II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3169 

To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to 

establish university centers to encourage certain economic development, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 31, 2023 

Mr. PADILLA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Works and Economic Development 

Act of 1965 to establish university centers to encourage 

certain economic development, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘University Centers for 

5 Growth, Development, and Prosperity Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY UNIVERSITY 

2 CENTERS. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 207 of the Public 

4 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 

5 U.S.C. 3147) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(D), by inserting ‘‘in ac7 cordance with subsection (c)’’ after ‘‘university cen8 ters’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(c) UNIVERSITY CENTERS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

12 awards to institutions of higher education for such 

13 institutions to serve as university centers. 

14 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE.—The Secretary 

15 shall ensure that at least one university center is es16 tablished in each State to provide services in such 

17 State. 

18 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIZATION OF HISTORICALLY BLACK

19 COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, TRIBAL COLLEGES

20 AND UNIVERSITIES, HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITU21 TIONS, AND MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS.—In 

22 establishing university centers under this subsection, 

23 the Secretary shall prioritize institutions of higher 

24 education that are eligible to receive funds under 

25 section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

26 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 


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1 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The university centers estab2 lished under this subsection, to the extent prac3 ticable, shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) collaborate with other university cen5 ters; 

6 ‘‘(B) collaborate with economic develop7 ment districts, trade adjustment assistance cen8 ters, Hollings Manufacturing Extension Part9 nership Centers of the National Institute of 

10 Standards and Technology, Business Centers 

11 and Rural Business Centers of the Minority 

12 Business Development Agency, and other rel13 evant Federal economic development technical 

14 assistance and service providers to provide ex15 pertise and technical assistance to develop, im16 plement, and support comprehensive regional 

17 economic development strategies that assist in 

18 job creation, high-skilled regional talent pools, 

19 and business expansion in a region’s innovation 

20 cluster; 

21 ‘‘(C) provide technical assistance, business 

22 development services, and technology transfer 

23 services to businesses in the service area of the 

24 university center; 


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1 ‘‘(D) establish partnerships with one or 

2 more commercialization intermediaries that are 

3 public or nonprofit technology transfer organi4 zations eligible to receive a grant under section 

5 602(d)(1)(B) of the American Innovation and 

6 Competitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 1862s– 

7 9(d)(1)(B)); and 

8 ‘‘(E) provide to communities and regions 

9 assistance relating to data collection and anal10 ysis and other research relating to economic 

11 conditions and vulnerabilities that can inform 

12 economic development and adjustment strate13 gies. 

14 ‘‘(5) AMOUNT OF AWARD.—The Secretary may 

15 provide to each university center under this sub16 section for each fiscal year an amount that is not 

17 less than $500,000 and not more than $1,000,000.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(12) of 

19 the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 

20 (42 U.S.C. 3122(12)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

21 207(a)(2)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 207’’. 

Æ 


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