IB 

Union Calendar No. 118 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3207 

[Report No. 109–205] 

To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish 

a pilot program to make grants to eligible entities for the development 

of peer learning opportunities for second-stage small business concerns. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 12, 2005 

Mr. FITZPATRICK of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Small Business 

JULY 28, 2005 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 12, 2005] 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a pilot program to make grants to 

eligible entities for the development of peer learning opportunities for second-stage small business concerns. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Second-Stage Small 

3 Business Development Act of 2005’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to establish a four-year pilot 

6 program to— 

7 (1) identify second-stage small business concerns 

8 that have the capacity for significant business growth 

9 and job creation; 

10 (2) facilitate business growth and job creation by 

11 second-stage small business concerns through the de12 velopment of peer learning opportunities; 

13 (3) utilize the network of small business develop14 ment centers to expand access to peer learning oppor15 tunities for second-stage small business concerns; and 

16 (4) assist businesses owned by minority individ17 uals, service-disabled veterans, and women. 

18 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall estab20 lish and carry out a pilot program (referred to in this Act 

21 as the ‘‘pilot program’’) to make grants to eligible entities 

22 for the development of peer learning opportunities for sec23 ond-stage small business concerns in accordance with this 

24 Act. 

25 (b) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the eligible entities lo2 cated in the States in each of the 10 regions under 

3 paragraph (3), the Administrator shall select 2 eligi4 ble entities to receive grants. 

5 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this Act, the term 

6 ‘‘eligible entity’’ means an entity that— 

7 (A) is eligible to receive funding under sec8 tion 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 648); and 

10 (B) submits to the Secretary an application 

11 that includes— 

12 (i) a plan to— 

13 (I) offer peer learning opportuni14 ties to second-stage small business con15 cerns; and 

16 (II) transition to providing such 

17 opportunities using non-governmental 

18 funding; and 

19 (ii) any other information and assur20 ances that the Secretary may require. 

21 (3) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.— The Adminis22 trator shall evaluate the plans submitted by the eligi23 ble entities under paragraph (2) and select eligible en24 tities to receive grants on the basis of the merit of 

25 such plans. 
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1 (4) REGIONS DESCRIBED.—The regions referred 

2 to in paragraph (1) are as follows: 

3 (A) REGION 1.—Maine, Massachusetts, New 

4 Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode 

5 Island. 

6 (B) REGION 2.—New York, New Jersey, 

7 Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

8 (C) REGION 3.— Pennsylvania, Maryland, 

9 West Virginia, Virginia, the District of Colum10 bia, and Delaware. 

11 (D) REGION 4.—Georgia, Alabama, North 

12 Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, 

13 Kentucky, and Tennessee. 

14 (E) REGION 5.—Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, 

15 Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. 

16 (F) REGION 6.—Texas, New Mexico, Arkan17 sas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. 

18 (G) REGION 7.—Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, 

19 and Kansas. 

20 (H) REGION 8.—Colorado, Wyoming, North 

21 Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Utah. 

22 (I) REGION 9.—California, Guam, Hawaii, 

23 Nevada, Arizona, and American Samoa. 

24 (J) REGION 10.—Washington, Alaska, 

25 Idaho, and Oregon. 
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1 (5) CONSULTATION.—If small business develop2 ment centers have formed an association to pursue 

3 matters of common concern as authorized under sec4 tion 21(a)(3)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

5 648(a)(3)(A)), the Administrator shall consult with 

6 such association and give substantial weight to the 

7 recommendations of such association in selecting the 

8 grant recipients. 

9 (6) DEADLINE FOR INITIAL SELECTIONS.—The 

10 Administrator shall make selections under paragraph 

11 (1) not later than 60 days after the promulgation of 

12 regulations under section 4. 

13 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

14 a grant under the pilot program shall use the grant to— 

15 (1) identify second-stage small business concerns 

16 in the service delivery areas of the eligible entity; and 

17 (2) establish and conduct peer learning opportu18 nities for such second-stage small business concerns. 

19 (d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), a grant under the pilot program shall be 

22 in an amount that does not exceed the product ob23 tained by multiplying— 
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1 (A) the amount made available for grants 

2 under the pilot program for the fiscal year for 

3 which the grant is made; and 

4 (B) the ratio that the population of the 

5 State in which the eligible entity is located bears 

6 to the aggregate population the States in which 

7 eligible entities receiving grants for that fiscal 

8 year are located. 

9 (2) MINIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—A grant 

10 under the pilot program shall be in an amount not 

11 less than $50,000. 

12 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condition of a 

13 grant under the pilot program, the Administrator shall re14 quire that a matching amount be provided from sources 

15 other than the Federal Government that— 

16 (1) is equal to the amount of the grant, or in the 

17 case of an eligible entity that is a community college, 

18 historically Black college, Hispanic-serving institu19 tion, or other minority institution, is equal to 50 per20 cent of the amount of the grant; 

21 (2) is not less than 50 percent cash; 

22 (3) is not more than 50 percent comprised of in23 direct costs and in-kind contributions; and 

24 (4) does not include any indirect cost or in-kind 

25 contribution derived from any Federal program. 
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1 (f) QUARTERLY REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re3 ceives a grant under the pilot program shall submit 

4 to the Administrator a quarterly report that in5 cludes— 

6 (A) a summary of the peer learning oppor7 tunities established by the eligible entity using 

8 grant funds; 

9 (B) the number of second-stage small busi10 ness concerns assisted using grant funds; and 

11 (C) in the case of an eligible entity that re12 ceives a grant for a second fiscal year or any 

13 subsequent fiscal year— 

14 (i) any measurable economic impact 

15 data resulting from the peer learning oppor16 tunities established using grant funds; and 

17 (ii) the number of peer learning oppor18 tunities established by the eligible entity 

19 that have transitioned from operating using 

20 Government funds to operating without 

21 using Government funds. 

22 (2) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required 

23 under paragraph (1) shall be transmitted in elec24 tronic form. 
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1 (g) DATA REPOSITORY AND CLEARINGHOUSE.—In 

2 carrying out the pilot program, the Administrator shall act 

3 as the repository of and clearinghouse for data and infor4 mation submitted by the eligible entities. 

5 (h) ANNUAL REPORT ON PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later 

6 than November 1 of each year, the Administrator shall sub7 mit to the President and to Congress, a report evaluating 

8 the success of the pilot program during the preceding fiscal 

9 year, which shall include the following: 

10 (1) A description of the types of peer learning 

11 opportunities provided with grant funds. 

12 (2) The number of second-stage small business 

13 concerns assisted with grant funds. 

14 (3) For fiscal year 2007 and each subsequent fis15 cal year of the pilot program— 

16 (A) data regarding the economic impact of 

17 the peer learning opportunities provided with 

18 grant funds; and 

19 (B) the number of peer learning opportuni20 ties established by grant recipients that have 

21 transitioned from operating using Government 

22 funds to operating without using Government 

23 funds. 

24 (i) PRIVACY REQUIREMENT.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A small business development 

2 center, consortium of small business development cen3 ters, or contractor or agent of a small business devel4 opment center shall not disclose the name, address, or 

5 telephone number of any individual or small business 

6 concern receiving assistance under this section with7 out the consent of such individual or small business 

8 concern, unless— 

9 (A) the Administrator is ordered to make 

10 such a disclosure by a court in any civil or 

11 criminal enforcement action initiated by a Fed12 eral or State agency; or 

13 (B) the Administrator considers such a dis14 closure to be necessary for the purpose of con15 ducting a financial audit of a small business de16 velopment center, but a disclosure under this 

17 subparagraph shall be limited to the information 

18 necessary for such audit. 

19 (2) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMATION.—The 

20 privacy requirement under this subsection shall not— 

21 (A) restrict Administrator access to pro22 gram activity data; or 

23 (B) prevent the Administrator from using 

24 client information to conduct client surveys. 
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1 (j) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 

2 after the establishment of the pilot program, the Comptroller 

3 General of the United States shall— 

4 (1) conduct an evaluation of the pilot program; 

5 and 

6 (2) transmit to Congress and the Administrator 

7 a report containing the results of such evaluation 

8 along with any recommendations as to whether the 

9 pilot program, with or without modification, should 

10 be extended to include the participation of all small 

11 business development centers. 

12 (k) TERMINATION.—The pilot program shall terminate 

13 on September 30, 2009. 

14 SEC. 4. REGULATIONS. 

15 After providing notice and an opportunity for com16 ment and after consulting with the association described in 

17 section 3(b)(5) (if any such association has been formed), 

18 the Administrator shall promulgate final regulations to 

19 carry out this Act, including regulations that establish— 

20 (1) standards relating to the establishment and 

21 conduct of peer learning opportunities to be provided 

22 by grant recipients, including the number of individ23 uals that may participate in a peer group that is 

24 part of a peer learning opportunity; 
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1 (2) standards relating to the educational, tech2 nical, and professional competency of any facilitator 

3 who delivers peer learning opportunities under the 

4 pilot program; and 

5 (3) requirements for transitioning peer learning 

6 opportunities funded under the pilot program to non7 governmental funding. 

8 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Admin11 istrator of the Small Business Administration. 

12 (2) The term ‘‘peer learning opportunities’’ 

13 means formally organized peer groups of owners, 

14 presidents and chief executive officers in non-com15 peting second-stage business concerns, meeting regu16 larly with a professionally trained facilitator. 

17 (3) The term ‘‘second-stage small business con18 cern’’ means a small business concern that— 

19 (A) has experienced high growth dem20 onstrated by— 

21 (i) an average annual revenue or em22 ployee growth rate of at least 15 percent 

23 during the preceding 3 years; or 

24 (ii) any 3 of the following: 
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1 (I) Owning proprietary intellec2 tual property. 

3 (II) Addressing an underserved or 

4 growing market. 

5 (III) Having a sustainable com6 petitive advantage. 

7 (IV) Exporting goods or services 

8 outside of its community. 

9 (V) Having a product or service 

10 that is scalable to a large market. 

11 (VI) Ownership by minority indi12 viduals, service-disabled veterans, or 

13 women; and 

14 (B) does not exceed the size standard for the 

15 North American Industrial Classification System 

16 code of such concern, as established pursuant to 

17 section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 

18 U.S.C. 632(a)). 

19 (4) The term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

20 meaning given that term under section 3 of the Small 

21 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

22 (5) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

23 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

24 of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and Amer25 ican Samoa. 
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1 (6) The term ‘‘community college’’ has the mean2 ing given that term in section 3301(3) of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7011(3)). 

4 (7) The term ‘‘historically Black college’’ means 

5 a part B institution, as defined in section 322(2) of 

6 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 1061(2)). 

8 (8) The term ‘‘Hispanic-serving institution’’ has 

9 the meaning given that term in section 502(a)(5) of 

10 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 1101a(a)(5)). 

12 (9) The term ‘‘minority institution’’ has the 

13 meaning given that term in section 365(3) of the 

14 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067k(3)). 

15 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro17 priated to carry out this Act $1,500,000 for each of fiscal 

18 years 2006 through 2009. 

19 (b) LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER FUNDS.—The Ad20 ministrator shall carry out this Act using only amounts 

21 appropriated in advance specifically for the purpose of car22 rying out this Act. 
Union Calendar No. 118 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3207 

[Report No. 109–205] 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Small Business 

stage small business concerns. ment of peer learning opportunities for secondmake grants to eligible entities for the developAdministration to establish a pilot program to 

JULY 28, 2005 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,