Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 12; Title 62 and Title 67.

This bill requires the department of economic and community development ("department") to establish and support entrepreneurship centers, including the issuance of grants, at career education agencies and nonprofit corporations, including local development corporations and chambers of commerce; community-based business outreach centers; and other community-based organizations. The purpose of the centers is to train minority group members, women, individuals with a disability, dislocated workers, and veterans in the principles and practice of entrepreneurship in order to prepare those individuals to pursue self-employment opportunities and to pursue a minority-owned business or a women-owned business. The centers must provide for training in all aspects of business development and small business management as defined by the department. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION AND DESIGNATION OF CENTERS This bill requires the department to establish criteria for selection and designation of the centers that include the following: (i) the level of support for the center from local post-secondary education institutions, businesses, and government; (ii) the level of financial assistance provided at the local and federal levels to support the operations of the center; (iii) the applicant's understanding of program goals and objectives articulated by the department; (iv) the plans of the center to supplement state and local funding through fees for services that may be based on a sliding scale based on ability to pay; (v) the need for and anticipated impact of the center on the community in which it will function; (vii) the quality of the proposed work plan and staff of the center; and (vii) the extent of economic distress in the area to be served. REQUIREMENTS FOR CENTERS This bill requires each center to do the following: (1) Be operated by a board of directors representing community leaders in business, education, finance, and government; (2) Be incorporated as a nonprofit corporation; (3) Be located in an area accessible to eligible clients; (4) Establish an advisory group of community business experts, at least 1/2 of whom are representative of the clientele to be served by the center, which constitutes a support network to provide counseling and mentoring services to minority group members, women, individuals with a disability, dislocated workers, and veterans from the concept stage of development through the first one to two years of existence on a regular basis and as needed thereafter; and (5) Establish a referral system and linkages to existing area small business assistance programs and financing sources. SERVICES CENTERS PROVIDE This bill requires each entrepreneur assistance center, which means a business development center or program that provides assistance to primarily minority group members, women, individuals with a disability, dislocated workers, and veterans, to provide needed services to eligible clients, such as (i) orientation and screening of prospective entrepreneurs; (ii) analysis of business concepts and technical feasibility; (iii) market analysis; (iv) management analysis and counseling; (v) business planning and financial planning assistance; (vi) referrals to financial resources; (vii) referrals to existing educational programs for training in such areas as marketing and accounting, and other training programs as may be necessary and available; and (viii) referrals to business incubator facilities, when appropriate, for the purpose of entering into agreements to access shared support services. APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS This bill requires application for grants to be made in the manner and on the forms prescribed by the department. The applications must include: (i) a description of the training programs available within the geographic area to be served by the center to which eligible clients may be referred; (ii) designation of a program director; (iii) plans for providing ongoing technical assistance to program graduates, including linkages with providers of other entrepreneurial assistance programs and with providers of small business technical assistance and services; (iv) a program budget, including matching funds, in-kind and otherwise, to be provided by the applicant; and (v) any other requirements as deemed necessary by the department. Additionally, this bill requires grants to be disbursed for payment of the cost of services and expenses of the program director, the instructors of the participating career education agency or nonprofit corporation, the faculty and support personnel thereof, and any other individual or organization in the service of providing instruction and counseling in furtherance of the program. REPORTING This bill requires the department to monitor the performance of each entrepreneurial assistance center and require quarterly reports from each center at such time and in such a manner as prescribed by the department. This bill requires the department to evaluate the entrepreneurial assistance centers established under this bill and report, beginning on January 1, 2025, and on or before January 1 of each year thereafter, the results of the evaluation to the governor, the chair of the commerce committee of the house of representatives, and the chair of the commerce and labor committee of the senate. The report must include the following: (A) Discuss the extent to which the centers serve minority group members, women, individuals with a disability, dislocated workers, and veterans; the extent to which the training program is coordinated with other assistance programs targeted to small and new businesses; the ability of the program to leverage other sources of funding and support; and the success of the program in aiding entrepreneurs to start up new businesses, including the number of new business start-ups resulting from the program; (B) Recommend changes and improvements in the training program and in the quality of supplemental technical assistance offered to graduates of the training programs; and (C) Be made available to the public on the department's website. Between evaluation due dates, this bill requires the department to maintain the necessary records and data required to satisfy the evaluation requirements of this bill.