[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8443 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8443

 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

                              May 16, 2024

Ms. Velazquez 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 shall--
                    ``(A) 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; and
                    ``(B) seek to consult with both 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) to develop and update such plan.
            ``(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.
            ``(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 goals 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; and
            ``(4) in-depth one-on-one training, including individual 
        support in the development of a business plan, entrepreneurial 
        skills, and strategies for starting up a small business 
        concern.
    ``(e) Certificate.--A covered individual shall receive a 
certificate upon completion of the counseling and training provided 
under this section.
    ``(f) 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.
    ``(g) Continuation of Services.--A covered individual receiving 
services under this section may continue to receive such services after 
release from Federal custody.
    ``(h) Grant Authority.--In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator may, subject to appropriation, 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 to identify 
opportunities to access capital for covered individuals.
    ``(i) 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.
    ``(j) Survey.--Each women's business center, association of women's 
business centers, small business development center, or association of 
small business development centers 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.
    ``(k) 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 
        (e);
            ``(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 provided under this section;
            ``(6) a summary and analysis of surveys conducted under 
        subsection (j); and
            ``(7) any additional information, as determined by the 
        Administrator.
    ``(l) Covered Individual Defined.--In this section, the term 
`covered individual' means an individual incarcerated in a Federal 
prison designated as a minimum, low, or medium security prison by the 
Director of the Bureau of Prisons.
    ``(m) 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, as applicable, for 
the costs relating to the services provided under the section.''.
                                 <all>