A bill to establish a grant program to encourage retooling of entities in the timber industry in Alaska, and for other purposes.

Summary: Alaska Timber Industry Fairness Act - Establishes a two-year grant program for retooling projects that are designed to facilitate the economic adjustment of specified timber entities by allowing them to: (1) improve or alter their business and practices to become more competitive within the timber industry; or (2) shift to a type of business that is not related to the timber industry.

Authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development of the Department of Commerce to provide grants under such program to any entity that operated in the timber industry in Alaska on January 1, 2008, that operated in Alaska for not less than 10 years, and that can demonstrate that it has been harmed by federal laws or regulations relating to the timber industry, including the United States Forest Service's policies and land management plans completed pursuant to National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

Sets forth provisions concerning eligible uses of grant funding.

Treats a grant recipient as a small business concern owned or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (as that term is defined in the Small Business Act) for three years after the grant was approved.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Alaska Timber Industry Fairness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to assist entities involved in the 
timber industry in Alaska--
            (1) to deal with the adverse impacts of Federal timber 
        policy;
            (2) to facilitate the economic adjustment of those 
        entities; and
            (3) to retain jobs and lessen the impact of unemployment in 
        communities where those entities are located.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL TIMBER POLICY DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``Federal timber policy'' means any law or 
regulation of the United States relating to the timber industry, 
including any policy of the United States Forest Service and any land 
management plans completed pursuant to National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) related to the timber industry.

SEC. 4. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    The Assistant Secretary for Economic Development of the Department 
of Commerce (in this Act referred to as the ``Assistant Secretary'') 
may provide grants to eligible entities described in section 5 for 
retooling projects described in section 6.

SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE ENTITIES DESCRIBED.

    An eligible entity described in this section is any entity, 
including sawmills, logging companies, and road construction companies, 
that--
            (1) operated in the timber industry in Alaska on January 1, 
        2008;
            (2) operated in the timber industry in Alaska for not less 
        than 10 years; and
            (3) can demonstrate that the entity has been harmed by 
        Federal timber policy.

SEC. 6. RETOOLING PROJECTS DESCRIBED.

    (a) In General.--A retooling project described in this section is a 
project designed to facilitate the economic adjustment of an eligible 
entity by allowing the eligible entity--
            (1) to improve or alter the business and practices of the 
        eligible entity to allow the eligible entity to become more 
        competitive within the timber industry; or
            (2) to shift to a type of business that is not related to 
        the timber industry.
    (b) Additional Requirement.--An eligible entity seeking a grant for 
a retooling project shall commit, to the extent practicable, to 
continue to employ substantially the same number of employees employed 
by the eligible entity on January 1, 2008, for a reasonable period 
after the completion of the retooling project, as determined by the 
Assistant Secretary.

SEC. 7. APPLICATION PROCESS.

    (a) In General.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under this Act 
shall submit an application to the Assistant Secretary in such form and 
in such manner as the Assistant Secretary considers appropriate.
    (b) Contents.--An application submitted under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) a description of the retooling project for which the 
        eligible entity is seeking a grant;
            (2) a business plan and budget, including start-up costs, 
        for the retooling project; and
            (3) a demonstration of the likelihood of success of the 
        retooling project.
    (c) Approval.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which the 
Assistant Secretary receives an application under subsection (a) from 
an eligible entity, the Assistant Secretary shall determine whether to 
award a grant to the eligible entity.
    (d) Denial.--If the Assistant Secretary determines not to award a 
grant to an eligible entity that submitted an application under 
subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall afford the eligible 
entity a reasonable opportunity to address any deficiencies in the 
application.

SEC. 8. AMOUNT OF GRANT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which the 
Assistant Secretary determines to award a grant to an eligible entity, 
the Assistant Secretary shall--
            (1) approve the business plan and the budget for the 
        retooling project of the eligible entity; and
            (2) determine the amount of the grant to award the eligible 
        entity.
    (b) Determination.--In determining the amount of the grant to award 
to an eligible entity, the Assistant Secretary shall consider the 
budget for the retooling plan approved under subsection (a)(1). The 
amount of the grant--
            (1) shall cover 75 percent of the cost of the budget, not 
        including any debt reimbursement costs; and
            (2) may cover up to 100 percent of the cost of the budget 
        if the Assistant Secretary determines appropriate based on--
                    (A) the severity of the harm to the eligible entity 
                related to Federal timber policy; and
                    (B) the extent of unemployment in the community in 
                which the retooling project will be based.

SEC. 9. USE OF GRANT FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--An eligible entity receiving a grant under this 
Act--
            (1) may use the grant--
                    (A) to pay for start-up costs necessary for the 
                retooling project, including equipment, worker 
                training, facility acquisition, technical assistance, 
                and raw materials; and
                    (B) to reimburse the eligible entity for the 
                unamortized portion of debt described in subsection 
                (b); and
            (2) may not use the grant for the ongoing operational and 
        maintenance costs of the eligible entity.
    (b) Reimbursement of Debt.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity may use a grant under 
        this Act for the reimbursement of debt under subsection 
        (a)(1)(B), without regard to whether the debt is held by 
        Federal or private lenders, if--
                    (A) the eligible entity demonstrates that the debt 
                was incurred--
                            (i) to acquire or improve infrastructure or 
                        equipment related to the timber industry, 
                        including sawmills, logging equipment, and road 
                        construction equipment, as a result of Federal 
                        timber policy; and
                            (ii) on or after January 1, 1998, and 
                        before January 1, 2008; and
                    (B) the lender certifies and notarizes the amount 
                of unamortized debt.
            (2) Reduction.--The amount of a grant to be used for the 
        reimbursement of debt under subsection (a)(1)(B) shall be 
        reduced by the amount of any proceeds from the sale by the 
        eligible entity of any infrastructure or equipment described in 
        paragraph (1)(A).

SEC. 10. DURATION OF GRANT PROGRAM.

    The grant program under this Act shall be carried out during the 2-
year period beginning on the date on which the Assistant Secretary 
prescribes the regulations under section 12.

SEC. 11. TREATMENT AS A MINORITY SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN UNDER THE SMALL 
              BUSINESS ACT.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an eligible entity 
receiving a grant under this Act shall be treated as a small business 
concern owned or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged 
individuals (as that term is defined in section 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C)) for purposes of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) for 3 years after the date on 
which the Assistant Secretary approves the application of the eligible 
entity for a grant under section 7.

SEC. 12. REGULATIONS.

    Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Assistant Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry out 
the grant program under this Act.

SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Commerce $40,000,000 to carry out the grant program under this Act for 
fiscal years 2009 and 2010.