IMPACT for Energy Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3575 To establish the IMPACT for Energy Foundation. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 27, 2019 Mr. LUJA´N (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. REED, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. TONKO, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the IMPACT for Energy Foundation. 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 ‘‘Increasing and Mobi- 4 lizing Partnerships to Achieve Commercialization of Tech- 5 nologies for Energy Act’’ or the ‘‘IMPACT for Energy 6 Act’’. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3575 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 3 means the Department of Energy. 4 (2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 5 means the IMPACT for Energy Foundation estab- 6 lished under section 3(a). 7 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 8 the Secretary of Energy. 9 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPACT FOR ENERGY FOUNDA- 10 TION. 11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1, 13 2021, the Secretary shall establish a nonprofit cor- 14 poration to be known as the ‘‘IMPACT for Energy 15 Foundation’’. 16 (2) LIMITATION.—The Foundation shall not be 17 an agency or instrumentality of the Federal Govern- 18 ment. 19 (3) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal 20 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 21 apply to the Foundation. 22 (4) NONPROFIT STATUS.—The Foundation 23 shall be an organization described in section 501(c) 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 25 from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3575 IH (5) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall 2 operate under a board of directors. 3 (B) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—The initial 4 appointment of the board of directors shall be 5 facilitated by the Secretary. 6 (C) COMPOSITION.—To the maximum ex- 7 tent practicable, the board of directors shall in- 8 clude representatives from a diverse range of 9 communities, including— 10 (i) the academic community; 11 (ii) the business community; 12 (iii) nonprofit organizations; 13 (iv) the communities surrounding the 14 laboratories and facilities of the Depart- 15 ment; and 16 (v) the technology transfer and com- 17 mercialization community. 18 (D) RESTRICTION ON MEMBERSHIP.—No 19 employee of the Department shall be appointed 20 as a member of the board of directors. 21 (b) PURPOSE; ACTIVITIES.— 22 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Foundation 23 is to channel private sector investments that support 24 efforts to create, develop, and commercialize innova- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3575 IH tive technologies that address energy challenges by 1 methods that include— 2 (A) fostering collaboration and partner- 3 ships with researchers from the Federal Gov- 4 ernment, State governments, institutions of 5 higher education, federally funded research and 6 development centers, industry, and nonprofit 7 organizations for the research, development, or 8 commercialization of transformative energy 9 technologies; 10 (B) leveraging technologies by supporting 11 new product development that supports regional 12 economic development; and 13 (C) administering prize competitions to ac- 14 celerate private sector competition and invest- 15 ment. 16 (2) ACTIVITIES.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation may 18 solicit and accept gifts, grants, and other dona- 19 tions, establish accounts, and invest and expend 20 funds in support of the activities and programs 21 described in subparagraphs (B) through (D). 22 (B) STUDIES, COMPETITIONS, AND 23 PROJECTS.—The Foundation may conduct and 24 support studies, competitions, projects, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3575 IH other activities that further the purpose of the 1 Foundation described in paragraph (1). 2 (C) FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS.— 3 (i) AWARD.—The Foundation may 4 award fellowships and grants for activities 5 relating to research, development, proto- 6 typing, maturing, or commercializing of en- 7 ergy technologies. 8 (ii) FORM OF AWARD.—A fellowship 9 or grant under clause (i) may consist of a 10 stipend, health insurance benefits, funds 11 for travel, and funds for other appropriate 12 expenses. 13 (iii) SELECTION.— 14 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Founda- 15 tion shall award a fellowship or grant 16 under clause (i) based on the technical 17 and commercialization merits of the 18 proposed project. 19 (II) INPUT.—In selecting recipi- 20 ents of a fellowship or grant under 21 clause (i), the Foundation may con- 22 sult with potential recipients regard- 23 ing the ability to carry out various 24 projects that would further the pur- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3575 IH pose of the Foundation described in 1 paragraph (1). 2 (iv) FEDERAL LABORATORIES.—A 3 Federal laboratory that applies for or ac- 4 cepts a grant under clause (i) shall not be 5 considered to be engaging in a competitive 6 procedure. 7 (D) SUPPLEMENTARY PROGRAMS.—The 8 Foundation may carry out supplementary pro- 9 grams— 10 (i) to conduct and support forums, 11 meetings, conferences, courses, and train- 12 ing workshops consistent with the purpose 13 of the Foundation described in paragraph 14 (1); 15 (ii) to support and encourage the un- 16 derstanding and development of— 17 (I) data reporting models that 18 promote the translation of tech- 19 nologies from the research stage, 20 through the development and matura- 21 tion stage, and ending in the market 22 stage; and 23 (II) policies that make regulation 24 more effective and efficient by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3575 IH leveraging the technology translation 1 data described in subclause (I) for the 2 regulation of relevant technology sec- 3 tors; 4 (iii) for writing, editing, printing, pub- 5 lishing, and vending books and other mate- 6 rials relating to research carried out under 7 the Foundation; and 8 (iv) to conduct other activities to 9 carry out and support the purpose of the 10 Foundation described in paragraph (1). 11 (E) AUTHORITY OF FOUNDATION.—The 12 Foundation shall be the sole entity responsible 13 for carrying out the activities described in this 14 paragraph. 15 (F) ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL.—No par- 16 ticipant in a program under this paragraph or 17 employee of the Foundation shall exercise any 18 administrative control over any Federal em- 19 ployee. 20 (c) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Secretary may provide 21 facilities, utilities, and support services to the Foundation 22 if it is determined by the Secretary to be advantageous 23 to the research programs of the Department. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3575 IH (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 1 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 2 such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2020 and each 3 fiscal year thereafter. 4 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF FOR-PROFIT SUBSIDIARIES. 5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Foundation may estab- 6 lish 1 or more for-profit subsidiaries, including an impact 7 investment fund— 8 (1) to stimulate economic development activities 9 relating to the purpose of the Foundation described 10 in section 3(b)(1); and 11 (2) to attract for-profit investment partners for 12 technology translation and commercialization activi- 13 ties. 14 (b) AUTHORITIES OF THE FOR-PROFIT SUB- 15 SIDIARY.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 17 for-profit subsidiary established under subsection (a) 18 may— 19 (A) enter into a partnership with an eco- 20 nomic development corporation, including an in- 21 cubator, accelerator, or small business invest- 22 ment company; 23 (B) pay for the cost of building and ad- 24 ministering a facility, including a microlab or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3575 IH incubator, to support the activities of the Foun- 1 dation described in section 3(b)(2); and 2 (C) provide funding to a startup. 3 (2) COST RECOVERY REQUIREMENTS.—A for- 4 profit subsidiary established under subsection (a) 5 shall— 6 (A) ensure that the Foundation owns any 7 intellectual property rights generated through 8 activities funded by the for-profit subsidiary, if 9 appropriate; and 10 (B) own an equity stake in any startup in- 11 vested in by the for-profit subsidiary. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS