II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3508 

To strengthen resources for entrepreneurs by improving the SCORE program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2012 

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. COONS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To strengthen resources for entrepreneurs by improving the 

SCORE program, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SCORE for Small 

5 Business Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SCORE REAUTHORIZATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 20 of the Small Business 

8 Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub10 section (f); and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(g) SCORE PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be 

3 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 

4 SCORE program authorized by section 8(b)(1) such sums 

5 as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or 

6 enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that 

7 does not exceed— 

8 ‘‘(1) $13,000,000 in fiscal year 2013; 

9 ‘‘(2) $15,000,000 in fiscal year 2014; and 

10 ‘‘(3) $17,000,000 in fiscal year 2015.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. SCORE PROGRAM. 

12 Section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘ a 

15 Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘the SCORE program described in sub17 section (c)’’; and 

18 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(c) SCORE PROGRAM.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

22 ‘SCORE program’ means the SCORE program au23 thorized by subsection (b)(1)(B). 

24 ‘‘(2) VOLUNTEERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A volunteer partici2 pating in the SCORE program shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) based on the business experience 

4 and knowledge of the volunteer— 

5 ‘‘(I) provide at no cost to individ6 uals who own, or aspire to own, small 

7 business concerns personal counseling, 

8 mentoring, and coaching relating to 

9 the process of starting, expanding, 

10 managing, buying, and selling a busi11 ness; and 

12 ‘‘(II) facilitate low-cost education 

13 workshops for individuals who own, or 

14 aspire to own, small business con15 cerns; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) as appropriate, use tools, re17 sources, and expertise of other organiza18 tions to carry out the SCORE program. 

19 ‘‘(B) ORIENTATION.—The Administrator, 

20 in consultation with the SCORE Association, 

21 shall ensure that each volunteer participating in 

22 the SCORE program is adequately oriented and 

23 trained in the areas and disciplines necessary to 

24 ensure successful, outcome-oriented client interVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:32 Aug 11, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3508.IS S3508

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1 actions relating to the services provided by the 

2 SCORE program. 

3 ‘‘(3) PLANS AND GOALS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) OUTREACH.—The Administrator, in 

5 consultation with the SCORE Association, shall 

6 ensure that the SCORE program and each 

7 chapter of the SCORE program develop and 

8 implement plans and goals for outreach to indi9 viduals in rural, ethnically diverse, minority, 

10 and underserved communities, including a plan 

11 to recruit more diverse counselors. 

12 ‘‘(B) SERVICE.—The Administrator, in 

13 consultation with the SCORE Association, shall 

14 ensure that the SCORE program and each 

15 chapter of the SCORE program develop and 

16 implement plans and goals to more effectively 

17 and efficiently provide services to individuals in 

18 rural areas, economically disadvantaged com19 munities, and other traditionally underserved 

20 communities, including plans for electronic ini21 tiatives, web-based initiatives, chapter expan22 sion, partnerships, and the development of new 

23 skills by volunteers participating in the SCORE 

24 program. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The SCORE Associa2 tion shall submit to the Administrator an annual re3 port that contains— 

4 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals counseled 

5 or trained under the SCORE program; 

6 ‘‘(B) the number of hours of counseling 

7 provided under the SCORE program; and 

8 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

9 ‘‘(i) the number of small business con10 cerns formed with assistance from the 

11 SCORE program; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

13 concerns expanded with assistance from 

14 the SCORE program; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the number of jobs created with 

16 assistance from the SCORE program. 

17 ‘‘(5) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Adminis19 trator nor the SCORE Association may disclose 

20 the name, address, or telephone number of any 

21 individual or small business concern receiving 

22 assistance from the SCORE Association with23 out the consent of such individual or small busi24 ness concern, unless— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 

2 make such a disclosure by a court in any 

3 civil or criminal enforcement action initi4 ated by a Federal or State agency; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines 

6 such a disclosure to be necessary for the 

7 purpose of conducting a financial audit of 

8 the SCORE program, in which case disclo9 sure shall be limited to the information 

10 necessary for the audit. 

11 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMA12 TION.—This subsection shall not— 

13 ‘‘(i) restrict the access of the Adminis14 trator to program activity data; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from 

16 using client information to conduct client 

17 surveys. 

18 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

20 shall issue regulations to establish stand21 ards for— 

22 ‘‘(I) disclosures with respect to 

23 financial audits under paragraph 

24 (1)(B); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) conducting client surveys, 

2 including standards for oversight of 

3 the surveys and for dissemination and 

4 use of client information. 

5 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRIVACY PROTEC6 TION.—The regulations issued under this 

7 paragraph shall, to the extent practicable, 

8 provide for the maximum amount of pri9 vacy protection. 

10 ‘‘(iii) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Until 

11 the effective date of the regulations issued 

12 under this paragraph, any client survey 

13 and the use of any client information shall 

14 be approved by the Inspector General of 

15 the Administration, who shall include any 

16 such approval in the semi-annual report of 

17 the Inspector General.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

19 (a) SMALL BUSINESS ACT.—The Small Business Act 

20 (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

21 (1) in section 7(m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII) (15 U.S.C. 

22 636(m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII)), by striking ‘‘Service Corps 

23 of Retired Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro24 gram’’; and 


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1 (2) in section 33(b)(2) (15 U.S.C. 657c(b)(2)), 

2 by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

4 (b) OTHER LAWS.—Section 621 of the Children’s 

5 Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 

6 (15 U.S.C. 657p) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (4) 

8 and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) the term ‘SCORE program’ means the 

10 SCORE program authorized by section 8(b)(1)(B) 

11 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

12 637(b)(1)(B));’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (b)(4)(A)(iv), by striking 

14 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

Æ 


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