[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2752 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2752
To provide a Federal charter to the Fab Foundation for the National Fab
Lab Network, a national network of local digital fabrication facilities
providing universal access to advanced manufacturing tools for learning
skills, developing inventions, creating businesses, and producing
personalized products, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 25, 2018
Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide a Federal charter to the Fab Foundation for the National Fab
Lab Network, a national network of local digital fabrication facilities
providing universal access to advanced manufacturing tools for learning
skills, developing inventions, creating businesses, and producing
personalized products, 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 ``National Fab Lab Network Act of
2018''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Scientific discoveries and technical innovations are
critical to the economic and national security of the United
States.
(2) Maintaining the leadership of the United States in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will require
a diverse population with the skills, interest, and access to
tools required to advance these fields.
(3) Just as earlier digital revolutions in communications
and computation provided individuals with the Internet and
personal computers, a digital revolution in fabrication will
allow anyone to make almost anything, anywhere.
(4) These creations include communications devices, solar
powered housing, consumer products, and new kinds of machines
and tools for advanced manufacturing.
(5) The Center for Bits and Atoms of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (CBA) has contributed significantly to
the advancement of these goals through its work in creating and
advancing digital fabrication facilities, or ``fab labs'' in
the United States and abroad.
(6) MakerSpaces, TechShops, and other creative platforms
also facilitate access to digital fabrication capabilities.
(7) The fab labs of the Center for Bits and Atoms provide a
model for a new kind of national laboratory that links local
facilities for advanced manufacturing, providing universal
access, and empowering communities.
(8) A coordinated national public-private partnership will
be the most effective way to accelerate the provision of this
universal infrastructure for learning skills, developing
inventions, creating businesses, and producing personalized
products.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL CHARTER FOR NATIONAL FAB LAB NETWORK.
(a) In General.--Part B of subtitle II of title 36, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:
``CHAPTER 2501--NATIONAL FAB LAB NETWORK
``Chapter 2501--National Fab Lab Network
``Sec.
``250101. Definitions.
``250102. Organization.
``250103. Purposes and goals.
``250104. Membership and organization.
``250105. Governing body.
``250106. Powers.
``250107. Restrictions.
``250108. Records and inspection.
``250109. Duty to maintain tax exempt status.
``250110. Liability for acts of officers and agents.
``250111. Annual report.
``Sec. 250101. Definitions
``In this chapter:
``(1) Corporation.--The term `corporation' means the
National Fab Lab Network.
``(2) Fab lab.--The term `fab lab' means a facility that
is--
``(A) equipped with a standard integrated suite of
fabrication tools that can convert digital designs into
functional physical things;
``(B) equipped with scanning tools to convert
physical things into digital designs; and
``(C) made accessible to the general public,
allowing for necessary fees.
``Sec. 250102. Organization
``(a) Redesignation.--The Fab Foundation shall be known as the
National Fab Lab Network.
``(b) Federal Charter.--The National Fab Lab Network is a federally
chartered corporation.
``(c) Perpetual Existence.--Except as otherwise provided, the
corporation shall have perpetual succession.
``Sec. 250103. Purposes and goals
``The purposes and goals of the corporation are as follows:
``(1) To create a national network of connected local fab
labs to empower individuals and communities in the United
States.
``(2) To foster the use of distributed digital fabrication
tools to promote science, technology, engineering and math
skills, increase invention and innovation, create businesses
and jobs, and fulfill personal, professional, and community
needs.
``(3) To serve as a resource to assist stakeholders with
the effective operation of fab labs.
``(4) To provide a platform for education, research, and
for catalyzing new methods in science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics education.
``(5) To create new ways of educating the workforce that
will enable workers to compete in a 21st century global
marketplace.
``(6) To seek to establish at least one fab lab per every
700,000 individuals in the United States in the first 10 years
of its operation, corresponding to availability in all 435
Congressional districts and to provide guidelines for their
sustainable operation.
``Sec. 250104. Membership and organization
``Except as provided in this chapter, eligibility for membership in
the corporation and the rights and privileges of members are as
provided in the constitution and bylaws of the corporation.
``Sec. 250105. Governing body
``Directors, officers, and other staff of the corporation, and
their powers and duties are as provided in the bylaws of the
corporation.
``Sec. 250106. Powers
``The corporation may--
``(1) coordinate the creation of a national network of
local fab labs in the United States;
``(2) issue guidelines for the sustainable operation of fab
labs;
``(3) serve as a resource for organizations and communities
seeking to create fab labs by providing information, assessing
suitability, advising on the lab lifecycle, and maintaining
descriptions of prospective and operating sites;
``(4) accept funds from private individuals, organizations,
government agencies, or other organizations;
``(5) distribute funds to other nonprofit organizations to
establish and operate fab labs as members of the corporation;
``(6) facilitate communication between other nonprofit
organizations seeking to join the corporation with operational
entities that can source and install fab labs, provide
training, assist with operations, account for spending, and
assess impact;
``(7) communicate the benefits available through membership
in the corporation to communities and the public;
``(8) facilitate and participate in synergistic programs,
including workforce training, job creation, researching the
broader impacts of such programs, and the production of civic
infrastructure;
``(9) amend a constitution and bylaws for the management of
its property and the regulation of its affairs;
``(10) choose directors, officers, trustees, managers,
employees, and agents as the activities of the corporation
require;
``(11) make contracts;
``(12) acquire, own, lease, encumber, and transfer property
as necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of the
corporation;
``(13) borrow money, issue instruments of indebtedness, and
secure its obligations by granting security interests in its
property;
``(14) charge and collect membership dues and subscription
fees; and
``(15) sue and be sued.
``Sec. 250107. Restrictions
``(a) Stock and Dividends.--The corporation may not issue
securities of any kind or declare or pay a dividend.
``(b) Distribution of Income or Assets.--The income or assets of
the corporation may not inure to the benefit of, or be distributed to,
a director, officer, or member during the life of the charter of the
corporation under this chapter. This subsection does not prevent the
payment of reasonable compensation to an officer or reimbursement for
actual necessary expenses in amounts approved by the board of
directors.
``(c) Loans.--The corporation may not make a loan to a director,
officer, or employee.
``(d) Claim of Governmental Approval or Authority.--The corporation
may not claim congressional approval or the authority of the United
States Government for any of its activities.
``Sec. 250108. Records and inspection
``(a) Records.--The corporation shall keep--
``(1) correct and complete records of account;
``(2) minutes of the proceedings of its members, board of
directors, and committees having any of the authority of its
board of directors; and
``(3) at its principal office, a record of the names and
addresses of its members entitled to vote.
``(b) Inspections.--A member entitled to vote, or an agent or
attorney of the member, may inspect the records of the corporation for
any proper purpose, at any reasonable time.
``Sec. 250109. Duty to maintain tax exempt status
``The corporation shall maintain its status as an organization
exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.
1 et seq.).
``Sec. 250110. Liability for acts of officers and agents
``The corporation is liable for the acts of its officers and agents
acting within the scope of their authority.
``Sec. 250111. Annual report
``Not less frequently than once each year, the corporation shall
submit to Congress, including specifically to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee
on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, a
report on the activities of the corporation during the prior fiscal
year. The report shall be submitted at the same time as the report of
the audit required by section 10101 of this title. The report may not
be printed as a public document.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the beginning of
subtitle II of such title is amended by inserting after the item
relating to chapter 2401 the following new item:
``2501. National Fab Lab Network................... 250101''.
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