I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2359 

To reauthorize programs to assist small business concerns, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 17, 2007 

Mr. SESTAK (for himself, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Mr. SHULER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 

A BILL 

To reauthorize programs to assist small business concerns, 

and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘SBA Entrepreneurial Development Programs Act of 

6 2007’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REVISIONS TO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

CENTERS 


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Sec. 101. Small Business Development Centers operational changes. 

TITLE II—GRANT INITIATIVES 

Sec. 201. Capital Access Initiative. 

Sec. 202. Disaster Recovery Program. 

Sec. 203. Innovation and Competitiveness Services to Manufacturers Initiative. 

Sec. 204. Mature Entrepreneurs Assistance Program. 

Sec. 205. Small Business Sustainability Initiative. 

Sec. 206. Grants to small business development centers to provide assistance in 

securing affordable health insurance. 

Sec. 207. National regulatory assistance. 

Sec. 208. Report. 

TITLE III—SCORE 

Sec. 301. Repeal of Active Corporation of Executives. 

Sec. 302. Increasing the proportion of SCORE volunteers from socially and 

economically disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Sec. 303. Benchmark reporting. 

1 TITLE I—REVISIONS TO SMALL 

2 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

3 CENTERS 

4 SEC. 101. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS OPER5 ATIONAL CHANGES. 

6 (a) ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENT.—Section 

7 21(a)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(1)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in the proviso, by inserting before ‘‘institu10 tion’’ the following: ‘‘accredited’’; 

11 (2) in the sentence beginning ‘‘The Administra12 tion shall’’, by inserting before ‘‘institutions’’ the fol13 lowing: ‘‘accredited’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new sen15 tence: ‘‘As used in this paragraph, the term ‘accred16 ited institution of higher education’ means an instiVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:21 May 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2359.IH H2359

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1 tution that is accredited as described in section 

2 101(a)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 1001(a)(5)).’’ 

4 (b) PROGRAM NEGOTIATIONS.—Section 21(a)(3) of 

5 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)) is amended, 

6 in the matter before subparagraph (A), by inserting before 

7 ‘‘agreed’’ the following: ‘‘mutually’’. 

8 (c) CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS.—Section 21(a)(3)(A) 

9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(A)) is 

10 amended by inserting after ‘‘uniform negotiated’’ the fol11 lowing: ‘‘mutually agreed to’’. 

12 (d) NO SBA INTERFERENCE IN SBDC HIRING.— 

13 Section 21(c)(2)(A) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(2)(A)) 

14 is amended by inserting after ‘‘full-time staff’’ the fol15 lowing: ‘‘, the hiring of which is carried out by the center 

16 without interference from, and without influence by, any 

17 officer or employee of the Administration,’’. 

18 (e) CONTENT OF CONSULTATIONS COVERED BY PRI19 VACY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 21(a)(7)(A) of that Act 

20 (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(7)(A)) is amended by inserting after 

21 ‘‘under this section’’ the following: ‘‘, or the content of 

22 any consultation with such an individual or small business 

23 concern,’’. 

24 (f) REPEAL OF AUTHORITY TO USE AUTHORIZED

25 AMOUNTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Section 


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1 21(a)(4)(C)(v) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(v)) is 

2 amended by amending subclause (I) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Of the 

4 amounts made available in any fiscal 

5 year to carry out this section, not 

6 more than $500,000 may be used by 

7 the Administration to pay expenses 

8 enumerated in subparagraphs (B) 

9 through (D) of section 20(a)(1).’’. 

10 (g) NO CAP ON NON-MATCHING PORTABILITY

11 GRANTS IN THE EVENT OF A DISASTER.—Section 

12 21(a)(4)(C)(viii) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 

13 648(a)(4)(C)(viii)) is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: ‘‘However, in the event of a disaster, the dollar 

15 limitation in the preceding sentence does not apply.’’. 

16 (h) DEFINITION OF SBDC.—Section 21(a) of that 

17 Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(8) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 

20 a Small Business Development Center is— 

21 ‘‘(A) the entity selected by the Administrator to 

22 receive funds pursuant to the funding formula set 

23 forth in paragraph (4); or 

24 ‘‘(B) the site at which the services specified by 

25 this section are delivered.’’. 


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1 (i) LIMITATION ON DISTRIBUTION TO SBDCS.—Sec2 tion 21(b) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 648(b)) is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON DISTRIBUTION TO SMALL BUSI5 NESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

7 paragraph, the Administrator shall not distribute 

8 funds to a Small Business Development Center if 

9 the State in which the Small Business Development 

10 Center is located is served by more than one Small 

11 Business Development Center. For purposes of this 

12 limitation, the term Small Business Development 

13 Center shall have the meaning set forth in sub14 section (a)(8). 

15 ‘‘(B) UNAVAILABILITY EXCEPTION.—The Ad16 ministrator may distribute funds to two Small Busi17 ness Development Centers, as that term is defined 

18 in subsection (a)(8)(A), if no applicant has applied 

19 to serve the entire State. Except as provided in sub20 paragraph (C), the Administrator is prohibited from 

21 distributing funds to more than two Small Business 

22 Development Centers. 

23 ‘‘(C) GRANDFATHER CLAUSE.—The limitations 

24 in this paragraph shall not apply for any State in 


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1 which more than one Small Business Development 

2 Center received funding prior to January 1, 2007.’’. 

3 (j) REPORTING OF BROADBAND SERVICE PUR4 CHASES.—Section 21(c) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)) 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(9) REPORTING OF BROADBAND SERVICE PUR7 CHASES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to policies 

9 adopted by the Administrator, Small Business 

10 Development Centers shall report information 

11 to the Administrator by nine-digit zip code— 

12 ‘‘(i) whether the individual seeking 

13 counseling purchases broadband service at 

14 the address reported to the Small Business 

15 Development Center; 

16 ‘‘(ii) if the reported address is dif17 ferent than the business address, whether 

18 broadband service is purchased at the busi19 ness address; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) if broadband service is not pur21 chased at the addresses set forth in clauses 

22 (i) and (ii). 

23 ‘‘(B) REPORTING.—The Administrator 

24 shall aggregate data by nine-digit zip code re25 porting such information to the Federal ComVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:21 May 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2359.IH H2359

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1 munications Commission and the National Tele2 communication and Information Administra3 tion.’’. 

4 TITLE II—GRANT INITIATIVES 

5 SEC. 201. CAPITAL ACCESS INITIATIVE. 

6 Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(n) CAPITAL ACCESS INITIATIVE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A lead Small Business De10 velopment Center may apply for an additional grant 

11 to carry out a capital access initiative program. 

12 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—Under a pro13 gram under paragraph (1), the Center shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) provide capital education by creating 

15 a model template to assist individuals in pre16 paring for a broad range of capital offerings; 

17 ‘‘(B) assess company potential by con18 ducting company assessments, which shall in19 clude, at a minimum, risk analysis and mapping 

20 of best capital opportunities; 

21 ‘‘(C) prepare individuals to request capital 

22 by advising on the various aspects of such a re23 quest, including the business plan, the finan24 cials, the projections, the presentation, and the 

25 approach; 


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1 ‘‘(D) provide education on the rules of ac2 cess engagement, organizations involved and 

3 available, and approaches that maximize suc4 cessful requests; and 

5 ‘‘(E) deliver ongoing assistance once cap6 ital is secured. 

7 ‘‘(3) SUPPORT.—In carrying out this sub8 section, the Administrator shall obtain support from 

9 national associations and from organizations such as 

10 regional development groups and ‘angel’ groups 

11 founded by Small Business Development Centers. 

12 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Each grant under 

13 this subsection shall be for at least $100,000. 

14 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—No applicant may 

15 receive more than $300,000 in grants under this 

16 subsection in a fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(6) FUNDING.—Subject to amounts approved 

18 in advance in appropriations Acts and separate from 

19 amounts approved to carry out section 21(a)(1), the 

20 Administrator may make grants or enter into coop21 erative agreements to carry out this subsection.’’. 

22 SEC. 202. DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

23 Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

24 648), as amended by this Act, is further amended by add25 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(o) DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A lead Small Business De3 velopment Center may apply for an additional grant 

4 to carry out a disaster recovery program. 

5 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—Under a pro6 gram under paragraph (1), the Center shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) serve, in partnership with the Admin8 istration’s disaster center response teams, as a 

9 locally based resource for first responders by— 

10 ‘‘(i) rotating personnel into a disaster 

11 area for immediate response on the 

12 ground, processing applications, developing 

13 an evaluating recovery business models, 

14 and distributing accurate information; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) providing continued interaction, 

16 over time, with businesses that are recov17 ering from a disaster; 

18 ‘‘(B) participate in ongoing national dis19 aster training; 

20 ‘‘(C) develop specific State-level disaster 

21 response plans; and 

22 ‘‘(D) form a network with other Centers to 

23 serve as a platform for sharing disaster exper24 tise, training, and human resources. 


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1 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Each grant under 

2 this subsection shall be for at least $50,000. 

3 ‘‘(4) FUNDING.—Subject to amounts approved 

4 in advance in appropriations Acts and separate from 

5 amounts approved to carry out section 21(a)(1), the 

6 Administrator may make grants or enter into coop7 erative agreements to carry out this subsection.’’. 

8 SEC. 203. INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVENESS SERVICES 

9 TO MANUFACTURERS INITIATIVE. 

10 Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 648), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at 

12 the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(p) INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVENESS SERVICES

14 TO MANUFACTURERS INITIATIVE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A lead Small Business De16 velopment Center may apply for an additional grant 

17 to carry out an innovation and competitiveness serv18 ices to manufacturers initiative program. 

19 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—Under a pro20 gram under paragraph (1), the Center shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) participate in national training insti22 tutes to provide training to all programs of the 

23 Center to assist those programs to qualify for 

24 technology accreditation designation; 


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1 ‘‘(B) develop, disseminate, and regularly 

2 update best practices ‘toolkits’ that include best 

3 practices for resources, training programs, con4 sultative approaches, and support services. 

5 ‘‘(C) recruit and engage significant local 

6 assets and resources (such as colleges, univer7 sities, economic development organizations, and 

8 trade associations) in each State; 

9 ‘‘(D) launch nationally a locally based but 

10 common themed marketing program, targeted 

11 at small manufacturers; 

12 ‘‘(E) undertake aggressive outreach to in13 crease the levels of innovation and competitive14 ness, focusing on business advisement and 

15 training for manufacturers; 

16 ‘‘(F) provide ongoing professional develop17 ment to personnel of the Center and of other 

18 resource partners; and 

19 ‘‘(G) develop and report performance, 

20 using common evaluation metrics and outcome 

21 measurements. 

22 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Each grant under 

23 this subsection shall be for at least $150,000. 

24 ‘‘(4) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—A grant under this 

25 subsection may not exceed $500,000. 


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1 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.—Subject to amounts approved 

2 in advance in appropriations Acts and separate from 

3 amounts approved to carry out section 21(a)(1), the 

4 Administrator may make grants or enter into coop5 erative agreements to carry out this subsection.’’. 

6 SEC. 204. MATURE ENTREPRENEURS ASSISTANCE PRO7 GRAM. 

8 Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 648), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at 

10 the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(q) MATURE ENTREPRENEURS ASSISTANCE PRO12 GRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A lead Small Business De14 velopment Center may apply for an additional grant 

15 to carry out a mature entrepreneurs assistance pro16 gram. 

17 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—Under a pro18 gram under paragraph (1), the Center shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) provide advisors and training re20 sources to assist business owners in recognizing 

21 and developing transition plans, including by— 

22 ‘‘(i) providing training and edu23 cational screening processes on the poten24 tial benefits and hazards of self-employ25 ment; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) developing courses, consulting 

2 processes, and highly targeted resource 

3 materials, and deploying them throughout 

4 the Small Business Development Center 

5 network; 

6 ‘‘(B) link business owners with additional 

7 resource service providers to prepare businesses 

8 for transition, including by increasing partner9 ship opportunities, particularly with the Service 

10 Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE); 

11 ‘‘(C) identify business opportunities for 

12 those interested in acquiring businesses; 

13 ‘‘(D) help individuals identify and acquire 

14 financing for acquisition; and 

15 ‘‘(E) provide continuing support once tran16 sition has occurred. 

17 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Each grant under 

18 this subsection shall be for at least $175,000. 

19 ‘‘(4) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—A grant under this 

20 subsection may not exceed $350,000. 

21 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.—Subject to amounts approved 

22 in advance in appropriations Acts and separate from 

23 amounts approved to carry out section 21(a)(1), the 

24 Administrator may make grants or enter into coop25 erative agreements to carry out this subsection.’’. 


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1 SEC. 205. SMALL BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE. 

2 Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

3 648), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(r) SMALL BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY INITIA6 TIVE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A lead Small Business De8 velopment Center may apply for an additional grant 

9 to carry out a small business sustainability initiative 

10 program. 

11 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—Under a pro12 gram under paragraph (1), the Center shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) provide necessary support to smaller 

14 and medium-sized businesses to— 

15 ‘‘(i) evaluate energy efficiency and 

16 green building opportunities; 

17 ‘‘(ii) understand the cost benefits of 

18 energy efficiency and green building oppor19 tunities; 

20 ‘‘(iii) secure financing to achieve en21 ergy efficiency or to construct green build22 ings; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) empower management to imple24 ment energy efficiency projects; 


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1 ‘‘(B) assist entrepreneurs with clean tech2 nology development and technology commer3 cialization through—— 

4 ‘‘(i) technology assessment; 

5 ‘‘(ii) intellectual property; 

6 ‘‘(iii) Small Business Innovation Re7 search submissions; 

8 ‘‘(iv) strategic alliances; 

9 ‘‘(v) business model development; and 

10 ‘‘(vi) preparation for investors; and 

11 ‘‘(C) help small business improve environ12 mental performance by shifting to less haz13 ardous materials and reducing waste and emis14 sions at the source, including by providing as15 sistance for businesses to adapt the materials 

16 they use, the processes they operate, and the 

17 products and services they produce. 

18 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Each grant under 

19 this subsection shall be for at least $150,000. 

20 ‘‘(4) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—A grant under this 

21 subsection may not exceed $300,000. 

22 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.—Subject to amounts approved 

23 in advance in appropriations Acts and separate from 

24 amounts approved to carry out section 21(a)(1), the 


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1 Administrator may make grants or enter into coop2 erative agreements to carry out this subsection.’’. 

3 SEC. 206. GRANTS TO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

4 CENTERS TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN SE5 CURING AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE. 

6 (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Administrator of the 

7 Small Business Administration (hereafter in this section 

8 referred to as the Administrator) may award a grant 

9 under this section to a lead small business development 

10 center (as described under section 21 of the Small Busi11 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 648)). 

12 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under 

13 this section shall use the grant only for the purpose of 

14 providing to the owner of a small business concern assist15 ance in identifying and securing affordable health insur16 ance for their business and employees. A recipient of such 

17 a grant shall identify Federal, State, and local initiatives 

18 designed to assist small businesses and provide such edu19 cation information to small business concerns seeking as20 sistance on obtaining health insurance. A recipient of such 

21 a grant shall also work with health insurance providers 

22 in the area to identify premiums charged on health insur23 ance for small business. A recipient of such a grant shall 

24 also attempt to negotiate lower health insurance premiums 


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1 for small business concerns that seek the assistance of the 

2 recipient. 

3 (c) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant under this 

4 section may not be in an amount less than $200,000. 

5 (d) APPLICATION.—Each applicant for a grant under 

6 this section shall submit to the Administrator an applica7 tion in such form as the Administrator may require. The 

8 application shall include information regarding the appli9 cant’s goals and objectives for helping address entre10 preneur’s concerns with health insurance costs. 

11 (e) REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR.—As a condition of 

12 receiving a grant under this section, the Administrator 

13 shall require the recipient of a grant to submit to the Ad14 ministrator, not later than 18 months after the date on 

15 which the grant is received, a report describing how the 

16 grant funds were used. 

17 (f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS.— 

18 The Administrator may enter into a cooperative agree19 ment or contract with the recipient of a grant under this 

20 section to provide additional assistance that furthers the 

21 purposes of this section. 

22 (g) APPLICABILITY OF GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—An 

23 applicant for a grant under this section shall comply with 

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1 tion 21 of the Small Business Act, except that the match2 ing funds requirements of such section shall not apply. 

3 (h) EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 

4 March 31, 2009, the Administrator shall submit to Con5 gress a report that contains an evaluation of the grant 

6 program under this section. 

7 (i) FUNDING.—Subject to amounts approved in ad8 vance in appropriations Acts and separate from amounts 

9 approved to carry out section 21(a)(1), the Administrator 

10 may make grants or enter into cooperative agreements to 

11 carry out this subsection. 

12 SEC. 207. NATIONAL REGULATORY ASSISTANCE. 

13 The Small Business Act is amended by inserting after 

14 section 21 (15 U.S.C. 648) the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 21A. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE. 

16 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

17 definitions apply: 

18 ‘‘(1) ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘Association’ 

19 means the association recognized by the Adminis20 trator of the Small Business Administration under 

21 section 21(a)(3)(A). 

22 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATING SMALL BUSINESS DEVEL23 OPMENT CENTER.—The term ‘participating Small 

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1 ness Development Center participating in the pro2 gram. 

3 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

4 the regulatory assistance program established under 

5 this section. 

6 ‘‘(4) REGULATORY COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE.— 

7 The term ‘regulatory compliance assistance’ means 

8 assistance provided by a Small Business Develop9 ment Center to a small business concern to enable 

10 the concern to comply with Federal regulatory re11 quirements. 

12 ‘‘(5) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CEN13 TER.—The term ‘Small Business Development Cen14 ter’ means a lead Small Business Development Cen15 ter described in section 21. 

16 ‘‘(6) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

17 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

18 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

19 Guam, and American Samoa. 

20 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this section, 

21 the Administrator shall establish a program to provide 

22 regulatory compliance assistance to small business con23 cerns through selected Small Business Development Cen24 ters, the Association of Small Business Development Cen25 ters, and Federal compliance partnership programs. 


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1 ‘‘(c) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro3 gram, the Administrator shall enter into arrange4 ments with selected Small Business Development 

5 Centers under which such Centers shall provide— 

6 ‘‘(A) access to information and resources, 

7 including current Federal and State nonpuni8 tive compliance and technical assistance pro9 grams similar to those established under section 

10 507 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7661f); 

11 ‘‘(B) training and educational activities; 

12 ‘‘(C) confidential, free-of-charge, one-on13 one, in-depth counseling to the owners and op14 erators of small business concerns regarding 

15 compliance with Federal and State regulations, 

16 as long as such counseling is not considered to 

17 be the practice of law in a State in which a 

18 Small Business Development Center is located 

19 or in which such counseling is conducted; 

20 ‘‘(D) technical assistance; 

21 ‘‘(E) referrals to experts and other pro22 viders of compliance assistance who meet such 

23 standards for educational, technical, and profes24 sional competency as are established by the Ad25 ministrator; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) access to the Internet and training on 

2 Internet use, including the use of the Internet 

3 website established by the Administrator under 

4 subsection (d)(1)(C). 

5 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each selected Small 

7 Business Development Center shall transmit to 

8 the Administrator a quarterly report that in9 cludes— 

10 ‘‘(i) a summary of the regulatory com11 pliance assistance provided by the center 

12 under the program; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) any data and information ob14 tained by the center from a Federal agency 

15 regarding regulatory compliance that the 

16 agency intends to be disseminated to small 

17 business concerns. 

18 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC FORM.—Each report re19 quired under subparagraph (A) shall be trans20 mitted in electronic form. 

21 ‘‘(C) INTERIM REPORTS.—A participating 

22 Small Business Development Center may trans23 mit to the Administrator such interim reports 

24 as the Center considers appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE RE2 QUIREMENTS.—The Administrator shall not re3 quire a Small Business Development Center to 

4 disclose the name or address of any small busi5 ness concern that received or is receiving assist6 ance under the program, except that the Ad7 ministrator shall require such a disclosure if or8 dered to do so by a court in any civil or crimi9 nal action. 

10 ‘‘(d) DATA REPOSITORY AND CLEARINGHOUSE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro12 gram, the Administrator shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) act as the repository of and clearing14 house for data and information submitted by 

15 Small Business Development Centers; 

16 ‘‘(B) submit to the President, the Com17 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

18 of the Senate, and the Committee on Small 

19 Business of the House of Representatives an 

20 annual report that includes— 

21 ‘‘(i) a description of the types of as22 sistance provided by participating Small 

23 Business Development Centers under the 

24 program; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) data regarding the number of 

2 small business concerns that contacted 

3 participating Small Business Development 

4 Centers regarding assistance under the 

5 program; 

6 ‘‘(iii) data regarding the number of 

7 small business concerns assisted by partici8 pating Small Business Development Cen9 ters under the program; 

10 ‘‘(iv) data and information regarding 

11 outreach activities conducted by partici12 pating Small Business Development Cen13 ters under the program, including any ac14 tivities conducted in partnership with Fed15 eral agencies; 

16 ‘‘(v) data and information regarding 

17 each case known to the Administrator in 

18 which one or more Small Business Devel19 opment Centers offered conflicting advice 

20 or information regarding compliance with a 

21 Federal or State regulation to one or more 

22 small business concerns; 

23 ‘‘(vi) any recommendations for im24 provements in the regulation of small busi25 ness concerns; and 


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1 ‘‘(vii) a list of regulations identified 

2 by the Administrator, after consultation 

3 with the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

4 Administration, who shall review such list, 

5 and the Small Business and Agriculture 

6 Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman, as 

7 being most burdensome to small business 

8 concerns, and recommendations to reduce 

9 or eliminate the burdens of such regula10 tions; and 

11 ‘‘(C) establish an Internet website that— 

12 ‘‘(i) provides access to Federal, State, 

13 academic, and industry association Inter14 net websites containing industry-specific 

15 regulatory compliance information that the 

16 Administrator deems potentially useful to 

17 small businesses attempting to comply with 

18 Federal regulations; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) arranges such Internet websites 

20 in industry-specific categories. 

21 ‘‘(e) REVIEW OF BURDENSOME REGULATIONS AND

22 PETITION FOR AGENCY REVIEW.— 

23 ‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF LIST OF REGULATIONS

24 TO CHIEF COUNSEL FOR ADVOCACY.—The Adminis25 trator shall transmit to the Chief Counsel for AdvoVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:21 May 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2359.IH H2359

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1 cacy of the Administration a copy of the list of regu2 lations submitted under subsection (d)(1)(B) as part 

3 of the annual report required by that subsection. 

4 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF LIST OF REGULATIONS.—The 

5 Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall review the list of 

6 regulations transmitted under paragraph (1) and 

7 identify any regulation that— 

8 ‘‘(A) is eligible for review in accordance 

9 with section 610 of title 5, United States Code; 

10 ‘‘(B) has a significant impact on a sub11 stantial number of small business concerns that 

12 is substantially different from the impact indi13 cated in the final regulatory flexibility analysis 

14 for that regulation, as published with the final 

15 regulation in the Federal Register; or 

16 ‘‘(C) has a significant impact on a sub17 stantial number of small business concerns and 

18 for which no final regulatory flexibility analysis 

19 was ever performed. 

20 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION AND AGENCY REVIEW.— 

21 With respect to any regulation identified under para22 graph (2) the Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) notify the appropriate Federal rule24 making agency and the Office of Information 

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1 ment of the identification of such rule or regu2 lation; and 

3 ‘‘(B) request the review of such regula4 tion— 

5 ‘‘(i) in accordance with section 610 of 

6 title 5, United States Code; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) for any impact it has on small 

8 business concerns. 

9 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Chief Counsel for 

10 Advocacy shall publish an annual report containing 

11 a list of any regulation identified under paragraph 

12 (2) and the disposition by the appropriate agency. 

13 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBILITY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Small Business Develop15 ment Center shall be eligible to receive assistance 

16 under the program only if the center is certified 

17 under section 21(k)(2). 

18 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—With respect to a Small Busi19 ness Development Center seeking assistance under 

20 the program, the Administrator may waive the cer21 tification requirement set forth in paragraph (1) if 

22 the Administrator determines that the center is 

23 making a good faith effort to obtain such certifi24 cation. 


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1 ‘‘(g) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING STATE PRO2 GRAMS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—In con4 sultation with the Association and giving substantial 

5 weight to the Association’s recommendations, the 

6 Administrator shall select the Small Business Devel7 opment Center programs of 2 States from each of 

8 the following groups of States to participate in the 

9 program: 

10 ‘‘(A) Group 1: Maine, Massachusetts, New 

11 Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode 

12 Island. 

13 ‘‘(B) Group 2: New York, New Jersey, 

14 Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

15 ‘‘(C) Group 3: Pennsylvania, Maryland, 

16 West Virginia, Virginia, the District of Colum17 bia, and Delaware. 

18 ‘‘(D) Group 4: Georgia, Alabama, North 

19 Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, 

20 Kentucky, and Tennessee. 

21 ‘‘(E) Group 5: Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, In22 diana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. 

23 ‘‘(F) Group 6: Texas, New Mexico, Arkan24 sas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Group 7: Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, 

2 and Kansas. 

3 ‘‘(H) Group 8: Colorado, Wyoming, North 

4 Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Utah. 

5 ‘‘(I) Group 9: California, Guam, Hawaii, 

6 Nevada, and Arizona. 

7 ‘‘(J) Group 10: Washington, Alaska, 

8 Idaho, and Oregon. 

9 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR INITIAL SELECTIONS.— 

10 The Administrator shall make selections under para11 graph (1) not later than 60 days after promulgation 

12 of regulations under subsection (k). 

13 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL SELECTIONS.—Not earlier 

14 than the date 3 years after the date of the enact15 ment of this paragraph, the Administrator may se16 lect Small Business Development Center programs 

17 of States in addition to those selected under para18 graph (1). The Administrator shall consider the ef19 fect on the programs selected under paragraph (1) 

20 before selecting additional programs under this 

21 paragraph. 

22 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION TO AVOID DUPLICATION

23 WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.—In selecting programs 

24 under this subsection, the Administrator shall give a 

25 preference to Small Business Development Center 


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1 programs that have a plan for consulting with Fed2 eral and State agencies to ensure that any assist3 ance provided under this section is not duplicated by 

4 an existing Federal or State program. 

5 ‘‘(h) MATCHING NOT REQUIRED.—Subparagraphs 

6 (A) and (B) of section 21(a)(4) shall not apply to assist7 ance made available under the program. 

8 ‘‘(i) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), each State program selected to receive a 

11 grant under subsection (g) in a fiscal year shall be 

12 eligible to receive a grant in an amount not to ex13 ceed the product obtained by multiplying— 

14 ‘‘(A) the amount made available for grants 

15 under this section for the fiscal year; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the ratio that the population of the 

17 State bears to the population of all the States 

18 with programs selected to receive grants under 

19 subsection (g) for the fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—The minimum 

21 amount that a State program selected to receive a 

22 grant under subsection (g) shall be eligible to receive 

23 under this section for any fiscal year shall be 

24 $200,000. The Administrator shall reduce the 

25 amount described in paragraph (1) as appropriate to 


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1 carry out the purposes of this paragraph and sub2 section (j)(2). 

3 ‘‘(j) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 3 

4 years after the establishment of the program, the Comp5 troller General of the United States shall conduct an eval6 uation of the program and shall transmit to the Adminis7 trator, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre8 neurship of the Senate, and the Committee on Small Busi9 ness of the House of Representatives a report containing 

10 the results of the evaluation along with any recommenda11 tions as to whether the program, with or without modifica12 tion, should be extended to include the participation of all 

13 Small Business Development Centers. 

14 ‘‘(k) PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—After pro15 viding notice and an opportunity for comment and after 

16 consulting with the Association (but not later than 180 

17 days after the date of the enactment of this section), the 

18 Administrator shall promulgate final regulations to carry 

19 out this section, including regulations that establish— 

20 ‘‘(1) priorities for the types of assistance to be 

21 provided under the program; 

22 ‘‘(2) standards relating to educational, tech23 nical, and support services to be provided by partici24 pating Small Business Development Centers; 


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1 ‘‘(3) standards relating to any national service 

2 delivery and support function to be provided by the 

3 Association under the program; 

4 ‘‘(4) standards relating to any work plan that 

5 the Administrator may require a participating Small 

6 Business Development Center to develop; and 

7 ‘‘(5) standards relating to the educational, tech8 nical, and professional competency of any expert or 

9 other assistance provider to whom a small business 

10 concern may be referred for compliance assistance 

11 under the program. 

12 ‘‘(l) FUNDING.—Subject to amounts approved in ad13 vance in appropriations Acts and separate from amounts 

14 approved to carry out section 21(a)(1), the Administrator 

15 may make grants or enter into cooperative agreements to 

16 carry out this section.’’. 

17 SEC. 208. REPORT. 

18 Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business 

20 Administration shall submit to Congress a report evalu21 ating the effectiveness of the new Small Business Develop22 ment Center programs added by the amendments made 

23 by this title. 


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1 TITLE III—SCORE 

2 SEC. 301. REPEAL OF ACTIVE CORPORATION OF EXECU3 TIVES. 

4 Section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 

5 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘and an Ac6 tive Corps of Executive (ACE)’’. 

7 SEC. 302. INCREASING THE PROPORTION OF SCORE VOL8 UNTEERS FROM SOCIALLY AND ECONOMI9 CALLY DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS. 

10 Section 8(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 637(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(H) The Service Corps of Retired Execu13 tives (SCORE) established under subparagraph 

14 (B) shall carry out a plan to increase the pro15 portion of mentors who are from socially or eco16 nomically disadvantaged backgrounds. SCORE 

17 shall, on an annual basis, report to the Admin18 istrator on the implementation of this subpara19 graph.’’. 

20 SEC. 303. BENCHMARK REPORTING. 

21 Section 8(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

22 637(b)(1)), as amended by section 202, is further amend23 ed by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(I) The Service Corps of Retired Execu25 tives (SCORE) established under subparagraph 


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1 (B) shall, in consultation with the Adminis2 trator, establish benchmarks for use in evalu3 ating the performance of its activities and the 

4 performance of its volunteers. The benchmarks 

5 shall include benchmarks relating to the demo6 graphic characteristics and the geographic char7 acteristics of persons assisted by SCORE, 

8 benchmarks relating to the hours spent men9 toring by volunteers, and benchmarks relating 

10 to the performance of the persons assisted by 

11 SCORE. SCORE shall, on an annual basis, re12 port to the Administrator on the extent to 

13 which the benchmarks established under this 

14 subparagraph are being attained.’’. 

Æ 


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