[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5078 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5078

 To amend the Small Business Act to provide re-entry entrepreneurship 
counseling and training services for incarcerated individuals, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 13, 2019

  Ms. Velazquez (for herself and Mr. Chabot) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Small Business Act to provide re-entry entrepreneurship 
counseling and training services for incarcerated individuals, 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 ``Prison to Proprietorship Act''.

SEC. 2. RE-ENTRY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNSELING AND TRAINING FOR 
              INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS.

    The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 49 as section 50; and
            (2) by inserting after section 48 the following new 
        section:

``SEC. 49. RE-ENTRY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNSELING AND TRAINING FOR 
              INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS.

    ``(a) Services Required.--The Administrator, in coordination with 
the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, shall require women's business 
centers and small business development centers identified under the 
plan described in subsection (b) to provide entrepreneurship counseling 
and training services to covered individuals.
    ``(b) Plan.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation with 
        an association formed to pursue matters of common concern to 
        women's business centers and an association of small business 
        development centers formed pursuant to section 21(a)(3)(A), 
        shall develop a plan, which shall be updated annually, to match 
        women's business centers and small business development centers 
        with covered individuals in Federal prisons who are eligible to 
        receive services under this section.
            ``(2) Matching.--In determining matches under paragraph 
        (1), the Administrator shall prioritize matching the women's 
        business center or small business development center in closest 
        proximity to the applicable Federal prison to provide such 
        services.
            ``(3) Association responsibilities.--If the women's 
        business center or small business development center identified 
        under the plan in paragraph (1) is unable to provide such 
        services to covered individuals in such Federal prison, another 
        women's business center or small business development center, 
        an association of women's business centers, or an association 
        of small business development centers shall provide such 
        services in accordance with the requirements of this section.
    ``(c) Goals.--The goal of the services provided under this section 
is to provide covered individuals with the following:
            ``(1) Assistance and in-depth training on how to start or 
        expand a small business concern.
            ``(2) Tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify a 
        business opportunity, including how to--
                    ``(A) draft a resume, business plan, and transition 
                plan;
                    ``(B) identify sources of capital; and
                    ``(C) connect with local resources for small 
                business concerns.
    ``(d) Additional Requirements.--The services provided under this 
section shall include--
            ``(1) a presentation providing exposure to the 
        opportunities involved in self-employment and ownership of a 
        small business concern;
            ``(2) a self-study course manual focused on the basic 
        skills of entrepreneurship, financial literacy, the language of 
        business, and the considerations and life skills relevant to 
        self-employment and ownership of a small business concern;
            ``(3) five two-day sessions of in-depth classroom 
        instruction introducing the foundations of self-employment and 
        ownership of small business concerns, including guided 
        discussions to explore personal entrepreneurial development 
        interests;
            ``(4) in-depth training delivered through one-on-one 
        mentorship, including individual support in the development of 
        a business plan, entrepreneurial skills, and strategies for 
        starting up a small business concern; and
            ``(5) upon completion of the counseling and training, a 
        presentation of a certificate.
    ``(e) Priority.--The Administrator shall, to the extent 
practicable, ensure that women's business centers and small business 
development centers prioritize providing entrepreneurship counseling 
and training services to covered individuals who will be released from 
Federal custody not later than 18 months after the date on which such a 
covered individual begins to receive such services.
    ``(f) Continuation of Services.--A covered individual receiving 
services under this section may continue to receive such services after 
release from Federal custody.
    ``(g) Grant Authority.--In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator may award a grant to an association formed to pursue 
matters of common concern to women's business centers or small business 
development centers to coordinate the services described under this 
section, including to develop curriculum, train mentors and 
instructors, and establish public-private partnerships to support 
covered individuals and identify opportunities to access capital.
    ``(h) Curriculum.--The Administration shall print and make 
available to women's business centers, small business development 
centers, an association of women's business centers, or an association 
of small business development centers any curriculum or course 
materials developed pursuant to this section.
    ``(i) Survey.--Each women's business center or small business 
development center that provided services under this section shall 
survey covered individuals who received such services to assess the 
satisfaction of such covered individuals with such services.
    ``(j) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Administrator 
shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on the performance and 
effectiveness of the services provided under this section, which may be 
included as part of another report submitted to such committees by the 
Administrator, and which shall include--
            ``(1) the number of covered individuals counseled or 
        trained under this section;
            ``(2) the number of hours of counseling provided by each 
        women's business center and each small business development 
        center under this section;
            ``(3) the number of certificates presented under subsection 
        (d)(5);
            ``(4) the demographics of covered individuals who received 
        services, including age, gender, race, and ethnicity;
            ``(5) the level of understanding of business concepts of 
        covered individuals upon completion of the counseling and 
        training described under this section;
            ``(6) a summary and analysis of surveys conducted under 
        subsection (i); and
            ``(7) any additional information the Administrator may 
        require.
    ``(k) Covered Individual Defined.--In this section, the term 
`covered individual' means an individual incarcerated in a Federal 
prison that the Director of the Bureau of Prisons has designated as a 
minimum, low, or medium security prison.
    ``(l) Funding.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
Administrator shall reimburse women's business centers, small business 
development centers, an association of women's business centers, or an 
association of small business development centers for the costs 
relating to the services provided under the section.''.
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