[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3982 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3982

   To establish a pilot program to eliminate certain restrictions on 
               eligible certified development companies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 2005

Mr. Doolittle introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a pilot program to eliminate certain restrictions on 
               eligible certified development companies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    The Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Freedom to Lend Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is as follows:
            (1) To permit experienced and successful certified 
        development companies to share their expertise and make loans 
        in multiple States.
            (2) To eliminate burdensome rules that require qualified 
        companies to create and maintain separate and distinct 
        memberships, officers, boards of directors, and loan committees 
        in each State they seek to serve.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM TO ELIMINATE CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON ELIGIBLE 
              CERTIFIED DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration shall establish a three-year pilot program to permit an 
eligible certified development company to make loans in any State that 
is contiguous to the State of incorporation of that company.
    (b) Eligible Certified Development Company.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible to participate in the pilot 
        program established under subsection (a), a certified 
        development company shall--
                    (A) be designated as--
                            (i) an accredited lender under section 507 
                        of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 
                        (15 U.S.C. 697d); or
                            (ii) a premier certified lender under 
                        section 508 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 697e); and
                    (B) submit to the Administrator--
                            (i) a written notice of intention to 
                        participate in the pilot program; and
                            (ii) the names of the States in which the 
                        company intends to make loans.
            (2) No requirement of separate memberships, officers, 
        boards of directors, or loan committees.--A certified 
        development company that is eligible under paragraph (1) shall 
        be eligible regardless of whether it maintains, in each State 
        in which it makes loans or intends to make loans, separate and 
        distinct memberships, officers, boards of directors, and loan 
        committees.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the success of the pilot 
program established under subsection (a), which shall include the 
number of companies that submitted applications to participate in such 
pilot program.

SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP, OFFICERS, AND BOARDS OF DIRECTORS OF CERTIFIED 
              DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES.

    Section 503 of the Small Business Investment Act (15 U.S.C. 637) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``sec. 503 (e)(3). Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of law'' and inserting the following: ``(3) 
        Notwithstanding any other provision of law''; and
            (2) in subsection (e), by inserting after paragraph (3), as 
        redesignated by paragraph (1), the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) An officer, director, or manager of a qualified State 
        or local development company may serve as an officer, director, 
        or manager of another qualified State or local development 
        company.''.
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