ness concern that is located in the vicinity of the National
Laboratory or facility.
SEC. 8. OTHER TRANSACTIONS AUTHORITY.
Section 646 of the Department of Energy Organiza-
tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7256) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
‘‘(g)(1) In addition to other authorities granted to the
Secretary to enter into procurement contracts, leases, co-
operative agreements, grants, and other similar arrange-
ments, the Secretary may enter into other transactions
with public agencies, private organizations, or persons on
such terms as the Secretary may deem appropriate in fur-
therance of functions now or hereafter vested in the Sec-
retary, including research, development, or demonstration
projects. Such other transactions shall not be subject to
the provisions of section 9 of the Federal Nonnuclear En-
ergy Research and Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
5908).
‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall not disclose any trade
secret or commercial or financial information submitted
by a non-Federal entity under paragraph (1) that is privi-
leged and confidential.
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not disclose, for five years
after the date the information is received, any other infor-
mation submitted by a non-Federal entity under para-
graph (1), including any proposal, proposal abstract, docu-
ment supporting a proposal, business plan, or technical
information that is privileged and confidential.
‘‘(C) The Secretary may protect from disclosure, for
up to five years, any information developed pursuant to
a transaction under paragraph (1) that would be protected
from disclosure under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United
States Code, if obtained from a person other than a Fed-
eral agency.’’.
SEC. 9. AMENDMENTS TO THE STEVENSON-WYDLER ACT.
(a) STRATEGIC PLANS.—Section 12(a) of the Steven-
son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.
3710a(a)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘joint work state-
ment’’ the following: ‘‘or, if permitted by the agency, in
an agency-approved annual strategic plan.’’.
(b) FEDERAL WAIVERS.—Subsection 12(b) of the
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3710a(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(6) The director of a government-operated lab-
oratory (in the case of a Government operated lab-
oratory) or a designated official of the agency (in
the case of a contractor-operated laboratory) may
waive any license retained by the Government under
paragraphs (1)(A), 2, or 3(D) in whole or in part
and according to negotiated terms and conditions if
the director or designated official, as appropriate,
finds that the requirement for the license would sub-
stantially inhibit the commercialization of an inven-
tion that would otherwise serve an important Fed-
eral mission.’’.
(c) TIME
REQUIRED
FOR
APPROVAL.—Section
12(c)(5) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation
Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a(c)(5)) is amended—
(1) by striking subparagraph (C);
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub-
paragraph (C);
(3) by striking ‘‘with a small business firm’’
and inserting ‘‘if’’ after ‘‘statement’’ in subpara-
graph (C)(i) (as redesignated); and
(4) by adding after subparagraph (C)(iii) (as
redesignated) the following:
‘‘(iv) Any agency that has contracted
with a non-Federal entity to operate a lab-
oratory may develop and provide to such
laboratory one or more model cooperative
research and development agreements, for
the purposes of standardizing practices
and procedures, resolving common legal
issues, and enabling review of cooperative
research and development agreements to
be carried out in a routine and prompt
manner.
‘‘(v) A Federal agency may waive the
requirements of clause (i) or (ii) under
such circumstances as the agency deems
appropriate. However, the agency may not
take longer than 30 days to review and ap-
prove, request modifications to, or dis-
approve any proposed agreement or joint
work statement that it elects to receive.’’.
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