[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5023 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5023

    To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a website that 
   provides information relating to the business environment of each 
                     State, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 13, 2021

  Mrs. Miller of West Virginia (for herself and Ms. Johnson of Texas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a website that 
   provides information relating to the business environment of each 
                     State, 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 ``Website for Economies of Business-
friendly States Act of 2021'' or the ``WEBS Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE WEBSITE ON STATE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce (in this section 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a publicly available 
website that provides information relating to the business environment 
of each State that may be relevant to a person considering establishing 
a business in the State or relocating a business to the State.
    (b) Information To Be Included.--The website established under 
subsection (a) shall include the following information with respect to 
each State:
            (1) A description of State business income and payroll 
        taxes.
            (2) A description of incentives for establishing a business 
        in the State or relocating a business to the State.
            (3) Additional incentives offered by metropolitan areas of 
        the State.
            (4) Average cost of living in the State.
            (5) A description of the minimum wage requirements of the 
        State.
            (6) A description of job training programs available in the 
        State.
            (7) A description of colleges, universities, and research 
        institutions located in the State.
            (8) Contact information for the business development office 
        (or other equivalent office) of the State.
            (9) Information about opportunity zones in the State.
            (10) Such other information described in subsection (a) as 
        the Secretary considers appropriate described in a rule issued 
        under section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
    (c) Information From the Bureau of the Census.--The Secretary shall 
consult with the Director of the Bureau of the Census to obtain 
information relevant to the implementation of the website established 
under subsection (a).
    (d) Appeals Process.--Not later than the date on which the website 
is established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish a 
process by which--
            (1) a State may file with the Secretary an appeal 
        challenging particular information on such website as being 
        inaccurate; and
            (2) if the State demonstrates in such appeal that such 
        information is inaccurate, the Secretary shall correct such 
        information.
    (e) Annual Updates.--The Secretary shall, at least annually, verify 
that the website established under subsection (a) is up-to-date.
    (f) International Promotion.--The Secretary, in consultation with 
the Secretary of State and the United States Trade Representative, 
shall promote the website established under subsection (a) among 
foreign persons who may be considering relocating a business to the 
United States or otherwise investing in the United States.
    (g) State Defined.--In this section, the term ``State'' means each 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and each 
commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
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