S.Amdt. 3743

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Van Hollen, aims to add a new section called Unconditional Ownership and Control Requirements for Certain Employee-Owned Small Business Concerns to bill S. 2296.

The purpose of this amendment is to address the sense of Congress that ownership structures for eligible worker-owned cooperatives and employee stock ownership plans create barriers to accessing set-aside procurement programs. It asserts that these structures should not stop an otherwise eligible entity from accessing these programs.

To achieve this, the amendment adds the following:

• A Study and Report: The Administrator of the Small Business Administration must work with stakeholders and Federal agencies to study and recommend alternatives to unconditional ownership and control requirements.
• Public and Congressional Disclosure: The study must be made public on the Small Business Administration website and submitted to Congress with an implementation plan.
• Statutory Changes: The Administrator must identify any necessary statutory changes needed to implement the recommendations.
• Small Business Act Amendments: It modifies section 3(q) of the Small Business Act by removing specific language regarding stock owned by an ESOP and striking paragraph (6).