[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2767 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2767

    To amend the Small Business Act to extend and improve the Small 
Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology 
               Transfer Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 9, 2009

  Mr. Graves 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 extend and improve 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 ``Investing in Tomorrow's Technology 
Act''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF TERMINATION DATES.

    (a) SBIR.--Section 9(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
638(m)) is amended by striking ``2008'' and inserting ``2011''.
    (b) STTR.--Section 9(n)(1)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
638(n)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``2009'' and inserting ``2011''.

SEC. 3. ENSURING THAT INNOVATIVE SMALL BUSINESSES WITH SUBSTANTIAL 
              INVESTMENT FROM VENTURE CAPITAL OPERATING COMPANIES ARE 
              ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS.

    Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(aa) Venture Capital Operating Companies.--Effective only for the 
SBIR and STTR programs the following shall apply:
            ``(1) A business concern that has more than 500 employees 
        shall not qualify as a small business concern.
            ``(2) In determining whether a small business concern is 
        independently owned and operated under section 3(a)(1) or meets 
        the small business size standards instituted under section 
        3(a)(2), the Administrator shall not consider a business 
        concern to be affiliated with a venture capital operating 
        company (or with any other business that the venture capital 
        operating company has financed) if--
                    ``(A) the venture capital operating company does 
                not own 50 percent or more of the business concern; and
                    ``(B) employees of the venture capital operating 
                company do not constitute a majority of the board of 
                directors of the business concern.
            ``(3) A business concern shall be deemed to be 
        `independently owned and operated' if--
                    ``(A) it is owned in majority part by one or more 
                natural persons or venture capital operating companies;
                    ``(B) there is no single venture capital operating 
                company that owns 50 percent or more of the business 
                concern; and
                    ``(C) there is no single venture capital operating 
                company the employees of which constitute a majority of 
                the board of directors of the business concern.
            ``(4) If a venture capital operating company controlled by 
        a business with more than 500 employees (in this paragraph 
        referred to as a `VCOC under large business control') has an 
        ownership interest in a small business concern that is owned in 
        majority part by venture capital operating companies, the small 
        business concern is eligible to receive an award under the SBIR 
        or STTR program only if--
                    ``(A) not more than two VCOCs under large business 
                control have an ownership interest in the small 
                business concern;
                    ``(B) the VCOCs under large business control do not 
                collectively own more than 20 percent of the small 
                business concern; and
                    ``(C) the VCOCs under large business control do not 
                collaborate with each other to exercise more control 
                over the small business concern than they could 
                otherwise exercise individually.
            ``(5) The term `venture capital operating company' means a 
        business concern--
                    ``(A) that--
                            ``(i) is a Venture Capital Operating 
                        Company, as that term is defined in regulations 
                        promulgated by the Secretary of Labor; or
                            ``(ii) is an entity that--
                                    ``(I) is registered under the 
                                Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 
                                U.S.C. 80a-51 et seq.); or
                                    ``(II) is an investment company, as 
                                defined in section 3(c)(14) of such Act 
                                (15 U.S.C. 80a-3(c)(14)), which is not 
                                registered under such Act because it is 
                                beneficially owned by less than 100 
                                persons; and
                    ``(B) that is itself organized or incorporated and 
                domiciled in the United States, or is controlled by a 
                business concern that is incorporated and domiciled in 
                the United States.''.
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