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<bill bill-stage="Referred-in-Senate" dms-id="A1" public-private="public" key="G" bill-type="olc" stage-count="1"><metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
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<dc:title>118 HR 7105 : WOSB Certification and Opportunity Expansion Act</dc:title>
<dc:publisher>U.S. House of Representatives</dc:publisher>
<dc:date></dc:date>
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<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
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<distribution-code display="yes">IIB</distribution-code><congress display="yes">118th CONGRESS</congress><session display="yes">2d Session</session><legis-num display="yes">H. R. 7105</legis-num><current-chamber>IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES</current-chamber><action><action-date>February 29, 2024</action-date><action-desc>Received; read twice and referred to the <committee-name committee-id="SSSB00">Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship</committee-name></action-desc></action><legis-type>AN ACT</legis-type><official-title display="yes">To establish requirements relating to certification of small business concerns owned and controlled by women for certain purposes, and for other purposes.</official-title></form><legis-body id="H2379D503C616456A9C78AAF014605E8F" style="OLC" display-enacting-clause="yes-display-enacting-clause"><section id="HE7555B58209846928C598ECC5D83CEC9" section-type="section-one"><enum>1.</enum><header>Short title</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">This Act may be cited as the <quote><short-title>WOSB Certification and Opportunity Expansion Act</short-title></quote>.</text></section><section id="HC45B81E307A0493B8FAFDA05B61AA5C5"><enum>2.</enum><header>Exclusion of self-certified small business concerns owned and controlled by women from goals</header><subsection id="H0B8962D675664A75885D7DC3FE292E0B" display-inline="no-display-inline"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Exclusion of self-Certified WOSBs from Governmentwide and agency goals</header><paragraph id="HF84E1A9FADA248F09829B1469A0AB1B1"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Section 15(g) of the Small Business Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/644">15 U.S.C. 644(g)</external-xref>) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" id="H183A6F5A210E4BE7A1E04462650F9787" display-inline="no-display-inline"><paragraph id="HDF71E72AD6304EDF8BA24AF5341E41A7"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Exclusion of self-certified WOSBs from goals</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Only small business concerns owned and controlled by women that have been certified under section 8(m)(2)(E) shall be included in calculating the goals established—</text><subparagraph id="HA4FD35C970824BC6895A014AA3A04A76"><enum>(A)</enum><text>under paragraph (1)(A)(v); and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="HE0139A7DFBDF48DE949819A8A1ABB029"><enum>(B)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">by the head of a Federal agency for small business concerns owned and controlled by women under paragraph (2).</text></subparagraph></paragraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph><paragraph id="H6283E4D55BF041DDBFCA1A89BA1EFBE3"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Effective date</header><text>The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the first day after the end of the second fiscal year beginning after the Administrator issues the regulations required under subsection (b)(2).</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H28EE26F918D24DB599A26346615BBA28"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Requirements relating to self-Certified WOSBs</header><paragraph id="H5D769E6CE4D846EA8DCE723AA962B228"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Inclusion of certain self-certified WOSBs in goals</header><subparagraph id="H3592060EC6594F939AAFA3FB0968CB69"><enum>(A)</enum><header>In general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a small business concern described in subparagraph (B) shall be deemed to have been certified by the Administrator or a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/637">15 U.S.C. 637(m)</external-xref>) as a small business concern owned and controlled by women under paragraph (2)(E) of such section (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/637">15 U.S.C. 637(m)(2)(E)</external-xref>) for the purposes of calculating the goals described in paragraph (4) of section 15(g) of the such Act (as added by subsection (a) of this Act) until the Administrator or such a national certifying entity make a determination with respect to the certification of such concern.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="HC4C029B1EC4A41A6A0F34AE10878B3B1"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Small business concerns described</header><text>A small business concern described in this subparagraph is a small business concern—</text><clause id="H0C395453EAD44CBC992961CB8DCD7275"><enum>(i)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">that is self-certified as a small business concern owned and controlled by women as of the date on which the amendments made by subsection (a) take effect;</text></clause><clause id="HCA2922A7D9E742A6AC4FA771D679E865"><enum>(ii)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">that files a certification application with the Administrator or a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/637">15 U.S.C. 637(m)</external-xref>) prior to such date; and</text></clause><clause id="H5C3F326CB0424DD893A45B5C96A5247A"><enum>(iii)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">for which the Administrator or such a national certifying entity does not make a determination prior to such date regarding certification pursuant to such certification application.</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="H6915D3F6FA3440A8B8FAC6ACCC0720C9"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Rulemaking</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue regulations carrying out this section.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H2C45A61120F9425B9115593A8AAF0E21"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Quarterly briefings required</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and on a quarterly basis thereafter until the date specified in subsection (b), the Administrator shall provide to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a briefing on the implementation of the requirements of this section. Such briefings shall include—</text><paragraph id="HD8C89E5B26164B1A8CF2949C95F4D73C"><enum>(1)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the total number of small business concerns expected to seek certification as a small business concern owned and controlled by women;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H9E52A57A65724E68BF848BDC77957759"><enum>(2)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the number of applications for certification pending with the Administrator or a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act during the period covered by the briefing;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H32776B37E17B431D80EEAF35A571AE8D"><enum>(3)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the total number of applications approved by the Administrator or such a national certifying entity since the date of the enactment of this Act;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H5E3EAB83472146D89444C2AAC837811C"><enum>(4)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the timelines associated with processing such applications by the Administrator or such a national certifying entity between submission and approval;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HEBA1D42CC0A94C39BF91FA1F9830F2F9"><enum>(5)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the administrative costs to the Administration to make determinations on such applications and the estimated cost to such applicant to seek certification from a national certifying entity;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HD5CEECE4881342CD88FC2BEE8F309418"><enum>(6)</enum><text>a discussion of the Administrator’s current and future outreach efforts to small business concerns owned and controlled by women and to Federal agencies on the requirements of this Act; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H68600079B358498F8E8AE7343E2C1BC0"><enum>(7)</enum><text>recommendations for additional legislative authority or resources required to fully implement the requirements of this Act.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H9B1FE609B58149B5AF561FD9F6FF9E19"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Definitions</header><text>In this section:</text><paragraph id="H73A4BABDAE23490DBB8F02A0A1559E19"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Administration</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The term <term>Administration</term> means the Small Business Administration.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HD538DF93BAFB4EB786975275BCD1A6E1"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Administrator</header><text>The term <term>Administrator</term> means the Administrator of the Small Business Administration.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HEBEA39C099A94308A132E220E3EC0C8C"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Small business concern</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The term <term>small business concern</term> has the meaning given under section 3 of the Small Business Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/632">15 U.S.C. 632</external-xref>).</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H5400D17C28D644088ABE7F988EF52B16"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Small business concern owned and controlled by women</header><text>The term <term>small business concern owned and controlled by women</term> has the meaning given the term in section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/637">15 U.S.C. 637(m)</external-xref>).</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H2F44EC9A477346F38D467FC046BE4260"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Compliance with CUTGO</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">No additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act or the amendments made by this Act.</text></subsection></section></legis-body><attestation><attestation-group><attestation-date date="20240228" chamber="House">Passed the House of Representatives February 28, 2024.</attestation-date><attestor display="yes">Kevin F. McCumber,</attestor><role>Clerk.</role></attestation-group></attestation></bill> 

