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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1845 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1845

To amend the Small Business Act to modernize Small Business Development 
                    Centers, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 2009

  Mr. Schock introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To amend the Small Business Act to modernize Small Business Development 
                    Centers, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Small Business Development Centers 
Modernization Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS OPERATIONAL CHANGES.

    (a) Accreditation Requirement.--Section 21(a)(1) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(1)) is amended as follows:
            (1) In the proviso, by inserting before ``institution'' the 
        following: ``accredited''.
            (2) In the sentence beginning ``The Administration shall'', 
        by inserting before ``institutions'' the following: 
        ``accredited''.
            (3) By adding at the end the following new sentence: ``In 
        this paragraph, the term `accredited institution of higher 
        education' means an institution that is accredited as described 
        in section 101(a)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)(5)).''.
    (b) Program Negotiations.--Section 21(a)(3) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)) is amended in the matter before subparagraph 
(A), by inserting before ``agreed'' the following: ``mutually''.
    (c) Contract Negotiations.--Section 21(a)(3)(A) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(A)) is amended by inserting after 
``uniform negotiated'' the following: ``mutually agreed to''.
    (d) SBDC Hiring.--Section 21(c)(2)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 648(c)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting after ``full-time staff'' 
the following: ``, the hiring of which shall be at the sole discretion 
of the center without the need for input or approval from any officer 
or employee of the Administration''.
    (e) Content of Consultations.--Section 21(a)(7)(A) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(7)(A)) is amended in the matter before 
clause (i) by inserting after ``under this section'' the following: ``, 
or the content of any consultation with such an individual or small 
business concern,''.
    (f) Amounts for Administrative Expenses.--Section 21(a)(4)(C)(v)(I) 
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(v)(I)) is amended to 
read as follows:
                            ``(I) In general.--Of the amounts made 
                        available in any fiscal year to carry out this 
                        section, not more than $500,000 may be used by 
                        the Administration to pay expenses enumerated 
                        in subparagraphs (B) through (D) of section 
                        20(a)(1).''.
    (g) Non-Matching Portability Grants.--Section 21(a)(4)(C)(viii) of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(viii)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ``In the event of a disaster, the 
dollar limitation in the preceding sentence shall not apply.''.
    (h) Distribution to SBDCs.--Section 21(b) of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 648(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(4) Limitation on Distribution to Small Business Development 
Centers.--
            ``(A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        paragraph, the Administration shall not distribute funds to a 
        Small Business Development Center if the State in which the 
        Small Business Development Center is located is served by more 
        than one Small Business Development Center.
            ``(B) Unavailability exception.--The Administration may 
        distribute funds to a maximum of 2 Small Business Development 
        Centers in any State if no applicant has applied to serve the 
        entire State.
            ``(C) Grandfather clause.--The limitations in this 
        paragraph shall not apply to any State in which more than one 
        Small Business Development Center received funding prior to 
        January 1, 2007.
            ``(D) Definition.--For the purposes of this paragraph, the 
        term `Small Business Development Center' means the entity 
        selected by the Administration to receive funds pursuant to the 
        funding formula set forth in subsection (a)(4), without regard 
        to the number of sites for service delivery such entity 
        establishes or funds.''.
    (i) Women's Business Centers.--Section 21(a)(1) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(1)), as amended, is further amended by 
striking ``or a women's business center operating pursuant to section 
29'' and by striking ``and women's business centers operating pursuant 
to section 29''.

SEC. 3. ACCESS TO CREDIT AND CAPITAL.

    Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(o) Access to Credit and Capital Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administration shall establish a 
        grant program for small business development centers in 
        accordance with this subsection. To be eligible for the 
        program, a small business development center must be in good 
        standing and comply with the other requirements of this 
        section. Funds made available through the program shall be used 
        to--
                    ``(A) develop specialized programs to assist local 
                small business concerns in securing capital and 
                repairing damaged credit;
                    ``(B) provide informational seminars on securing 
                credit and loans;
                    ``(C) provide one-on-one counseling with potential 
                borrowers to improve financial presentations to 
                lenders; and
                    ``(D) facilitate borrowers' access to non-
                traditional financing sources, as well as traditional 
                lending sources.
            ``(2) Award size limit.--The Administration may not award 
        an entity more than $300,000 in grant funds under this 
        subsection.
            ``(3) Authority.--Subject to amounts approved in advance in 
        appropriations Acts and separate from amounts approved to carry 
        out the program established in subsection (a)(1), the 
        Administration may make grants or enter into cooperative 
        agreements to carry out this subsection.
            ``(4) Authorization.--There is authorized to be 
        appropriated not more than $2,500,000 for the purposes of 
        carrying out this subsection for each of the fiscal years 2010 
        and 2011.''.

SEC. 4. PROCUREMENT TRAINING AND ASSISTANCE.

    Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648), as amended, 
is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(p) Procurement Training and Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administration shall establish a 
        grant program for small business development centers in 
        accordance with this subsection. To be eligible for the 
        program, a small business development center must be in good 
        standing and comply with the other requirements of this 
        section. Funds made available through the program shall be used 
        to--
                    ``(A) work with local agencies to identify 
                contracts that are suitable for local small business 
                concerns;
                    ``(B) prepare small businesses to be ready as 
                subcontractors and prime contractors for contracts made 
                available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment 
                Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) through training and 
                business advisement, particularly in the construction 
                trades; and
                    ``(C) provide technical assistance regarding the 
                Federal procurement process, including assisting small 
                business concerns to comply with federal regulations 
                and bonding requirements.
            ``(2) Award size limit.--The Administration may not award 
        an entity more than $300,000 in grant funds under this 
        subsection.
            ``(3) Authority.--Subject to amounts approved in advance in 
        appropriations Acts and separate from amounts approved to carry 
        out the program established in subsection (a)(1), the 
        Administration may make grants or enter into cooperative 
        agreements to carry out this subsection.
            ``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated not more than $2,500,000 for the purposes of 
        carrying out this subsection for each of the fiscal years 2010 
        and 2011.''.

SEC. 5. GREEN ENTREPRENEURS TRAINING PROGRAM.

    Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648), as amended, 
is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(q) Green Entrepreneurs Training Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administration shall establish a 
        grant program for small business development centers in 
        accordance with this subsection. To be eligible for the 
        program, a small business development center must be in good 
        standing and comply with the other requirements of this 
        section. Funds made available through the program shall be used 
        to--
                    ``(A) provide education classes and one-on-one 
                instruction in starting a business in the fields of 
                energy efficiency, green technology, or clean 
                technology;
                    ``(B) coordinate such classes and instruction, to 
                the extent practicable, with local community colleges 
                and local professional trade associations; and
                    ``(C) assist and provide technical counseling to 
                individuals seeking to start a business in the fields 
                of energy efficiency, green technology, or clean 
                technology.
            ``(2) Award size limit.--The Administration may not award 
        an entity more than $300,000 in grant funds under this 
        subsection.
            ``(3) Authority.--Subject to amounts approved in advance in 
        appropriations Acts and separate from amounts approved to carry 
        out the program established in subsection (a)(1), the 
        Administration may make grants or enter into cooperative 
        agreements to carry out this subsection.
            ``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated not more than $2,500,000 for the purposes of 
        carrying out this subsection for each of the fiscal years 2010 
        and 2011.''.

SEC. 6. MAIN STREET STABILIZATION.

    Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648), as amended, 
is further amended by adding the following new subsection at the end 
thereof:
    ``(r) Main Street Stabilization.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administration shall establish a 
        grant program for small business development centers in 
        accordance with this subsection. To be eligible for the 
        program, a small business development center must be in good 
        standing and comply with the other requirements of this 
        section. Funds made available through the program shall be used 
        to--
                    ``(A) establish a statewide small business helpline 
                within every State and United States territory to 
                provide immediate expert information and assistance to 
                small business concerns;
                    ``(B) develop a portfolio of online survival and 
                growth tools and resources that struggling small 
                business concerns can utilize through the Internet;
                    ``(C) develop business advisory capacity to provide 
                expert consulting and education to assist small 
                businesses at-risk of failure and to, in areas of high 
                demand, shorten the response time of small business 
                development centers, and, in rural areas, support added 
                outreach in remote communities;
                    ``(D) deploy additional resources to help specific 
                industry sectors with a high presence of small business 
                concerns, which shall be targeted toward clusters of 
                small businesses with similar needs and build upon best 
                practices from earlier assistance;
                    ``(E) develop a formal listing of financing options 
                for small business capital access; and
                    ``(F) deliver services that help dislocated workers 
                start new businesses.
            ``(2) Award size limit.--The Administration may not award 
        an entity more than $250,000 in grant funds under this 
        subsection.
            ``(3) Authority.--Subject to amounts approved in advance in 
        appropriations Acts and separate from amounts approved to carry 
        out the program established in subsection (a)(1), the 
        Administration may make grants or enter into cooperative 
        agreements to carry out this subsection.
            ``(4) Authorization.--There is authorized to be 
        appropriated not more than $2,500,000 for the purposes of 
        carrying out this subsection for each of the fiscal years 2010 
        and 2011.''.

SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON PROGRAM INCOME BEING USED AS MATCHING FUNDS.

    Section 21(a)(4)(B) (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(B)) is amended by 
inserting after ``Federal program'' the following: ``and shall not 
include any funds obtained through the assessment of fees to small 
business clients''.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 20 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is 
amended by inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Small Business Development Centers.--There is authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out the Small Business Development Center 
Program under section 21 $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 
$160,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.''.
                                 <all>
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