15 U.S.C. § 3723 — STEM apprenticeship programs

Page 2080 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 3723 2 So in original. Probably should be followed by a period. (6) Recompete plan The term ‘‘recompete plan’’ means a com- prehensive multiyear economic development plan that— (A) includes— (i) proposed programs and activities to be carried out with a grant awarded under subsection (c) to address the economic challenges of the eligible area in a com- prehensive manner that promotes long- term, sustained economic growth, lasting job creation, per capita wage increases, and reduction in the prime-age employ- ment gap of the eligible area; (ii) projected costs and annual expendi- tures and proposed disbursement schedule; (iii) the roles and responsibilities of specified entities that may receive grant funds awarded under subsection (c); and (iv) other information as the Secretary determines appropriate; (B) is submitted to the Secretary for ap- proval for an eligible recipient to be consid- ered for a grant described in subsection (c); and (C) may be modified over the term of the grant by the eligible recipient, subject to the approval of the Secretary or at the di- rection of the Secretary, if the Secretary de- termines benchmarking requirements are re- peatedly not met or if other circumstances necessitate a modification. (7) Specified entity The term ‘‘specified entity’’ means— (A) a unit of local government; (B) the District of Columbia; (C) a territory of the United States; (D) a Tribal government; (E) political subdivision of a State or other entity, including a special-purpose entity engaged in economic development activities; (F) a public entity or nonprofit organiza- tion, acting in cooperation with the officials of a political subdivision of a State or other entity described in subparagraph (E); (G) an economic development district (as defined in section 3122 of title 42); and (H) a consortium of any of the specified en- tities described in this paragraph which serve or are contained within the same eligi- ble area. (8) Tribal land The term ‘‘Tribal land’’ means any land— (A) located within the boundaries of an In- dian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; or (B) not located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which is held— (i) in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian Tribe or an individual Indian; (ii) by an Indian Tribe or an individual Indian, subject to restriction against alienation under laws of the United States; or (iii) by a dependent Indian community. (9) Tribal prime-age population (A) In general The term ‘‘Tribal prime-age population’’ shall be equal to the sum obtained by add- ing— (i) the product obtained by multiplying— (I) the total number of individuals ages 25 through 54 residing on the Tribal land of the Tribal government; and (II) 0.65; and (ii) the product obtained by multi- plying— (I) the total number of individuals ages 25 through 54 included on the member- ship roll of the Tribal government; and (II) 0.35 2 (B) Use of data A calculation under subparagraph (A) shall be determined based on data provided by the applicable Tribal government to the Depart- ment of the Treasury under the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund pro- grams under title VI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). (Pub. L. 96–480, § 29, as added Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10621(a)(2), Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1655.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Social Security Act, referred to in subsec. (j)(9)(B), is act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620. Title VI of the Act is classified generally to subchapter VI (§ 801 et seq.) of chapter 7 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1305 of Title 42 and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DISTRESSED AREA DESIGNATION AND AWARD Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10621(c), Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1660, provided that: ‘‘Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this section [Aug. 9, 2022], subject to the availability of appropriations, if the Secretary [of Commerce] has received applications under section 29 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 [15 U.S.C. 3722b] (as added by this section) from an eligible recipient which the Secretary considers suitable for award under such section 29, the Secretary shall award grants or cooperative agreement under subsections (b) and (c) of such section 29 to one or more eligible recipients.’’ [For definition of ‘‘recipient’’ as used in section 10621(c) of Pub. L. 117–167, set out above, see section 18901 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.] § 3723. STEM apprenticeship programs (a) In general The Secretary of Commerce may carry out a grant program to identify the need for skilled science, technology, engineering, and mathe- matics (referred to in this section as ‘‘STEM’’) workers and to expand STEM apprenticeship programs. (b) Eligible recipient defined In this section, the term ‘‘eligible recipient’’ means— (1) a State; (2) an Indian tribe; (3) a city or other political subdivision of a State; (4) an entity that— Page 2081 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 3724 (A) is a nonprofit organization, an institu- tion of higher education, a public-private partnership, a science or research park, a Federal laboratory, or an economic develop- ment organization or similar entity; and (B) has an application that is supported by a State, a political subdivision of a State, or a native organization; or (5) a consortium of any of the entities de- scribed in paragraphs (1) through (5). (c) Needs assessment grants The Secretary of Commerce may provide a grant to an eligible recipient to conduct a needs assessment to identify— (1) the unmet need of a region’s employer base for skilled STEM workers; (2) the potential of STEM apprenticeships to address the unmet need described in paragraph (1); and (3) any barriers to addressing the unmet need described in paragraph (1). (d) Apprenticeship expansion grants The Secretary of Commerce may provide a grant to an eligible recipient that has conducted a needs assessment as described in subsection (c)(1) to develop infrastructure to expand STEM apprenticeship programs. (Pub. L. 96–480, § 30, formerly § 28, as added Pub. L. 114–329, title III, § 312(e), Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 3014; renumbered § 30, Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10621(a)(1), Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1642.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEVELOPING STEM APPRENTICESHIPS Pub. L. 114–329, title III, § 312(a)–(d), Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 3013, 3014, provided that: ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- ings: ‘‘(1) The lack of data on the return on investment for United States employers using registered appren- ticeships makes it difficult— ‘‘(A) to communicate the value of these programs to businesses; and ‘‘(B) to expand registered apprenticeships. ‘‘(2) The lack of data on the value and impact of employer-provided worker training, which is likely substantial, hinders the ability of the Federal Gov- ernment to formulate policy related to workforce training. ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Commerce has initiated— ‘‘(A) the first study on the return on investment for United States employers using registered ap- prenticeships through case studies of firms in var- ious sectors, occupations, and geographic locations to provide the business community with data on employer benefits and costs; and ‘‘(B) discussions with officials at relevant Federal agencies about the need to collect comprehensive data on— ‘‘(i) employer-provided worker training; and ‘‘(ii) existing tools that could be used to collect such data. ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF APPRENTICESHIP INFORMATION.— The Secretary of Commerce shall continue to research the value to businesses of utilizing apprenticeship pro- grams, including— ‘‘(1) evidence of return on investment of apprentice- ships, including estimates for the average time it takes a business to recover the costs associated with training apprentices; and ‘‘(2) data from the United States Census Bureau and other statistical surveys on employer-provided train- ing, including apprenticeships and other on-the-job training and industry-recognized certification pro- grams. ‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION OF APPRENTICESHIP INFORMA- TION.—The Secretary of Commerce shall disseminate findings from research on apprenticeships to businesses and other relevant stakeholders, including— ‘‘(1) institutions of higher education; ‘‘(2) State and local chambers of commerce; and ‘‘(3) workforce training organizations. ‘‘(d) NEW APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM STUDY.—The Sec- retary of Commerce may collaborate with the Sec- retary of Labor to study approaches for reducing the cost of creating new apprenticeship programs and hosting apprentices for businesses, particularly small businesses, including— ‘‘(1) training sharing agreements; ‘‘(2) group training models; and ‘‘(3) pooling resources and best practices.’’ [For definitions of ‘‘STEM’’ and ‘‘institution of high- er education’’ as used in section 312(a)–(d) of Pub. L. 114–329, set out above, see section 2 of Pub. L. 114–329, set out as a note under section 1862s of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.] § 3724. Crowdsourcing and citizen science (a) Short title This section may be cited as the ‘‘Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act’’. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the authority granted to Federal agencies under the America COMPETES Reauthoriza- tion Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–358; 124 Stat. 3982) to pursue the use of incentive prizes and challenges has yielded numerous benefits; (2) crowdsourcing and citizen science projects have a number of additional unique benefits, including accelerating scientific re- search, increasing cost effectiveness to maxi- mize the return on taxpayer dollars, address- ing societal needs, providing hands-on learn- ing in STEM, and connecting members of the public directly to Federal science agency mis- sions and to each other; and (3) granting Federal science agencies the di- rect, explicit authority to use crowdsourcing and citizen science will encourage its appro- priate use to advance Federal science agency missions and stimulate and facilitate broader public participation in the innovation process, yielding numerous benefits to the Federal Government and citizens who participate in such projects. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Citizen science The term ‘‘citizen science’’ means a form of open collaboration in which individuals or or- ganizations participate voluntarily in the sci- entific process in various ways, including— (A) enabling the formulation of research questions; (B) creating and refining project design; (C) conducting scientific experiments; (D) collecting and analyzing data; (E) interpreting the results of data; (F) developing technologies and applica- tions; (G) making discoveries; and (H) solving problems.