I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4931 

To establish a competitive grant program within the Department of Commerce 

to support nationwide growth and success of business incubators. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 30, 2019 

Mr. RYAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee 

on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a competitive grant program within the Department of Commerce to support nationwide growth and 

success of business incubators. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Incubator Act of 

5 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BUSINESS INCUBATOR GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Department of Com8 merce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:57 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4931.IH H4931

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1 merce for Economic Development, shall establish and 

2 carry out a competitive grant program to provide financial 

3 assistance to support the growth and success of business 

4 incubators. 

5 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible applicant desiring a 

6 grant under this section shall submit to the Assistant Sec7 retary for the program established under subsection (a) 

8 an application at such time, in such manner, and con9 taining such information as the Assistant Secretary may 

10 require. 

11 (c) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—In awarding grants 

12 under this section, the Assistant Secretary shall— 

13 (1) consider factors such as population, unem14 ployment level, and business creation metrics to en15 sure that the program addresses demonstrated needs 

16 and achieves high impact; and 

17 (2) ensure grants are made broadly available to 

18 eligible applicants from all States to promote busi19 ness incubator development nationwide. 

20 (d) MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE AMOUNT FOR EACH

21 STATE.—The maximum amount awarded to eligible appli22 cants in a single State in a fiscal year under this section 

23 may not exceed $5,000,000. 

24 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity receiving a grant 

25 under this section may use grant amounts for operating 


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1 expenses and may not use such amounts for capital ex2 penditures. 

3 (f) PRIORITY OF AWARDEES.—In providing funds 

4 awarded under this section, the Assistant Secretary shall 

5 prioritize applications from eligible applicants that are lo6 cated in an opportunity zone. 

7 (g) TERMS.— 

8 (1) AMOUNT.—A grant awarded under this sec9 tion shall not be more than $500,000 for each fiscal 

10 year. 

11 (2) DURATION.—A grant shall be awarded for 

12 a period not to exceed 4 years. 

13 (3) SUBSEQUENT AWARD.—Upon the expiration 

14 of a grant awarded under this section, the grant re15 cipient is eligible to apply for an additional grant. 

16 (4) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—None of the 

17 funds made available to an entity under this section 

18 shall supplant any funds provided by a State for the 

19 operating expenses of an incubator. 

20 (h) PROGRAM IMPACTS AND REPORTING.— 

21 (1) METHODS AND METRICS.—The Assistant 

22 Secretary shall develop methods and metrics to— 

23 (A) assess the impacts of the program; and 

24 (B) evaluate the ongoing success of busi25 ness incubators funded under this section. 


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1 (2) REPORT.—Not later than the last day of 

2 each fiscal year, the Assistant Secretary shall submit 

3 to Congress, and make available to the public on an 

4 internet website, a comprehensive annual report on 

5 the awards, status, and impacts of the program, in6 cluding key program highlights and success stories 

7 for the most recent fiscal year. 

8 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

9 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist10 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

11 Commerce for Economic Development of the Depart12 ment of Commerce. 

13 (2) BUSINESS INCUBATOR.—The term ‘‘busi14 ness incubator’’ means an organization that— 

15 (A) provides physical workspace and facili16 ties resources to startups and established busi17 nesses; and 

18 (B) is designed to accelerate the growth 

19 and success of businesses through a variety of 

20 business support resources and services, includ21 ing— 

22 (i) access to capital, business edu23 cation, and counseling; 

24 (ii) networking opportunities; 

25 (iii) mentorship opportunities; and 


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1 (iv) other services intended to aid in 

2 developing a business. 

3 (3) OPPORTUNITY ZONE.—The term ‘‘oppor4 tunity zone’’ has the meaning given the term quali5 fied opportunity zone in section 1400Z–1 of the In6 ternal Revenue Code of 1986. 

7 (4) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

8 applicant’’ means a person that— 

9 (A) owns or manages an existing business 

10 incubator that is a nonprofit organization; 

11 (B) is able to provide the physical work12 space, equipment, and connectivity necessary 

13 for businesses and entrepreneurs to collaborate 

14 and conduct business on a local, regional, na15 tional, and international level; and 

16 (C) has been operational for not less than 

17 1 year before receiving a grant under this sec18 tion. 

19 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 

20 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

21 each commonwealth, territory or possession of the 

22 United States, and each federally recognized Indian 

23 Tribe. 

24 (6) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

25 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that 


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1 is described under section 501(c) of the Internal 

2 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 

3 section 501(a) of such Code. 

4 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act, 

6 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025. 

Æ 


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