S. 4730

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4730 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4730

To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 
Policy Act of 1977 to authorize capacity building grants for community 
college agriculture and natural resources programs.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 10, 2026

Mr. Hickenlooper (for himself, Mrs. Fischer, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Hyde-
Smith, Mr. Kelly, and Mr. Husted) introduced the following bill; which 
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 
Policy Act of 1977 to authorize capacity building grants for community 
college agriculture and natural resources programs.

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 ``Community College Agriculture 
Advancement Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE AGRICULTURE AND 
NATURAL RESOURCES PROGRAMS.

Subtitle K of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1473I. CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE 
AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES PROGRAMS.

``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) a junior or community college supporting 
agriculture advancement; and
``(B) a consortium or alliance of 2-year public 
colleges supporting agriculture advancement.
``(2) Junior or community college.--The term `junior or 
community college' has the meaning given the term in section 
312 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058).
``(b) Competitive Grants.--The Secretary shall make competitive 
grants to eligible entities to assist the eligible entities in 
maintaining and expanding the capacity of the eligible entities to 
conduct workforce training, education, research, and outreach 
activities relating to--
``(1) agriculture; and
``(2) other similar disciplines.
``(c) Priority.--In making grants under subsection (b), the 
Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity coordinating with a 
local agriculture industry operator to provide experiential training 
and other opportunities for students.
``(d) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
subsection (b) may use the funds made available through the grant to 
expand and maintain the capacity of the eligible entity--
``(1) to successfully compete for funds from Federal grants 
and other sources to carry out educational, research, and 
outreach activities that address priority concerns of national, 
regional, State, and local interest;
``(2) to offer educational programming on agricultural 
industry jobs, including farm business management-related 
subjects, such as accounting, paralegal studies, and finance;
``(3) to disseminate information relating to the priority 
concerns described in paragraph (1) to interested members of 
the agriculture and other relevant communities and to the 
public;
``(4) to encourage members of those communities to 
participate in priority education, research, and outreach 
activities through providing matching funding from sources 
other than funds received through the grant; and
``(5) through--
``(A) the purchase or other acquisition of 
equipment and other infrastructure (not including the 
alteration, repair, renovation, or construction of 
buildings);
``(B) the professional growth and development of 
faculty; and
``(C) the development of apprenticeships and other 
work-based learning opportunities.
``(e) Centers of Agriculture Advancement.--
``(1) In general.--An eligible entity may submit to the 
Secretary an application for designation and funding as a 
center of excellence for agriculture advancement.
``(2) Use of funds.--A center of excellence for agriculture 
advancement designated under paragraph (1) shall use funding 
received as a result of that designation--
``(A) to demonstrate best practices relating to 
agriculture; and
``(B) to provide leadership in capacity building at 
a regional or national level.
``(f) Evaluation and Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date 
of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
``(1) conduct an evaluation of activities carried out under 
this section; and
``(2) submit a report describing the evaluation conducted 
under paragraph (1) to--
``(A) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
Representatives;
``(B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the Senate;
``(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives; and
``(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2027 through 2031.''.
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