5 enter into contracts with any other entity or organi- 6 zation to carry out research necessary to carry out 7 the duties of the Commission under this section. 8 (i) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the Com- 9 mission establishes criteria by which to identify social en- 10 terprise, the Commission shall submit to the President and 11 Congress a report on the Commission’s findings, conclu- 12 sions, and recommendations. The report shall identify the 13 Federal programs recommended and shall include— 14 (1) reports on all matters studied as described 15 in subsection (e); and 16 (2) how existing Federal Government programs 17 can be expanded to take advantage of the social and 18 economic benefits of social enterprises. 19 (j) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 20 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits 21 the report of the Commission under subsection (i). 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS