Women's Business Centers Act of 1997

Summary: Women's Business Centers Act of 1997- Amends the Small Business Act to:  (1) authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide financial assistance to private organizations to conduct five-year (currently, three-year) demonstration projects to benefit small businesses owned and controlled by women; (2) adjust the level of cash contributions required from Federal and non-Federal sources for each of the five years of the projects; (3) require each assistance applicant to submit a five-year (currently, three year) plan on proposed fund raising and training activities under a project; (4) allow each recipient to receive such assistance for five years (in lieu of three); (5) establish within the SBA the Office Of Women's Business Ownership to administer SBA's women's business enterprise programs; (6) require the SBA to report biennially to the small business committees on the effectiveness of projects conducted under this Act; and (7) increase the annual authorization of appropriations for such programs.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Women's Business Centers Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. WOMEN'S BUSINESS TRAINING CENTERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
656) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 29. WOMEN'S BUSINESS TRAINING CENTERS.

    ``(a) Financial Assistance.--The Administration may provide 
financial assistance to private organizations to conduct 5-year 
projects for the benefit of small business concerns owned and 
controlled by women. The projects shall provide--
            ``(1) financial assistance, including training and 
        counseling in how to apply for and secure business credit and 
        investment capital, preparing and presenting financial 
        statements, and managing cash flow and other financial 
        operations of a business concern;
            ``(2) management assistance, including training and 
        counseling in how to plan, organize, staff, direct and control 
        each major activity and function of a small business concern; 
        and
            ``(3) marketing assistance, including training and 
        counseling in identifying and segmenting domestic and 
        international market opportunities, preparing and executing 
        marketing plans, developing pricing strategies, locating 
        contract opportunities, negotiating contracts, and utilizing 
        varying public relations and advertising techniques.
    ``(b) Conditions.--
            ``(1) Non-federal contributions.--As a condition of 
        receiving financial assistance authorized by this section, the 
        recipient organization shall agree to obtain, after its 
        application has been approved and notice of award has been 
        issued, cash contributions from non-Federal sources as follows:
                    ``(A) in the first, second, and third years, 1 non-
                Federal dollar for each 2 Federal dollars;
                    ``(B) in the fourth year, 1 non-Federal dollar for 
                each Federal dollar; and
                    ``(C) in the fifth year, 2 non-Federal dollars for 
                each Federal dollar.
            ``(2) Form of non-federal contributions.--One-half of the 
        non-Federal matching assistance under this section may be in 
        the form of inkind contributions which are budget line items 
        only, including office equipment and office space.
            ``(3) Form of federal contributions.--The Federal financial 
        assistance authorized pursuant to this section may be made by 
        grant, contract, or co-operative agreement and may contain such 
        provision, as necessary, to provide for payments in lump sum or 
        installments, and in advance or by way of reimbursement. The 
        Administration may disburse up to 25 percent of each year's 
        Federal share awarded to a recipient organization after notice 
        of the award has been issued and before the non-Federal sector 
        matching funds are obtained.
            ``(4) Failure to obtain private Funding.--If any recipient 
        of assistance fails to obtain the required non-Federal 
        contribution during any project--
                    ``(A) it shall not be eligible thereafter for 
                advance disbursements pursuant to paragraph (3) during 
                the remainder of that project, or for any other project 
                for which it is or may be funded by the Administration; 
                and
                    ``(B) prior to approving assistance to such 
                organization for any other projects, the Administration 
                shall specifically determine whether the Administration 
                believes that the recipient will be able to obtain the 
                requisite non-Federal funding and enter a written 
                finding setting forth the reasons for making such 
                determination.
    ``(c) Submission of 5-Year Plan.-- Each applicant organization for 
assistance under this section initially shall submit a 5-year plan to 
the Administration on proposed fundraising and training activities, and 
a recipient organization may receive financial assistance under this 
program for a maximum of 5 years per women's business center site.
    ``(d) Evaluation of Applicants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administration shall evaluate and 
        rank applicants in accordance with pre-determined selection 
        criteria that shall be stated in terms of relative importance. 
        Such criteria and their relative importance shall be made 
        publicly available and stated in each solicitation for 
        applications made by the Administration.
            ``(2) Criteria.--The selection criteria referred to in 
        paragraph (1) shall include--
                    ``(A) the experience of the applicant in conducting 
                programs or on-going efforts designed to impart or 
                upgrade the business skills of women business owners or 
                potential owners;
                    ``(B) the present ability of the applicant to 
                commence a project within a minimum amount of time; and
                    ``(C) the ability of the applicant to provide 
                training and services to a representative number of 
                women who are both socially and economically 
                disadvantaged.
    ``(e) Establishment of Office.--There is established within the 
Administration the Office of Women's Business Ownership, which shall be 
responsible for the administration of the Administration's programs for 
the development of women's business enterprises, as such term is 
defined in section 408 of the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988. 
The Office of Women's Business Ownership shall be administered by an 
Assistant Administrator, who shall be appointed by the Administrator.
    ``(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `small business concern owned and controlled 
        by women', either start-up or existing, includes any small 
        business concern--
                    ``(A) that is not less than 51 percent owned by one 
                or more women; and
                    ``(B) the management and daily business operations 
                of which are controlled by one or more women; and
            ``(2) the term `women's business center site' means one or 
        more women's business centers established in conjunction with 
        another women's business center in another location within a 
        State or region--
                    ``(A) that reaches a distinct population that would 
                otherwise not be served;
                    ``(B) whose services are targeted to women;
                    ``(C) whose scope, function, and activities are 
                similar to those of the primary women's business center 
                in conjunction with which it was established.
    ``(g) Reports to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administration shall prepare and 
        transmit a biennial report to the Committee on Small Business 
        of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small 
        Business of the Senate of the effectiveness of all projects 
        conducted under the authority of this section.
            ``(2) Contents.--The reports required by paragraph (1) 
        shall provide information concerning--
                    ``(A) the number of individuals receiving 
                assistance;
                    ``(B) the number of start-up business concerns 
                formed;
                    ``(C) the gross receipts of assisted concerns;
                    ``(D) increases or decreases in profits of assisted 
                concerns; and
                    ``(E) the employment increases or decreases of 
                assisted concerns.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $8,000,000 per year to carry out the projects authorized 
by this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Administration may use such expedited acquisition methods as it deems 
appropriate to achieve the purposes of this section, except that it 
shall ensure that all eligible sources are provided a reasonable 
opportunity to submit proposals.''.
    (b) Applicability.--Any organization conducting a 3-year project 
under section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) on the day 
before the effective date of this Act may extend such project to 5 
years and receive financial assistance according to section 29(b) of 
the Small Business Act, as amended by this Act, and subject to 
procedures established by the Administrator in coordination with the 
Office of Women's Business Ownership established by this Act.