IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1845 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and 

Entrepreneurship 

AN ACT 

To amend the Small Business Act to modernize Small 

Business Development Centers, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Devel3 opment Centers Modernization Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. 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 as follows: 

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’’. 

14 (3) By adding at the end the following new sen15 tence: ‘‘In this paragraph, the term ‘accredited insti16 tution of higher education’ means an institution that 

17 is accredited as described in section 101(a)(5) of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 1001(a)(5)).’’. 

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

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

22 in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 

23 before ‘‘agreed’’ the following: ‘‘mutually’’. 

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

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


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1 amended by inserting after ‘‘uniform negotiated’’ the fol2 lowing: ‘‘mutually agreed to’’. 

3 (d) SBDC HIRING.—Section 21(c)(2)(A) of the 

4 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(2)(A)) is amended 

5 by inserting after ‘‘full-time staff’’ the following: ‘‘, the 

6 hiring of which shall be at the sole discretion of the center 

7 without the need for input or approval from any officer 

8 or employee of the Administration’’. 

9 (e) CONTENT OF CONSULTATIONS.—Section 

10 21(a)(7)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 648(a)(7)(A)) is amended in the matter preceding clause 

12 (i) by inserting after ‘‘under this section’’ the following: 

13 ‘‘, or the content of any consultation with such an indi14 vidual or small business concern,’’. 

15 (f) AMOUNTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

16 Section 21(a)(4)(C)(v)(I) of the Small Business Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(v)(I)) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts 

19 made available in any fiscal year to carry 

20 out this section, not more than $500,000 

21 may be used by the Administration to pay 

22 expenses enumerated in subparagraphs (B) 

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

24 (g) NON-MATCHING PORTABILITY GRANTS.—Section 

25 21(a)(4)(C)(viii) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 


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1 648(a)(4)(C)(viii)) is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following: ‘‘In the event of a disaster, the dollar limitation 

3 in the preceding sentence shall not apply.’’. 

4 (h) DISTRIBUTION TO SBDCS.—Section 21(b) of the 

5 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(b)) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON DISTRIBUTION TO SMALL BUSI8 NESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro10 vided in this paragraph, the Administration shall not 

11 distribute funds to a Small Business Development 

12 Center if the State in which the Small Business De13 velopment Center is located is served by more than 

14 one Small Business Development Center. 

15 ‘‘(B) UNAVAILABILITY EXCEPTION.—The Ad16 ministration may distribute funds to a maximum of 

17 two Small Business Development Centers in any 

18 State if no applicant has applied to serve the entire 

19 State. 

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

21 in this paragraph shall not apply to any State in 

22 which more than one Small Business Development 

23 Center received funding prior to January 1, 2007. 

24 ‘‘(D) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

25 paragraph, the term ‘Small Business Development 


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1 Center’ means the entity selected by the Administra2 tion to receive funds pursuant to the funding for3 mula set forth in subsection (a)(4), without regard 

4 to the number of sites for service delivery such enti5 ty establishes or funds.’’. 

6 (i) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.—Section 21(a)(1) 

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

8 amended, is further amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and women’s business centers 

10 operating pursuant to section 29’’; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘or a women’s business center 

12 operating pursuant to section 29’’. 

13 SEC. 3. ACCESS TO CREDIT AND CAPITAL. 

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

15 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub16 section: 

17 ‘‘(o) ACCESS TO CREDIT AND CAPITAL PROGRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 

19 establish a grant program for small business devel20 opment centers in accordance with this subsection. 

21 To be eligible for the program, a small business de22 velopment center must be in good standing and com23 ply with the other requirements of this section. 

24 Funds made available through the program shall be 

25 used to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) develop specialized programs to assist 

2 local small business concerns in securing capital 

3 and repairing damaged credit; 

4 ‘‘(B) provide informational seminars on se5 curing credit and loans; 

6 ‘‘(C) provide one-on-one counseling with 

7 potential borrowers to improve financial presen8 tations to lenders; and 

9 ‘‘(D) facilitate borrowers’ access to non10 traditional financing sources, as well as tradi11 tional lending sources. 

12 ‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE LIMIT.—The Administration 

13 may not award an entity more than $300,000 in 

14 grant funds under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY.—Subject to amounts ap16 proved in advance in appropriations Acts and sepa17 rate from amounts approved to carry out the pro18 gram established in subsection (a)(1), the Adminis19 tration may make grants or enter into cooperative 

20 agreements to carry out this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 

22 be appropriated not more than $2,500,000 for the 

23 purposes of carrying out this subsection for each of 

24 the fiscal years 2010 and 2011.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. PROCUREMENT TRAINING AND ASSISTANCE. 

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

3 648), as amended, is further amended by adding at the 

4 end the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(p) PROCUREMENT TRAINING AND ASSISTANCE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 

7 establish a grant program for small business devel8 opment centers in accordance with this subsection. 

9 To be eligible for the program, a small business de10 velopment center must be in good standing and com11 ply with the other requirements of this section. 

12 Funds made available through the program shall be 

13 used to— 

14 ‘‘(A) work with local agencies to identify 

15 contracts that are suitable for local small busi16 ness concerns; 

17 ‘‘(B) prepare small businesses to be ready 

18 as subcontractors and prime contractors for 

19 contracts made available under the American 

20 Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public 

21 Law 111–5) through training and business ad22 visement, particularly in the construction 

23 trades; and 

24 ‘‘(C) provide technical assistance regarding 

25 the Federal procurement process, including asVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:44 Nov 09, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.RFS H1845

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1 sisting small business concerns to comply with 

2 federal regulations and bonding requirements. 

3 ‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE LIMIT.—The Administration 

4 may not award an entity more than $300,000 in 

5 grant funds under this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY.—Subject to amounts ap7 proved in advance in appropriations Acts and sepa8 rate from amounts approved to carry out the pro9 gram established in subsection (a)(1), the Adminis10 tration may make grants or enter into cooperative 

11 agreements to carry out this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated not more 

14 than $2,500,000 for the purposes of carrying out 

15 this subsection for each of the fiscal years 2010 and 

16 2011.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. GREEN ENTREPRENEURS TRAINING PROGRAM. 

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

19 648), as amended, is further amended by adding at the 

20 end the following new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(q) GREEN ENTREPRENEURS TRAINING PRO22 GRAM.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 

24 establish a grant program for small business devel25 opment centers in accordance with this subsection. 


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1 To be eligible for the program, a small business de2 velopment center must be in good standing and com3 ply with the other requirements of this section. 

4 Funds made available through the program shall be 

5 used to— 

6 ‘‘(A) provide education classes and one-on7 one instruction in starting a business in the 

8 fields of energy efficiency, green technology, or 

9 clean technology and in adapting a business to 

10 include such fields; 

11 ‘‘(B) coordinate such classes and instruc12 tion, to the extent practicable, with local com13 munity colleges and local professional trade as14 sociations; 

15 ‘‘(C) assist and provide technical coun16 seling to individuals seeking to start a business 

17 in the fields of energy efficiency, green tech18 nology, or clean technology and to individuals 

19 seeking to adapt a business to include such 

20 fields; and 

21 ‘‘(D) provide services that assist low-in22 come or dislocated workers to start businesses 

23 in the fields of energy efficiency, green tech24 nology, or clean technology. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE LIMIT.—The Administration 

2 may not award an entity more than $300,000 in 

3 grant funds under this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY.—Subject to amounts ap5 proved in advance in appropriations Acts and sepa6 rate from amounts approved to carry out the pro7 gram established in subsection (a)(1), the Adminis8 tration may make grants or enter into cooperative 

9 agreements to carry out this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 There is authorized to be appropriated not more 

12 than $2,500,000 for the purposes of carrying out 

13 this subsection for each of the fiscal years 2010 and 

14 2011.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. MAIN STREET STABILIZATION. 

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

17 648), as amended, is further amended by adding the fol18 lowing new subsection at the end thereof: 

19 ‘‘(r) MAIN STREET STABILIZATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 

21 establish a grant program for small business devel22 opment centers in accordance with this subsection. 

23 To be eligible for the program, a small business de24 velopment center must be in good standing and com25 ply with the other requirements of this section. 


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1 Funds made available through the program shall be 

2 used to— 

3 ‘‘(A) establish a statewide small business 

4 helpline within every State and United States 

5 territory to provide immediate expert informa6 tion and assistance to small business concerns; 

7 ‘‘(B) develop a portfolio of online survival 

8 and growth tools and resources that struggling 

9 small business concerns can utilize through the 

10 Internet; 

11 ‘‘(C) develop business advisory capacity to 

12 provide expert consulting and education to as13 sist small businesses at-risk of failure and to, in 

14 areas of high demand, shorten the response 

15 time of small business development centers, 

16 and, in rural areas, support added outreach in 

17 remote communities; 

18 ‘‘(D) deploy additional resources to help 

19 specific industry sectors with a high presence of 

20 small business concerns, which shall be targeted 

21 toward clusters of small businesses with similar 

22 needs and build upon best practices from earlier 

23 assistance; 

24 ‘‘(E) develop a formal listing of financing 

25 options for small business capital access; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) deliver services that help dislocated 

2 workers start new businesses. 

3 ‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE LIMIT.—The Administration 

4 may not award an entity more than $250,000 in 

5 grant funds under this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY.—Subject to amounts ap7 proved in advance in appropriations Acts and sepa8 rate from amounts approved to carry out the pro9 gram established in subsection (a)(1), the Adminis10 tration may make grants or enter into cooperative 

11 agreements to carry out this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 

13 be appropriated not more than $2,500,000 for the 

14 purposes of carrying out this subsection for each of 

15 the fiscal years 2010 and 2011.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON PROGRAM INCOME BEING USED 

17 AS MATCHING FUNDS. 

18 Section 21(a)(4)(B) (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(B)) is 

19 amended by inserting after ‘‘Federal program’’ the fol20 lowing: ‘‘and shall not include any funds obtained through 

21 the assessment of fees to small business clients’’. 

22 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 Section 20 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 

24 note) is amended by inserting after subsection (e) the fol25 lowing new subsection: 


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

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the 

3 Small Business Development Center Program under sec4 tion 21 $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 

5 $160,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.’’. 

6 SEC. 9. SMALL MANUFACTURERS TRANSITION ASSISTANCE 

7 PROGRAM. 

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

9 648), as amended, is further amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(s) SMALL MANUFACTURERS TRANSITION ASSIST12 ANCE PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 

14 establish a grant program for small business devel15 opment centers in accordance with this subsection. 

16 To be eligible for the program, a small business de17 velopment center must be in good standing and com18 ply with the other requirements of this section. 

19 Funds made available through the program shall be 

20 used to— 

21 ‘‘(A) provide technical assistance and ex22 pertise to small manufacturers with respect to 

23 changing operations to another industry sector 

24 or reorganizing operations to increase efficiency 

25 and profitability; 


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1 ‘‘(B) assist marketing of the capabilities of 

2 small manufacturers outside the principal area 

3 of operations of such manufacturers; 

4 ‘‘(C) facilitate peer-to-peer and mentor5 protege relationships between small manufac6 turers and corporations and Federal agencies; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(D) conduct outreach activities to local 

9 small manufacturers with respect to the avail10 ability of the services described in subpara11 graphs (A), (B), and (C). 

12 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF SMALL MANUFACTURER.— 

13 In this subsection, the term ‘small manufacturer’ 

14 means a small business concern engaged in an in15 dustry specified in sector 31, 32, or 33 of the North 

16 American Industry Classification System in section 

17 121.201 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations. 

18 ‘‘(3) AWARD SIZE LIMIT.—The Administration 

19 may not award an entity more than $250,000 in 

20 grant funds under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(4) AUTHORITY.—Subject to amounts ap22 proved in advance in appropriations Acts and sepa23 rate from amounts approved to carry out the pro24 gram established in subsection (a)(1), the AdminisVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:44 Nov 09, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.RFS H1845

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1 tration may make grants or enter into cooperative 

2 agreements to carry out this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 

4 be appropriated not more than $2,500,000 for the 

5 purposes of carrying out this subsection for each of 

6 the fiscal years 2010 and 2011.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 7, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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