Creating Jobs Through Cooperatives Act

Summary: Creating Jobs Through Cooperatives Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a National Cooperative Development Program to create jobs and increase economic development in eligible project areas by promoting cooperative development. Defines &quot;eligible project areas&quot; as those located within:  a census tract defined as low- or moderate-income by the Census Bureau; a population census tract treated as a low-income community under the Internal Revenue Code; or areas adjacent or close to areas that meet either requirement, and are given special HUD approval to be classified as eligible project areas. (Requires the Secretary to limit the number of funded projects located in these areas.)  Defines &quot;cooperative development&quot; as specified technical assistance for the establishment of cooperative organizations, which are autonomous associations of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. Authorizes the Secretary, through a competitive process, to make one- to -five-year grants to local cooperative development centers. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Creating Jobs Through Cooperatives 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) That Federal policy can promote cooperative 
        development, which demonstrably has the following benefits for 
        communities located in such areas:
                    (A) Advancing local economic stability.
                    (B) Increasing local circulation of capital, 
                thereby increasing economic multipliers and the impact 
                of community investment to spur locally oriented 
                economic growth.
                    (C) Developing, attracting, and anchoring new 
                productive capital in low-income communities.
                    (D) Expanding investment opportunities and asset 
                creation for low- and moderate-income Americans.
            (2) Cooperatives operate in all 50 States and across all 
        sectors of the United States economy, including industries such 
        as energy, telecommunications, food distribution, insurance, 
        credit unions, agriculture, health, housing, and wholesale and 
        retail purchasing and distribution
            (3) There are 29,000 cooperatives in the United States that 
        account for more than $3 trillion in assets, over $500 billion 
        in total revenue, $25 billion in wages and benefits, and nearly 
        two million jobs
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a Federal 
program that will create jobs and increase economic development by 
promoting cooperative development.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Cooperative development.--The term ``cooperative 
        development'' means technical assistance provided for the 
        purpose of--
                    (A) providing financial forecasting, feasibility 
                analysis, business planning, and other preparatory 
                activity to ensure that a cooperative organization, or 
                organizations that are in the process of establishing 
                such an organization, are grounded in sound business 
                practices;
                    (B) assisting with establishing incorporation 
                documents, bylaws, and policies that ensure that 
                cooperative organizations--
                            (i) adhere to legal obligations of a local 
                        or State government or the Federal Government; 
                        and
                            (ii) are governed by transparent and 
                        agreed-upon rules;
                    (C) educating, with respect to how cooperative 
                organizations function--
                            (i) board members, management, and 
                        employees of cooperative organizations;
                            (ii) local communities affected by such 
                        organizations and the general public; and
                            (iii) professionals involved in cooperative 
                        development;
                    (D) providing organizational planning for 
                cooperative organizations, including board meetings and 
                board development, and strategic planning;
                    (E) hosting networking activities and conferences 
                involving cooperative organizations, entities that work 
                with such organizations, and professional organizations 
                that engage in cooperative development;
                    (F) providing professional development of 
                professionals involved in cooperative development by 
                offering training focused on cooperative development; 
                and
                    (G) providing administrative and operational set-up 
                of cooperative organizations.
            (2) Cooperative organization.--The term ``cooperative 
        organization'' means an autonomous association of persons 
        united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and 
        cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and 
        democratically-controlled enterprise.
            (3) Eligible project area.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``eligible project area'' 
                means an area located within--
                            (i) a census tract that is defined as low- 
                        or moderate-income by the Bureau of the Census 
                        of the Department of Commerce;
                            (ii) a population census tract that is 
                        treated as a low-income community under section 
                        45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
                            (iii) subject to subparagraph (B), an area 
                        that--
                                    (I) is adjacent or close to an area 
                                that meets the requirements of either 
                                clause (i) or (ii); and
                                    (II) is given special approval by 
                                the Secretary to be classified as an 
                                eligible project area.
                    (B) Limitation.--The Secretary shall limit the 
                number of projects funded under this Act that are 
                located in an area described in subparagraph (A)(iii).
            (4) Local cooperative development center.--The term ``local 
        cooperative development center'' means a nonprofit 
        organization, college, or university, or a group of such 
        organizations, colleges, or universities, with expertise in 
        establishing and developing cooperative organizations.
            (5) Program.--The term ``program'' means the National 
        Cooperative Development Program established under section 4.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development, or the Secretary's designee.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall establish a program to be known as the National Cooperative 
Development Program to carry out the purpose described in section 2(b).
    (b) Assistance for Cooperative Development.--
            (1) Uses.--The Secretary shall use amounts made available 
        for the program for--
                    (A) providing grants to local cooperative 
                development centers, to carry out activities that 
                promote cooperative development, that are selected for 
                such grants under paragraph (3)(B);
                    (B) partnering with one or more financial 
                institutions to--
                            (i) establish a revolving loan program that 
                        will provide loans to cooperative organizations 
                        to undertake cooperative development; and
                            (ii) develop other loan programs and 
                        financial products that can be accessed by 
                        cooperative organizations; and
                    (C) carrying out any other activities that the 
                Secretary deems necessary to the furtherance of the 
                purposes of this Act.
            (2) Allocation of amounts.--The Secretary shall allocate 
        not less than 50 percent of the amounts made available for the 
        program for grants under paragraph (1)(A) to local cooperative 
        development centers.
            (3) Grants to local cooperative development centers.--
                    (A) Grants.--The Secretary may make grants, 
                pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(i), to local development 
                centers selected under this paragraph, and shall enter 
                into grant agreements with such centers selected and 
                provide grants in accordance with such agreements. Each 
                grant agreement for a local development center shall 
                provide for a grant for at least one fiscal year and 
                may provide for grants for a period not to exceed 3 
                fiscal years.
                    (B) Selection.--The Secretary shall select, through 
                a competitive process, local cooperative development 
                centers to receive grants pursuant to paragraph 
                (1)(A)(i).
                    (C) Criteria for selection.--In selecting local 
                cooperative development centers to receive such grants, 
                the Secretary shall take into consideration the 
                following:
                            (i) The technical capacity of the center to 
                        carry out eligible projects.
                            (ii) The ability of the center to deliver 
                        technical assistance.
                            (iii) The capacity and commitment of the 
                        center to offering cooperative development.
                            (iv) Whether the center can provide 
                        matching funding of at least 15 percent of 
                        grant amounts provided under the program to the 
                        center.
                            (v) The record of the center in developing 
                        successful cooperative organizations.
                            (vi) The ability of the center to have a 
                        positive economic impact on an area through job 
                        creation or retention, affordable housing 
                        creation, or wealth creation.
                            (vii) Such other considerations as the 
                        Secretary may consider appropriate.
            (4) Failure to meet performance targets.--If the Secretary 
        determines that an entity awarded funds under the program has 
        not met the performance targets established pursuant to 
        subsection (e), is not making reasonable progress toward 
        meeting such measures, or is otherwise in violation of a grant 
        agreement entered into pursuant to paragraph (3)(C) of this 
        subsection, the Secretary may--
                    (A) withhold financial assistance under this Act 
                until the performance measures are met; or
                    (B) in the case of a grant made pursuant to 
                paragraph (1)(A), terminate the grant agreement.
    (c) Other Activities.--Under the program, the Secretary shall--
            (1) develop and provide technical assistance, educational, 
        and other materials to assist local cooperative development 
        centers that are receiving funds under the program to develop 
        cooperative organizations;
            (2) monitor and evaluate the performance of such local 
        centers;
            (3) provide guidance, information on best practices, and 
        technical assistance to communities seeking to establish 
        cooperative organizations;
            (4) establish the eligibility criteria for projects to be 
        carried out using assistance provided under this Act; and
            (5) develop program and reporting guidelines.
    (d) Performance Targets.--The Secretary shall establish performance 
targets for the program, which shall include, at a minimum, a 
requirement that a significant percentage of projects funded under the 
program shall involve cooperative organizations that are women- or 
minority-owned.

SEC. 5. REPORTS.

    (a) By Local Cooperative Development Centers and Financial 
Institutions.--For each grant that a local cooperative development 
center or financial institution receives pursuant to section 
4(b)(1)(A), the local center or institution shall submit to the 
Secretary, not later than the expiration of the 12-month period after 
initial receipt of such grant amounts, a report that includes--
            (1) identification of the total amount of such grant 
        amounts that have been expended;
            (2) a description of the activities undertaken by such 
        local center or institution with such grant amounts; and
            (3) other information as the Secretary may require.
    (b) By the Secretary.--Not later than 3 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for each year assistance 
is provided under this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress 
a report that includes--
            (1) identification of the number of cooperative 
        organizations created using amounts made available under this 
        Act;
            (2) best practices from the local cooperative development 
        centers that are awarded grants under this Act and the economic 
        benefits to the local communities that such centers serve 
        resulting from such use of funds;
            (3) an evaluation of compliance with the performance 
        targets established pursuant to section 4(d);
            (4) case studies featuring select cooperative development 
        organizations that benefitted from the program; and
            (5) any additional information, including statistics, that 
        would help promote future cooperative development.

SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations necessary to carry out this 
Act.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out the National Cooperative Development Program, to remain available 
until expended, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017.