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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10361 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10361

   To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to 
 establish the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 11, 2024

  Mr. Ezell (for himself and Mr. Carter of Louisiana) 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 amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to 
 establish the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program, 
                        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 ``Capacity Building for Business 
Districts Pilot Program Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Vibrant and prosperous business districts are vital 
        components of thriving communities, providing critical 
        commercial goods and services to community residents.
            (2) Business districts contribute to the vitality, 
        character, and identity of urban neighborhoods, small towns, 
        and rural and Native communities.
            (3) Business districts drive entrepreneurship, local 
        business ownership, economic growth, and job creation.
            (4) Business districts are an essential part of the 
        economic development ecosystem for towns, cities and rural 
        communities, helping to attract consumers, visitors, new 
        residents and new businesses to those communities and 
        neighborhoods.
            (5) Locally based business district organizations are well 
        positioned to provide technical assistance and support to small 
        and underserved businesses, while also helping to attract 
        customers for those businesses by shaping and nurturing the 
        physical environment of the business districts.
            (6) Locally based business district organizations need 
        technical assistance and flexible capital to support their 
        ongoing operations, and cannot readily access these funds from 
        existing programs at the Economic Development Administration 
        due to the relatively small scale and highly local scope of 
        their operations.
            (7) There exists a substantial number of intermediary 
        organizations that are well positioned to receive and 
        responsibly deploy funding from the Economic Development 
        Administration to currently unserved or underserved business 
        district organizations for capacity building grants, technical 
        assistance, training, and dissemination of best practices.

SEC. 3. CAPACITY BUILDING FOR BUSINESS DISTRICTS PILOT PROGRAM.

    Section 207 of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3147) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as 
                subparagraph (J);
                    (B) in subparagraph (H) by striking the ``and'' at 
                the end and inserting the following:
                    ``(I) carrying out the pilot program established 
                under subsection (c); and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--Within the program authorized under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish a pilot program, 
        to be known as the `Capacity Building for Business Districts 
        Pilot Program'.
            ``(2) Grants.--The Secretary may award to specified 
        recipients Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot 
        Program grants, on a competitive basis, to carry out place-
        based initiatives that provide specialized technical 
        assistance, capacity building, and related services to eligible 
        subrecipients that support business district revitalization in 
        low-income, rural, minority and Native communities.
            ``(3) Multiple awards.--In providing assistance under this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall make multiple awards to 
        multiple organizations.
            ``(4) Administration.--The Secretary may not carry out this 
        subsection through a regional office.
            ``(5) Prioritization.--The Secretary shall ensure a broad 
        geographic distribution of award activities, and give priority 
        to an applicant--
                    ``(A) that would serve a distressed community in an 
                area described under section 301(a), including rural 
                communities and Indian Tribes; and
                    ``(B) that has the demonstrated capacity to serve 
                multiple States or multiple geographies within a State.
            ``(6) Reporting.--Specified recipients shall submit to the 
        Secretary (at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 
        prescribe, but no more frequently than annually) a report 
        specifying--
                    ``(A) the names and addresses of eligible 
                subrecipients receiving services and support from the 
                specified recipient;
                    ``(B) the use of funds by the specified recipient, 
                including direct technical assistance and pass-through 
                grant funds;
                    ``(C) the use of funds by the eligible 
                subrecipients, including internal operations, direct 
                services to businesses, and district revitalization 
                activities;
                    ``(D) the specific geographic areas served by the 
                eligible subrecipients;
                    ``(E) the name, address, and industry as determined 
                by the North American Industry Classification System, 
                of each entity receiving assistance from eligible 
                subrecipients;
                    ``(F) the total number of jobs created and retained 
                during the reporting period; and
                    ``(G) any other information as the Secretary 
                considers appropriate consistent with the findings 
                under section 2 of the Capacity Building for Business 
                Districts Pilot Program Act of 2024.
            ``(7) Term.--The term of an initial grant shall be for a 
        period that the Secretary determines appropriate for the 
        proposed activities but not less than 2 years.
            ``(8) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Business district.--The term `business 
                district' means a geographic area, which may have been 
                designated as a business district by a State, county, 
                regional or local unit of government, that is 
                characterized by dense development, efficient land use, 
                and a concentration of small businesses, economic 
                activity, and employment opportunities or an area that 
                could contain such concentration, including a rural 
                main street or neighborhood commercial corridor.
                    ``(B) Business district organization.--The term 
                `business district organization' means a public or 
                nonprofit entity located in a business district and 
                established to provide services to the business 
                district to promote the district, attract private 
                investment and create jobs, and enhance the physical 
                environment through property development and planning 
                activities.
                    ``(C) Capacity building.--The term `capacity 
                building' means training, education, support, advice, 
                and the provision of operating grants to enhance the 
                technical and administrative capabilities of business 
                district organizations.
                    ``(D) Eligible subrecipient.--The term `eligible 
                subrecipient' means a business district organization 
                that--
                            ``(i) is an organization that--
                                    ``(I) is described in paragraph 
                                (3), (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) 
                                of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
                                and is exempt from taxation under 
                                section 501(a) of such Code; or
                                    ``(II) is a public entity; and
                            ``(ii) provides services to a business 
                        district located in an area described under 
                        section 301(a) to support economic development, 
                        including providing business support services 
                        and physical space enhancements to such 
                        district.
                    ``(E) Specified recipient.--The term `specified 
                recipient' means an organization that--
                            ``(i) is described in paragraph (3), (4), 
                        (5), or (6) of section 501(c) of the Internal 
                        Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from 
                        taxation under section 501(a) of such Code;
                            ``(ii) operates, including through 
                        affiliates, membership networks or partnerships 
                        with third party entities, in multiple 
                        geographic areas served by multiple regional 
                        offices of the Economic Development 
                        Administration; and
                            ``(iii) has experience and expertise in 
                        providing technical assistance and executing 
                        capacity building programs in support of 
                        business district organizations and similar 
                        community-based organizations that focus on 
                        revitalizing business districts and commercial 
                        corridors, including through support of 
                        underserved small businesses.''.
                                 <all>
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