[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1705 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1705

   To provide a Federal charter for the National Fab Lab Network, a 
  national network of local digital fabrication facilities providing 
 community access to advanced manufacturing tools for learning skills, 
developing inventions, creating businesses, and producing personalized 
                               products.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2013

 Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mr. Markey) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide a Federal charter for the National Fab Lab Network, a 
  national network of local digital fabrication facilities providing 
 community access to advanced manufacturing tools for learning skills, 
developing inventions, creating businesses, and producing personalized 
                               products.

    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 ``National Fab Lab Network Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Scientific discoveries and technical innovations are 
        critical to the economic and national security of the United 
        States.
            (2) Maintaining the leadership of the United States in 
        science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will require 
        a diverse population with the skills, interest, and access to 
        tools required to advance these fields.
            (3) Just as earlier digital revolutions in communications 
        and computation provided individuals with the Internet and 
        personal computers, a digital revolution in fabrication will 
        allow anyone to make almost anything, anywhere.
            (4) Fab labs like the Center for Bits and Atoms at the 
        Massachusetts Institute of Technology provide a model for a new 
        kind of national laboratory that links local facilities for 
        advanced manufacturing to expand access and empower 
        communities.
            (5) A coordinated national public-private partnership will 
        be the most effective way to accelerate the provision of this 
        infrastructure for learning skills, developing inventions, 
        creating businesses, and producing personalized products.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL FAB LAB NETWORK.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``fab lab'' means a facility--
                    (A) equipped with an integrated suite of 
                fabrication tools to convert digital designs into 
                functional physical things and scanning tools to 
                convert physical things into digital designs; and
                    (B) available for a range of individual and 
                collaborative educational, commercial, creative, and 
                social purposes, based on guidelines established by the 
                NFLN relating to sustainable operation; and
            (2) the term ``NFLN'' means the National Fab Lab Network.
    (b) Federal Charter.--The National Fab Lab Network is a federally 
charted nonprofit corporation, which shall facilitate the creation of a 
national network of local fab labs and serve as a resource to assist 
stakeholders with the effective operation of fab labs.
    (c) Membership and Organization.--
            (1) In general.--Eligibility for membership in the NFLN and 
        the rights and privileges of members shall be as provided in 
        the constitution and bylaws of the NFLN. The Board of 
        Directors, officers, and other employees of the NFLN, and their 
        powers and duties, shall be provided in the bylaws of the NFLN.
            (2) Board of directors.--The Board of Directors of the NFLN 
        shall include--
                    (A) the Director of the Fab Foundation;
                    (B) members of the manufacturing sector and 
                entrepreneurial community; and
                    (C) leaders in science, technology, engineering, 
                and mathematics education.
            (3) Coordination.--When appropriate, the NFLN should work 
        with Manufacturing Extension Partnership Centers of the 
        National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Small 
        Business Administration, and other agencies of the Federal 
        Government to provide additional resources to fab lab users.
    (d) Functions.--The NFLN shall--
            (1) serve as the coordinating body for the creation of a 
        national network of local fab labs in the United States;
            (2) provide a first point of contact for organizations and 
        communities seeking to create fab labs, providing information, 
        assessing suitability, advising on the lab lifecycle, and 
        maintaining descriptions of prospective and operating sites;
            (3) link funders and sites with operational entities that 
        can source and install fab labs, provide training, assist with 
        operations, account for spending, and assess impact;
            (4) perform outreach for individuals and communities on the 
        benefits available through the NFLN;
            (5) facilitate use of the NFLN in synergistic programs, 
        such as workforce training, job creation, research broader 
        impacts, and the production of civic infrastructure; and
            (6) offer transparency in the management, governance, and 
        operation of the NFLN.
    (e) Purposes.--In carrying out its functions, the NFLN's purposes 
and goals shall be to--
            (1) create a national network of connected local fab labs 
        to empower individuals and communities in the United States; 
        and
            (2) foster the use of distributed digital fabrication tools 
        to promote science, technology, engineering and math skills, 
        increase invention and innovation, create businesses and jobs, 
        and fulfill needs.
    (f) Funding.--The NFLN may accept gifts from private individuals, 
corporations, government agencies, or other organizations.
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