Small Business Opportunity Grants Act of 2024

Bill: 118-s-5634
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2024-12-19
Policy area: Commerce
Latest action: action_date: 2024-12-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5634 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 2024 Mr. Markey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship A BILL To establish a grant program under the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Small Business Opportunity Grants Act of 2024 . 2. Definitions (a) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. (b) Community development financial institution The term community development financial institution has the meaning given the term in section 103 of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 ( 12 U.S.C. 4702 ). (c) Covered lender The term covered lender means a lender authorized under section 3(a)(2)(B). (d) Covered grant The term covered grant means a grant issued by a covered lender. (e) Eligible recipient The term eligible recipient means an eligible small business concern. (f) Minority Depository Institution The term minority depository institution has the meaning given the term in section 308 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 ( 12 U.S.C. 1463 note). (g) Rural area The term rural area means any county or other political subdivision of a State, the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession of the United States that is designated as a rural area by the Bureau of the Census. 3. Grant program (a) Grant program (1) In general The Administrator shall establish a grant program in accordance with this subsection for the purpose of awarding grants to individuals or entities who meet the criteria established under paragraph (2). (2) Eligibility criteria (A) Grant recipients The Administrator shall, in accordance with the limits described in paragraph (4), award a grant to an eligible recipient if— (i) the eligible recipient is located in— (I) a low- to moderate-income community; (II) a HUBZone, as that term is defined in section 31(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657a(b) ); (III) a rural area; or (IV) any area for which a disaster declaration or determination described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (E) of section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2) ) has been made that has not terminated more than 2 years before the date (or later, as determined by the Administrator) on which a grant is made to the small business concern under the program, except that, in the case of a major disaster described in subsection (b)(2)(A) of such section, that period shall be 5 years; (ii) more than 50 percent of the employees of the eligible recipient reside in a low- or moderate-income community; (iii) the eligible recipient is a new business; (iv) the eligible recipient is owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, as described in paragraphs (5) and (6)(A), respectively, of section 8(a) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(a) ) which the Administrator, in carrying out the program, shall presume includes Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, and other minorities; (v) the eligible recipient is owned and controlled by women; (vi) the eligible recipient is owned and controlled by veterans or spouses of veterans; (vii) the eligible recipient is owned and controlled by a member of an Indian Tribe individually identified (including parenthetically) in the most recent list published pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 ( 25 U.S.C. 5131 ); (viii) the eligible recipient is owned and controlled by an individual who has completed a term of imprisonment in a Federal, State, or local jail or prison; or (ix) the eligible recipient is owned and controlled by an individual with a disability, as that term is defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 12102 ). (B) Lenders The Administrator shall, in accordance with the limits described in paragraph (4), award a grant to a lender if the lender is— (i) a community development financial institution; (ii) a minority depository institution; (iii) a lender under the Microloan Program established under subsection (m) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(m) ); (iv) a development company that is certified under title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 ( 15 U.S.C. 695 et seq. ); or (v) a Community Advantage Small Business Lending Company, as described in section 120.10 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations. (3) Limits (A) Number of grants The number of grants awarded under this subsection shall not exceed 1,000,000 grants. (B) Amount of forgiveness The amount of a grant awarded to an eligible recipient under this subsection shall not exceed $20,000. (C) No limit on other loans or grants Notwithstanding any other provision of law, small business concerns receiving a covered grant under this Act shall not be prohibited from receiving another loan or grant. (b) Technical Assistance Grant Program The Administrator shall establish a grant program to provide management and technical assistance to covered lenders making grants under this Act. (c) Regulations The Administrator shall promulgate regulations related to the grant programs under this section not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. (d) Authorization of Appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section for fiscal year 2025. 4. Reporting requirements for grants (a) Data collection With respect to each covered grant under this Act, the Administrator shall collect data on the eligible recipient of the covered grant, which shall include the gender, race, ethnicity, sex, age, Tribal affiliation, socioeconomic status, and disability status of each eligible recipient. (b) Publication (1) In general The Administrator shall make publicly available on the website of the Small Business Administration, in a disaggregated format, the data collected under subsection (a), which shall be updated not later than 7 days after the date on which a covered grant is approved. (2) Privacy considerations In publishing the data under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall take all necessary steps to protect the privacy of any individual whose personally identifiable information is included in that data.