TECHNOLOGY EXTENSION ACTIVITIES.

SEC. 5121. TECHNOLOGY EXTENSION ACTIVITIES. (a) Technology Centers and Technical Assistance.—The Act of March 3, 1901, as amended by this part, is further amended by adding after section 24 the following new sections: “regional centers for the transfer of manufacturing technology “Sec. 25. (a) The Secretary, through the Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, shall provide assistance for the creation and support of Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manu-102 STAT. 1434 facturing Technology (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘Centers’). Such centers shall be affiliated with any United States-based nonprofit institution or organization, or group thereof, that applies for and is awarded financial assistance under this section in accordance with the description published by the Secretary in the Federal Register under subsection (c)(2). Individual awards shall be decided on the basis of merit review. The objective of the Centers is to enhance productivity and technological performance in United States manufacturing through— “(1) the transfer of manufacturing technology and techniques developed at the Institute to Centers and, through them, to manufacturing companies throughout the United States; “(2) the participation of individuals from industry, universities, State governments, other Federal agencies, and, when appropriate, the Institute in cooperative technology transfer activities; “(3) efforts to make new manufacturing technology and processes usable by United States-based small- and medium-sized companies; “(4) the active dissemination of scientific, engineering, technical, and management information about manufacturing to industrial firms, including small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies; and “(5) the utilization, when appropriate, of the expertise and capability that exists in Federal laboratories other than the Institute. “(b) The activities of the Centers shall include— “(1) the establishment of automated manufacturing systems and other advanced production technologies, based on research by the Institute, for the purpose of demonstrations and technology transfer; “(2) the active transfer and dissemination of research findings and Center expertise to a wide range of companies and enterprises, particularly small- and medium-sized manufacturers; and “(3) loans, on a selective, short-term basis, of items of advanced manufacturing equipment to small manufacturing firms with less than 100 employees. “(c) (1) The Secretary may provide financial support to any Center created under subsection (a) for a period not to exceed six years. The Secretary may not provide to a Center more than 50 percent of the capital and annual operating and maintenance funds required to create and maintain such Center. “(2) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register, within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, a draft description of a program for establishing Centers, including— “(A) a description of the program; “(B) procedures to be followed by applicants; “(C) criteria for determining qualified applicants; “(D) criteria, including those listed under paragraph (4), for choosing recipients of financial assistance under this section from among the qualified applicants; and “(E) maximum support levels expected to be available to Centers under the program in the fourth through sixth years of assistance under this section. The Secretary shall publish a final description under this paragraph after the expiration of a 30-day comment period. 102 STAT. 1435 “(3) Any nonprofit institution, or group thereof, or consortia of nonprofit institutions, including entities existing on the date of the enactment of this section, may submit to the Secretary an application for financial support under this subsection, in accordance with the procedures established by the Secretary and published in the Federal Register under paragraph (2). In order to receive assistance under this section, an applicant shall provide adequate assurances that it will contribute 50 percent or more of the proposed Center’s capital and annual operating and maintenance costs for the first three years and an increasing share for each of the last three years. Each applicant shall also submit a proposal for the allocation of the legal rights associated with any invention which may result from the proposed Center’s activities. “(4) The Secretary shall subject each such application to merit review. In making a decision whether to approve such application and provide financial support under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider at a minimum (A) the merits of the application, particularly those portions of the application regarding technology transfer, training and education, and adaptation of manufacturing technologies to the needs of particular industrial sectors, (B) the quality of service to be provided, (C) geographical diversity and extent of service area, and (D) the percentage of funding and amount of in-kind commitment from other sources. “(5) Each Center which receives financial assistance under this section shall be evaluated during its third year of operation by an evaluation panel appointed by the Secretary. Each such evaluation panel shall be composed of private experts, none of whom shall be connected with the involved Center, and Federal officials. An official of the Institute shall chair the panel. Each evaluation panel shall measure the involved Center’s performance against the objectives specified in this section. The Secretary shall not provide funding for the fourth through the sixth years of such Center’s operation unless the evaluation is positive. If the evaluation is positive, the Secretary may provide continued funding through the sixth year at declining levels, which are designed to ensure that the Center no longer needs financial support from the Institute by the seventh year. In no event shall funding for a Center be provided by the Department of Commerce after the sixth year of the operation of a Center. “(6) The provisions of chapter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall (to the extent not inconsistent with this section) apply to the promotion of technology from research by Centers under this section. “(d) There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of carrying out this section, a combined total of not to exceed $40,000,000 for fiscal years 1989 and 1990. Such sums shall remain available until expended. “assistance to state technology programs “Sec. 26. (a) In addition to the Centers program created under section 25, the Secretary, through the Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, shall provide technical assistance to State technology programs throughout the United States, in order to help those programs help businesses, particularly small- and medium-sized businesses, to enhance their competitiveness through the application of science and technology. 102 STAT. 1436 “(b) Such assistance from the Institute to State technology programs shall include, but not be limited to— “(1) technical information and advice from Institute personnel; “(2) workshops and seminars for State officials interested in transferring Federal technology to businesses; and “(3) entering into cooperative agreements when authorized to do so under this or any other Act.” (b) Technology Extension Services.— (1) The Secretary shall conduct a nationwide study of current State technology extension services. The study shall include— (A) a thorough description of each State program, including its duration, its annual budget, and the number and types of businesses it has aided; (B) a description of any anticipated expansion of each State program and its associated costs; (C) an evaluation of the success of the services in transferring technology, modernizing manufacturing processes, and improving the productivity and profitability of businesses; (D) an assessment of the degree to which State services make use of Federal programs, including the Small Business Innovative Research program and the programs of the Federal Laboratory Consortium, the National Technical Information Service, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Productivity, Technology, and Innovation, and the Small Business Administration; (E) a survey of what additional Federal information and technical assistance the services could utilize; and (F) an assessment of how the services could be more effective agents for the transfer of Federal scientific and technical information, including the results and application of Federal and federally funded research. The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, at the time of submission of the organization plan for the Institute under section 5112(d)(1), the results of the study and an initial implementation plan for the programs under section 26 of the Act of March 3, 1901, and under this section. The implementation plan shall include methods of providing technical assistance to States and criteria for awarding financial assistance under this section. The Secretary may make use of contractors and experts for any or all of the studies and findings called for in this section. (2) (A) The Institute shall enter into cooperative agreements with State technology extension services to— (i) demonstrate methods by which the States can, in cooperation with Federal agencies, increase the use of Federal technology by businesses within their States to improve industrial competitiveness; or (ii) help businesses in their States take advantage of the services and information offered by the Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology created under section 25 of the Act of March 3, 1901. (B) Any State, for itself or for a consortium of States, may submit to the Secretary an application for a cooperative agreement under this subsection, in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary. To qualify for a cooperative agreement under this subsec-102 STAT. 1437tion, a State shall provide adequate assurances that it will increase its spending on technology extension services by an amount at least equal to the amount of Federal assistance. (C) In evaluating each application, the Secretary shall consider— (i) the number and types of additional businesses that will be assisted under the cooperative agreement; (ii) the extent to which the State extension service will demonstrate new methods to increase the use of Federal technology; (iii) geographic diversity; and (iv) the ability of the State to maintain the extension service after the cooperative agreement has expired. (D) States which are party to cooperative agreements under this subsection may provide services directly or may arrange for the provision of any or all of such services by institutions of higher education or other non-profit institutions or organizations. (3) In carrying out section 26 of the Act of March 3, 1901, and this subsection, the Secretary shall coordinate the activities with the Federal Laboratory Consortium; the National Technical Information Service; the National Science Foundation; the Office of Productivity, Technology, and Innovation; the Small Business Administration; and other appropriate Federal agencies. (4) There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this subsection $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1989, 1990, and 1991. (5) Cooperative agreements entered into under paragraph (2) shall terminate no later than September 30, 1991. (c) Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986.—Nothing in sections 25 or 26 of the Act of March 3, 1901, or in subsection (b) of this section shall be construed as limiting the authorities contained in the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–502). (d) Non-energy Inventions Program.—The Act of March 3, 1901, as amended by this part, is further amended by adding after section 26 the following new section: “non-energy inventions program “Sec. 27. In conjunction with the initial organization of the Institute, the Director shall establish a program for the evaluation of inventions that are not energy-related to complement but not re-place the Energy-Related Inventions Program established under section 14 of the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 (Public Law 93–577). The Director shall submit an initial implementation plan for this program to accompany the organization plan for the Institute. The implementation plan shall include specific cost estimates, implementation schedules, and mechanisms to help finance the development of technologies the program has determined to have potential. In the preparation of the plan, the Director shall consult with appropriate Federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration and the Department of Energy, State and local government organizations, university officials, and private sector organizations in order to obtain advice on how those agencies and organizations might cooperate with the expansion of this program of the Institute.”.