[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8443 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8443
To amend the Small Business Act to provide re-entry entrepreneurship
counseling and training services for incarcerated individuals, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 16, 2024
Ms. Velazquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Small Business
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to provide re-entry entrepreneurship
counseling and training services for incarcerated individuals, 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 ``Prison to Proprietorship Act''.
SEC. 2. RE-ENTRY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNSELING AND TRAINING FOR
INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS.
The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 49 as section 50; and
(2) by inserting after section 48 the following new
section:
``SEC. 49. RE-ENTRY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNSELING AND TRAINING FOR
INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS.
``(a) Services Required.--The Administrator, in coordination with
the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, shall require women's business
centers and small business development centers identified under the
plan described in subsection (b) to provide entrepreneurship counseling
and training services to covered individuals.
``(b) Plan.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall--
``(A) develop a plan, which shall be updated
annually, to match women's business centers and small
business development centers with covered individuals
in Federal prisons who are eligible to receive services
under this section; and
``(B) seek to consult with both an association
formed to pursue matters of common concern to women's
business centers and an association of small business
development centers formed pursuant to section
21(a)(3)(A) to develop and update such plan.
``(2) Matching.--In determining matches under paragraph
(1), the Administrator shall prioritize matching the women's
business center or small business development center in closest
proximity to the applicable Federal prison.
``(3) Association responsibilities.--If the women's
business center or small business development center identified
under the plan in paragraph (1) is unable to provide such
services to covered individuals in such Federal prison, another
women's business center or small business development center,
an association of women's business centers, or an association
of small business development centers shall provide such
services in accordance with the requirements of this section.
``(c) Goals.--The goals of the services provided under this section
is to provide covered individuals with the following:
``(1) Assistance and in-depth training on how to start or
expand a small business concern.
``(2) Tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify a
business opportunity, including how to--
``(A) draft a resume, business plan, and transition
plan;
``(B) identify sources of capital; and
``(C) connect with local resources for small
business concerns.
``(d) Additional Requirements.--The services provided under this
section shall include--
``(1) a presentation providing exposure to the
opportunities involved in self-employment and ownership of a
small business concern;
``(2) a self-study course manual focused on the basic
skills of entrepreneurship, financial literacy, the language of
business, and the considerations and life skills relevant to
self-employment and ownership of a small business concern;
``(3) five two-day sessions of in-depth classroom
instruction introducing the foundations of self-employment and
ownership of small business concerns, including guided
discussions to explore personal entrepreneurial development
interests; and
``(4) in-depth one-on-one training, including individual
support in the development of a business plan, entrepreneurial
skills, and strategies for starting up a small business
concern.
``(e) Certificate.--A covered individual shall receive a
certificate upon completion of the counseling and training provided
under this section.
``(f) Priority.--The Administrator shall, to the extent
practicable, ensure that women's business centers and small business
development centers prioritize providing entrepreneurship counseling
and training services to covered individuals who will be released from
Federal custody not later than 18 months after the date on which such a
covered individual begins to receive such services.
``(g) Continuation of Services.--A covered individual receiving
services under this section may continue to receive such services after
release from Federal custody.
``(h) Grant Authority.--In carrying out this section, the
Administrator may, subject to appropriation, award a grant to an
association formed to pursue matters of common concern to women's
business centers or small business development centers to coordinate
the services described under this section, including to develop
curriculum, train mentors and instructors, and establish public-private
partnerships to support covered individuals and to identify
opportunities to access capital for covered individuals.
``(i) Curriculum.--The Administration shall print and make
available to women's business centers, small business development
centers, an association of women's business centers, or an association
of small business development centers any curriculum or course
materials developed pursuant to this section.
``(j) Survey.--Each women's business center, association of women's
business centers, small business development center, or association of
small business development centers that provided services under this
section shall survey covered individuals who received such services to
assess the satisfaction of such covered individuals with such services.
``(k) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Administrator
shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on the performance and
effectiveness of the services provided under this section, which may be
included as part of another report submitted to such committees by the
Administrator, and which shall include--
``(1) the number of covered individuals counseled or
trained under this section;
``(2) the number of hours of counseling provided by each
women's business center and each small business development
center under this section;
``(3) the number of certificates presented under subsection
(e);
``(4) the demographics of covered individuals who received
services, including age, gender, race, and ethnicity;
``(5) the level of understanding of business concepts of
covered individuals upon completion of the counseling and
training provided under this section;
``(6) a summary and analysis of surveys conducted under
subsection (j); and
``(7) any additional information, as determined by the
Administrator.
``(l) Covered Individual Defined.--In this section, the term
`covered individual' means an individual incarcerated in a Federal
prison designated as a minimum, low, or medium security prison by the
Director of the Bureau of Prisons.
``(m) Funding.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the
Administrator shall reimburse women's business centers, small business
development centers, an association of women's business centers, or an
association of small business development centers, as applicable, for
the costs relating to the services provided under the section.''.
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