[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3585 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3585
To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to
establish the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 23, 2025
Mr. Ezell (for himself and Mr. Carter of Louisiana) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Financial
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to
establish the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program,
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 ``Capacity Building for Business
Districts Pilot Program Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Vibrant and prosperous business districts are vital
components of thriving communities, providing critical
commercial goods and services to community residents.
(2) Business districts contribute to the vitality,
character, and identity of urban neighborhoods, small towns,
and rural and Native communities.
(3) Business districts drive entrepreneurship, local
business ownership, economic growth, and job creation.
(4) Business districts are an essential part of the
economic development ecosystem for towns, cities and rural
communities, helping to attract consumers, visitors, new
residents and new businesses to those communities and
neighborhoods.
(5) Locally based business district organizations are well
positioned to provide technical assistance and support to small
and underserved businesses, while also helping to attract
customers for those businesses by shaping and nurturing the
physical environment of the business districts.
(6) Locally based business district organizations need
technical assistance and flexible capital to support their
ongoing operations, and cannot readily access these funds from
existing programs at the Economic Development Administration
due to the relatively small scale and highly local scope of
their operations.
(7) There exists a substantial number of intermediary
organizations that are well positioned to receive and
responsibly deploy funding from the Economic Development
Administration to currently unserved or underserved business
district organizations for capacity building grants, technical
assistance, training, and dissemination of best practices.
SEC. 3. CAPACITY BUILDING FOR BUSINESS DISTRICTS PILOT PROGRAM.
Section 207 of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3147) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(2)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as
subparagraph (J); and
(B) in subparagraph (H) by striking the ``and'' at
the end and inserting the following:
``(I) carrying out the pilot program established
under subsection (c); and''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program.--
``(1) In general.--Within the program authorized under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish a pilot program,
to be known as the `Capacity Building for Business Districts
Pilot Program'.
``(2) Grants.--The Secretary may award to specified
recipients Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot
Program grants, on a competitive basis, to carry out place-
based initiatives that provide specialized technical
assistance, capacity building, and related services to eligible
subrecipients that support business district revitalization in
low-income, rural, minority and Native communities.
``(3) Multiple awards.--In providing assistance under this
subsection, the Secretary shall make multiple awards to
multiple organizations.
``(4) Administration.--The Secretary may not carry out this
subsection through a regional office.
``(5) Prioritization.--The Secretary shall ensure a broad
geographic distribution of award activities, and give priority
to an applicant--
``(A) that would serve a distressed community in an
area described under section 301(a), including rural
communities and Indian Tribes; and
``(B) that has the demonstrated capacity to serve
multiple States or multiple geographies within a State.
``(6) Reporting.--Specified recipients shall submit to the
Secretary (at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may
prescribe, but no more frequently than annually) a report
specifying--
``(A) the names and addresses of eligible
subrecipients receiving services and support from the
specified recipient;
``(B) the use of funds by the specified recipient,
including direct technical assistance and pass-through
grant funds;
``(C) the use of funds by the eligible
subrecipients, including internal operations, direct
services to businesses, and district revitalization
activities;
``(D) the specific geographic areas served by the
eligible subrecipients;
``(E) the name, address, and industry as determined
by the North American Industry Classification System,
of each entity receiving assistance from eligible
subrecipients;
``(F) the total number of jobs created and retained
during the reporting period; and
``(G) any other information as the Secretary
considers appropriate consistent with the findings
under section 2 of the Capacity Building for Business
Districts Pilot Program Act of 2025.
``(7) Term.--The term of an initial grant shall be for a
period that the Secretary determines appropriate for the
proposed activities but not less than 2 years.
``(8) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Business district.--The term `business
district' means a geographic area, which may have been
designated as a business district by a State, county,
regional or local unit of government, that is
characterized by dense development, efficient land use,
and a concentration of small businesses, economic
activity, and employment opportunities or an area that
could contain such concentration, including a rural
main street or neighborhood commercial corridor.
``(B) Business district organization.--The term
`business district organization' means a public or
nonprofit entity located in a business district and
established to provide services to the business
district to promote the district, attract private
investment and create jobs, and enhance the physical
environment through property development and planning
activities.
``(C) Capacity building.--The term `capacity
building' means training, education, support, advice,
and the provision of operating grants to enhance the
technical and administrative capabilities of business
district organizations.
``(D) Eligible subrecipient.--The term `eligible
subrecipient' means a business district organization
that--
``(i) is an organization that--
``(I) is described in paragraph
(3), (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
and is exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of such Code; or
``(II) is a public entity; and
``(ii) provides services to a business
district located in an area described under
section 301(a) to support economic development,
including providing business support services
and physical space enhancements to such
district.
``(E) Specified recipient.--The term `specified
recipient' means an organization that--
``(i) is described in paragraph (3), (4),
(5), or (6) of section 501(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of such Code;
``(ii) operates, including through
affiliates, membership networks or partnerships
with third party entities, in multiple
geographic areas served by multiple regional
offices of the Economic Development
Administration; and
``(iii) has experience and expertise in
providing technical assistance and executing
capacity building programs in support of
business district organizations and similar
community-based organizations that focus on
revitalizing business districts and commercial
corridors, including through support of
underserved small businesses.''.
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