Invest in Rural Small Business Act of 2017

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Invest in Rural Small Business Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FLEXIBILITY FOR RESIDENCY IN HUBZONES.

    Section 3(p)(5)(A)(i)(I) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632(p)(5)(A)(i)(I)) is amended by striking ``35 percent'' each place 
that term appears and inserting ``33 percent''.

SEC. 3. ENABLING LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO MAXIMIZE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL.

    The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 3(p)(1) (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(1))--
                    (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 
                subparagraph (G); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the 
                following:
                    ``(F) another qualified area designated by the 
                Administrator under section 31(d); or''; and
            (2) in section 31 (15 U.S.C. 657a)--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 
                (e); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (c) the 
                following:
    ``(d) Other Qualified Areas.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `covered area' means an area in a 
                State--
                            ``(i) that is located outside of an 
                        urbanized area, as determined by the Bureau of 
                        the Census; and
                            ``(ii) with a population of not more than 
                        50,000;
                    ``(B) the term `governor' means the chief executive 
                of a State; and
                    ``(C) the term `State' means each of the several 
                States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
                Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth 
                of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
            ``(2) Designation.--A governor may petition the 
        Administrator to designate one or more covered areas as a 
        HUBZone if the average unemployment rate of each covered area 
        for which the designation is sought is not less than 120 
        percent of the average unemployment rate of the United States 
        or of the State in which the covered area is located, whichever 
        is less, based on the most recent data available from the 
        American Community Survey conducted by the Bureau of the 
        Census.
            ``(3) Criteria.--In reviewing a petition submitted by a 
        governor under paragraph (2), the Administrator may consider--
                    ``(A) the potential for job creation and 
                investment;
                    ``(B) the demonstrated interest of small business 
                concerns in the covered area to participate in the 
                HUBZone program established under this section  31; and
                    ``(C) the consideration by State and local 
                government officials of a HUBZone as part of an 
                economic development strategy.
            ``(4) Petition.--With respect to a petition submitted by a 
        governor to the Administrator under paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) the governor may submit not more than 1 
                petition in a fiscal year unless the Administrator 
                determines that an additional petition from the State 
                of the governor is appropriate;
                    ``(B) the governor may not submit a petition for 
                more than 10 percent of the total number of covered 
                areas in the State of the governor; and
                    ``(C) if the Administrator grants the petition and 
                designates one or more covered areas as a HUBZone, the 
                governor shall, not less frequently than annually, 
                submit data to the Administrator certifying that each 
                covered area designated by the Administrator continues 
                to meet the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of 
                paragraph (1)(A).
            ``(5) Process.--The Administrator shall establish 
        procedures--
                    ``(A) to ensure that the Administration accepts 
                petitions under paragraph (2) from all States each 
                fiscal year; and
                    ``(B) to provide technical assistance, before the 
                filing of a petition under paragraph (2), to a governor 
                who is interested in filing such a petition.''.

SEC. 4. ENSURING TIMELY CONSIDERATION OF HUBZONE APPLICATIONS.

    Section 3(p)(5) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(5)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Review of applications.--Not later than 60 
                days after the date on which the Administrator receives 
                an application from a small business concern to be 
                certified as a qualified HUBZone small business concern 
                under subparagraph (A)(i), the Administrator shall 
                approve or deny the application.''.

Summary: Invest in Rural Small Business Act of 2017 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Small Business Act to modify the definition of qualified Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small business concern to reduce from 35% to 33% the number of a small firm's employees required to live within a HUBZone. (Sec. 3) The HUBZone program is expanded to include a qualified area located outside of an urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or less (covered area) designated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in response to a petition by the governor of a state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory. The SBA may designate, in response to a governor's petition, only a covered area for which the designation is sought that has an average unemployment rate at least 120% of the average U.S. or state unemployment rate, whichever is less. In reviewing such petition, the SBA may consider:  the potential for job creation and investment; the demonstrated interest of small business concerns in the covered area to participate in such HUBZone program; and the consideration by state and local government officials of a HUBZone as part of an economic development strategy.  The governor:   is limited to submitting one petition in a fiscal year unless the SBA determines that an additional petition from the governor's state is appropriate; may not submit a petition for more than 10% of the total number of covered areas in the state; and shall at least annually submit data to the SBA certifying that each covered area designated continues to meet the requirements of this bill.  The SBA shall establish procedures to ensure that it accepts petitions from all states each fiscal year and gives an interested governor technical assistance before a petition is filed.  (Sec. 4) The SBA must approve or deny, within 60 days upon receipt, a small business concern's application for certification as a qualified HUBZone small business concern.