Protecting Childcare from Private Equity Act

This Act may be cited as the “Protecting Childcare from Private Equity Act”.

(a) In general.— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall require each covered private fund to provide the Commission with information on the ownership, purchase, and sale by such fund of legal entities that provide childcare.

(b) Report to Congress.— Not later than 1 month after the end of each fiscal year, the Commission shall issue a report to Congress containing anonymized data collected under subsection (a) for the previous fiscal year.

(a) In general.— During the 4-year period beginning on the date that a covered private fund first controls a legal entity that provides childcare—

(1) the covered private fund may not sell any interest in the legal entity; and

(2) the legal entity may not make any dividend payment or capital distribution to, or undertake a share buyback from, the covered private fund.

(a) Study.— The Comptroller General of the United States shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Securities and Exchange Commission, carry out a study on the effect of private equity ownership of childcare providers in terms of quality of care, availability of spots, tuition, employee wages, and such other items as the Comptroller General determines appropriate.

(b) Report.— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall issue a report to the Congress containing all findings and determinations made in carrying out the applicable study required under subsection (a).

In this Act:

(1) Controls.— With respect to a legal entity, a person “controls” the legal entity if the person owns, or otherwise has the power to vote, more than 50 percent of the equity voting securities of the legal entity.

(2) Covered private fund.— The term “covered private fund” means an issuer—

(A) that would be an investment company, as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.), but for paragraph (1) or (7) of section 3(c) of that Act;

(B) with more than $150,000,000 in assets under management; and

(C) that, through legal entities controlled by the issuer, provides childcare at more than 25 locations.