[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2747 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2747

    To amend the Small Business Act to improve outreach and support 
   activities and to increase award recipients from rural areas with 
respect to the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small 
     Business Technology Transfer Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 8, 2009

Mrs. Halvorson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Science and Technology, 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 amend the Small Business Act to improve outreach and support 
   activities and to increase award recipients from rural areas with 
respect to the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small 
     Business Technology Transfer Program, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Technology Development and 
Outreach Act''.

SEC. 2. OUTREACH AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES.

    Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by 
inserting after subsection (r) the following:
    ``(s) Outreach and Support Activities.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to the other provisions of this 
        subsection, the Administrator shall make grants on a 
        competitive basis to organizations, to be used by the 
        organizations to do one or both of the following:
                    ``(A) To conduct outreach efforts to increase 
                participation in the programs under this section.
                    ``(B) To provide application support and 
                entrepreneurial and business skills support to 
                prospective participants in the programs under this 
                section.
            ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Administrator $10,000,000 to carry 
        out paragraph (1) for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011.
            ``(3) Amount of assistance.--For each of subparagraphs (A) 
        and (B) of paragraph (1), the amount of assistance provided to 
        an organization under that subparagraph in any fiscal year--
                    ``(A) shall be equal to the total amount of 
                matching funds from non-Federal sources provided by the 
                organization; and
                    ``(B) shall not exceed $250,000.
            ``(4) Direction.--An organization receiving funds under 
        paragraph (1) shall, in using those funds, direct its 
        activities at one or both of the following:
                    ``(A) Small business concerns located in geographic 
                areas that are underrepresented in the programs under 
                this section.
                    ``(B) Small business concerns owned and controlled 
                by women, small business concerns owned and controlled 
                by service-disabled veterans, and small business 
                concerns owned and controlled by minorities.
            ``(5) Advisory board.--
                    ``(A) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after 
                the date of the enactment of this subsection, the 
                Administrator shall establish an advisory board for the 
                activities carried out under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Non-applicability of faca.--The Federal 
                Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 
                to the advisory board.
                    ``(C) Members.--The members of the advisory board 
                shall include the following:
                            ``(i) The Administrator (or the 
                        Administrator's designee).
                            ``(ii) For each Federal agency required by 
                        this section to conduct an SBIR program, the 
                        head of the agency (or the designee of the head 
                        of the agency).
                            ``(iii) Representatives of small business 
                        concerns that are current or former recipients 
                        of SBIR awards, or representatives of 
                        organizations of such concerns.
                            ``(iv) Representatives of service providers 
                        of SBIR outreach and assistance, or 
                        representatives of organizations of such 
                        service providers.
                    ``(D) Duties.--The advisory board shall have the 
                following duties:
                            ``(i) To develop guidelines for awards 
                        under paragraph (1), including guidelines 
                        relating to award sizes, proposal requirements, 
                        measures for monitoring awardee performance, 
                        and measures for determining the overall value 
                        of the activities carried out by the awardees.
                            ``(ii) To identify opportunities for 
                        coordinated outreach, technical assistance, and 
                        commercialization activities among Federal 
                        agencies, the recipients of the awards under 
                        paragraph (1), and applicants and recipients of 
                        SBIR awards, including opportunities such as--
                                    ``(I) podcasting or webcasting for 
                                conferences, training workshops, and 
                                other events;
                                    ``(II) shared online resources to 
                                match prospective applicants with the 
                                network of paragraph (1) recipients; 
                                and
                                    ``(III) venture capital conferences 
                                tied to technologies and sectors that 
                                cross agencies.
                            ``(iii) To review and recommend revisions 
                        to activities under paragraph (1).
                            ``(iv) To submit to the Committee on Small 
                        Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 
                        the Committee on Small Business and the 
                        Committee on Science and Technology of the 
                        House of Representatives an annual report on 
                        the activities carried out under paragraph (1) 
                        and the effectiveness and impact of those 
                        activities.
            ``(6) Selection criteria.--In awarding grants under this 
        subsection, the Administrator shall use selection criteria 
        developed by the advisory board established under paragraph 
        (5). The criteria shall include--
                    ``(A) criteria designed to give preference to 
                applicants who propose to carry out activities that 
                will reach either an underperforming geographic area or 
                an underrepresented population group (as measured by 
                the number of SBIR applicants);
                    ``(B) criteria designed to give preference to 
                applicants who propose to carry out activities that 
                complement, and are integrated into, the existing 
                public-private innovation support system for the 
                targeted region or population;
                    ``(C) criteria designed to give preference to 
                applicants who propose to measure the effectiveness of 
                the proposed activities; and
                    ``(D) criteria designed to give preference to 
                applicants who include a Small Business Development 
                Center program that is accredited for its technology 
                services.
            ``(7) Peer review.--In awarding grants under this 
        subsection, the Administrator shall use a peer review process. 
        Reviewers shall include--
                    ``(A) SBIR program managers for agencies required 
                by this section to conduct SBIR programs; and
                    ``(B) private individuals and organizations that 
                are knowledgeable about SBIR, the innovation process, 
                technology commercialization, and State and regional 
                technology-based economic development programs.
            ``(8) Per-state limitations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a 
                grant under this subsection, the applicant must have 
                the written endorsement of the Governor of the State 
                where the targeted regions or populations are located 
                (if the regions or populations are located in more than 
                one State, the applicant must have the written 
                endorsement of the Governor of each such State). Such 
                an endorsement must indicate that the Governor will 
                ensure that the activities to be carried out under the 
                grant will be integrated with the balance of the 
                State's portfolio of investments to help small business 
                concerns commercialize technology.
                    ``(B) Limitation.--Each fiscal year, a Governor may 
                have in effect not more than one written endorsement 
                for a grant under paragraph (1)(A), and not more than 
                one written endorsement for a grant under paragraph 
                (1)(B).
            ``(9) Specific requirements for awards.--In making awards 
        under paragraph (1) the Administrator shall ensure that each 
        award shall be for a period of 2 fiscal years. The 
        Administrator shall establish rules and performance goals for 
        the disbursement of funds for the second fiscal year, and funds 
        shall not be disbursed to a recipient for such a fiscal year 
        until after the advisory board established under this 
        subsection has determined that the recipient is in compliance 
        with the rules and performance goals.''.

SEC. 3. RURAL PREFERENCE.

    Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(aa) Rural Preference.--In making awards under this section, 
Federal agencies shall give priority to applications so as to increase 
the number of SBIR and STTR award recipients from rural areas.''.

SEC. 4. OBTAINING SBIR APPLICANT'S CONSENT TO RELEASE CONTACT 
              INFORMATION TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS.

    Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(bb) Consent To Release Contact Information to Organizations.--
            ``(1) Enabling concern to give consent.--Each Federal 
        agency required by this section to conduct an SBIR program 
        shall enable a small business concern that is an SBIR applicant 
        to indicate to the agency whether the agency has its consent 
        to--
                    ``(A) identify the concern to appropriate local and 
                State-level economic development organizations as an 
                SBIR applicant; and
                    ``(B) release the concern's contact information to 
                such organizations.
            ``(2) Rules.--The Administrator shall establish rules to 
        implement this subsection. The rules shall include a 
        requirement that the agency include in its SBIR application 
        forms a provision through which the applicant can indicate 
        consent for purposes of paragraph (1).''.

SEC. 5. INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SBIR AWARDEES AND PRIME 
              CONTRACTORS, VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT COMPANIES, AND 
              LARGER BUSINESSES.

    Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(cc) Increased Partnerships.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each agency required by this section to 
        conduct an SBIR program shall establish initiatives by which 
        the agency encourages partnerships between SBIR awardees and 
        prime contractors, venture capital investment companies, 
        business incubators, and larger businesses, for the purpose of 
        facilitating the progress of the SBIR awardees to the third 
        phase.
            ``(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `business 
        incubator' means an entity that provides coordinated and 
        specialized services to entrepreneurial businesses which meet 
        selected criteria during the businesses' startup phases, 
        including providing services such as shared office space and 
        office services, access to equipment, access to 
        telecommunications and technology services, flexible leases, 
        specialized management assistance, access to financing, 
        mentoring and training services, or other coordinated business 
        or technical support services designed to provide business 
        development assistance to entrepreneurial businesses during 
        these businesses' startup phases.''.
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