Incubator Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4931 To establish a competitive grant program within the Department of Commerce to support nationwide growth and success of business incubators. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 30, 2019 Mr. RYAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a competitive grant program within the Depart- ment of Commerce to support nationwide growth and success of business incubators. 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 ‘‘Incubator Act of 4 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. BUSINESS INCUBATOR GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Department of Com- 7 merce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Com- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:57 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4931.IH H4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4931 IH merce for Economic Development, shall establish and 1 carry out a competitive grant program to provide financial 2 assistance to support the growth and success of business 3 incubators. 4 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible applicant desiring a 5 grant under this section shall submit to the Assistant Sec- 6 retary for the program established under subsection (a) 7 an application at such time, in such manner, and con- 8 taining such information as the Assistant Secretary may 9 require. 10 (c) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—In awarding grants 11 under this section, the Assistant Secretary shall— 12 (1) consider factors such as population, unem- 13 ployment level, and business creation metrics to en- 14 sure that the program addresses demonstrated needs 15 and achieves high impact; and 16 (2) ensure grants are made broadly available to 17 eligible applicants from all States to promote busi- 18 ness incubator development nationwide. 19 (d) MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE AMOUNT FOR EACH 20 STATE.—The maximum amount awarded to eligible appli- 21 cants in a single State in a fiscal year under this section 22 may not exceed $5,000,000. 23 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity receiving a grant 24 under this section may use grant amounts for operating 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:57 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4931.IH H4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4931 IH expenses and may not use such amounts for capital ex- 1 penditures. 2 (f) PRIORITY OF AWARDEES.—In providing funds 3 awarded under this section, the Assistant Secretary shall 4 prioritize applications from eligible applicants that are lo- 5 cated in an opportunity zone. 6 (g) TERMS.— 7 (1) AMOUNT.—A grant awarded under this sec- 8 tion shall not be more than $500,000 for each fiscal 9 year. 10 (2) DURATION.—A grant shall be awarded for 11 a period not to exceed 4 years. 12 (3) SUBSEQUENT AWARD.—Upon the expiration 13 of a grant awarded under this section, the grant re- 14 cipient is eligible to apply for an additional grant. 15 (4) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—None of the 16 funds made available to an entity under this section 17 shall supplant any funds provided by a State for the 18 operating expenses of an incubator. 19 (h) PROGRAM IMPACTS AND REPORTING.— 20 (1) METHODS AND METRICS.—The Assistant 21 Secretary shall develop methods and metrics to— 22 (A) assess the impacts of the program; and 23 (B) evaluate the ongoing success of busi- 24 ness incubators funded under this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:57 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4931.IH H4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4931 IH (2) REPORT.—Not later than the last day of 1 each fiscal year, the Assistant Secretary shall submit 2 to Congress, and make available to the public on an 3 internet website, a comprehensive annual report on 4 the awards, status, and impacts of the program, in- 5 cluding key program highlights and success stories 6 for the most recent fiscal year. 7 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 8 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 9 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 10 Commerce for Economic Development of the Depart- 11 ment of Commerce. 12 (2) BUSINESS INCUBATOR.—The term ‘‘busi- 13 ness incubator’’ means an organization that— 14 (A) provides physical workspace and facili- 15 ties resources to startups and established busi- 16 nesses; and 17 (B) is designed to accelerate the growth 18 and success of businesses through a variety of 19 business support resources and services, includ- 20 ing— 21 (i) access to capital, business edu- 22 cation, and counseling; 23 (ii) networking opportunities; 24 (iii) mentorship opportunities; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:57 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4931.IH H4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4931 IH (iv) other services intended to aid in 1 developing a business. 2 (3) OPPORTUNITY ZONE.—The term ‘‘oppor- 3 tunity zone’’ has the meaning given the term quali- 4 fied opportunity zone in section 1400Z–1 of the In- 5 ternal Revenue Code of 1986. 6 (4) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘eligible 7 applicant’’ means a person that— 8 (A) owns or manages an existing business 9 incubator that is a nonprofit organization; 10 (B) is able to provide the physical work- 11 space, equipment, and connectivity necessary 12 for businesses and entrepreneurs to collaborate 13 and conduct business on a local, regional, na- 14 tional, and international level; and 15 (C) has been operational for not less than 16 1 year before receiving a grant under this sec- 17 tion. 18 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 19 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 20 each commonwealth, territory or possession of the 21 United States, and each federally recognized Indian 22 Tribe. 23 (6) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 24 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:57 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4931.IH H4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4931 IH is described under section 501(c) of the Internal 1 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 2 section 501(a) of such Code. 3 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act, 5 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:57 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4931.IH H4931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS