FINAL BILL REPORT
SSB 5902



C 357 L 05
Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Establishing a small business innovation research program proposal review process.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on International Trade & Economic Development (originally sponsored by Senators Eide, Shin, Zarelli, Doumit, Rasmussen and Pflug).

Senate Committee on International Trade & Economic Development
House Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture & Trade
House Committee on Appropriations

Background: The federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program awards grants to small technology-based businesses to explore the technical merits and commercial potential of new ideas and technologies. The program is important to financing the development of technology by small firms because it acts as a large early-stage capital pool. The awards are provided in three phases. A small firm can leverage an SBIR award into a commercial business success.

Federal funds have been available to train small businesses on how to participate in the SBIR program. Nearly half of the small businesses that received such training won SBIR awards, whereas less than 10 percent of companies that did not get the training got SBIR funding. The Washington Technology Center has been a recipient of the training funds and has been providing the SBIR application training, but Congress eliminated the funding for the training program in its budget for this fiscal year.

Summary: The Washington Technology Center is to train and assist small businesses to win phase I SBIR awards. The center is to give priority to first-time applicants, new businesses, and firms with fewer than ten employees. The center may charge a fee for the services provided to applicants. Forty-five thousand dollars is appropriated for the biennium from the general fund to carry out the training and assistance.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      48   0
House      94   0   (House amended)
Senate            (Senate refused to concur)
House      97   0   (House receded)

Effective: July 24, 2005