II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3246 

To improve the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2012 

Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To improve the Service Corps of Retired Executives, 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 Program Im5 provement Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

10 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘SCORE’’ means the Service 

2 Corps of Retired Executives established under sec3 tion 8(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 637(b)(1)); 

5 (3) the term ‘‘SCORE Advisory Board’’ means 

6 the SCORE Advisory Board established under sec7 tion 101 of this Act; 

8 (4) the term ‘‘SCORE chapter’’ means a chap9 ter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives; and 

10 (5) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

11 meaning given that term under section 3 of the 

12 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

13 TITLE I—SCORE ADVISORY 

14 BOARD 

15 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY BOARD. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

17 SCORE Advisory Board. 

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 (1) COMPOSITION.—The SCORE Advisory 

20 Board shall be composed of 6 members, who shall be 

21 appointed from among individuals having out22 standing qualifications and known to be familiar 

23 with and sympathetic to the needs and problems of 

24 small business concerns. 


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1 (2) LIMITATIONS.—Of the individuals appointed 

2 under paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) not more than 3 may be members of 

4 a SCORE chapter; and 

5 (B) 3 shall be owners or employees of 

6 small business concerns or members of an asso7 ciation that represents small business concerns. 

8 (3) PROHIBITION.—The members of the 

9 SCORE Advisory Board may not be employees of 

10 the Federal Government. 

11 (4) DATE.—The appointments of the members 

12 of the SCORE Advisory Board shall be made not 

13 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 

14 this Act. 

15 (c) TERMS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), a member of the SCORE Advisory Board 

18 shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. 

19 (2) FIRST MEMBERS.—Of the members first 

20 appointed to the SCORE Advisory Board— 

21 (A) 2 shall be appointed for a term of 4 

22 years, of whom 1 shall be a member described 

23 in subsection (b)(2)(A) and 1 shall be a mem24 ber described in subsection (b)(2)(B); 


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1 (B) 2 shall be appointed for a term of 3 

2 years, of whom 1 shall be a member described 

3 in subsection (b)(2)(A) and 1 shall be a mem4 ber described in subsection (b)(2)(B); and 

5 (C) 2 shall be appointed for a term of 2 

6 years, of whom 1 shall be a member described 

7 in subsection (b)(2)(A) and 1 shall be a mem8 ber described in subsection (b)(2)(B). 

9 (d) VACANCIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy on the SCORE 

11 Advisory Board shall be filled in the manner in 

12 which the original appointment was made and shall 

13 be subject to any conditions which applied with re14 spect to the original appointment. 

15 (2) FILLING UNEXPIRED TERM.—An individual 

16 chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed for the 

17 unexpired term of the member replaced. 

18 (e) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days after 

19 the date on which all members of the SCORE Advisory 

20 Board have been appointed, the SCORE Advisory Board 

21 shall hold its first meeting. 

22 (f) MEETINGS.—The SCORE Advisory Board shall 

23 meet— 

24 (1) not less frequently than semiannually; and 

25 (2) at the call of the Chairman. 


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1 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

2 SCORE Advisory Board shall constitute a quorum, but 

3 a lesser number of members may hold hearings. 

4 (h) CHAIRMAN.—The SCORE Advisory Board shall 

5 select a Chairman from among its members. 

6 SEC. 102. DUTIES OF THE SCORE ADVISORY BOARD. 

7 (a) DUTIES.—The SCORE Advisory Board shall— 

8 (1) review and monitor plans and programs de9 veloped in the public and private sector which affect 

10 SCORE chapters; 

11 (2) provide advice on improving coordination 

12 between plans and programs described in paragraph 

13 (1); 

14 (3) advise SCORE chapters on the use of Fed15 eral funds allocated to SCORE; 

16 (4) develop and promote initiatives, policies, 

17 programs, and plans designed to assist with the 

18 mentoring services offered by SCORE chapters 

19 throughout the United States; and 

20 (5) advise the Administrator on the develop21 ment and implementation of an annual comprehen22 sive plan under subsection (b). 

23 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—The Administrator 

24 shall develop and implement an annual comprehensive 

25 plan for joint efforts by the public and private sectors to 


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1 facilitate the formation and development of mentoring by 

2 SCORE volunteers. 

3 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after 

4 the end of each fiscal year, the SCORE Advisory Board 

5 shall submit to the President, the Committee on Small 

6 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, and the 

7 Committee on Small Business of the House of Representa8 tives a report that contains— 

9 (1) the minutes of each meeting of the SCORE 

10 Advisory Board during the fiscal year to which the 

11 report relates; 

12 (2) a detailed description of the activities of the 

13 SCORE Advisory Board during the fiscal year to 

14 which the report relates, including how the SCORE 

15 Advisory Board carried out the duties described in 

16 subsection (a); 

17 (3) recommendations for promoting SCORE 

18 chapters and mentoring services; and 

19 (4) any concurring or dissenting views of the 

20 Administrator. 

21 SEC. 103. POWERS OF THE SCORE ADVISORY BOARD. 

22 (a) HEARINGS.—The SCORE Advisory Board may 

23 hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and places, 

24 take such testimony, and receive such evidence as the 


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1 SCORE Advisory Board considers advisable to carry out 

2 this Act. 

3 (b) TASK GROUPS.—The SCORE Advisory Board 

4 may establish a temporary task group to carry out any 

5 duty of the SCORE Advisory Board described in section 

6 4. 

7 (c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

8 SCORE Advisory Board may secure directly from any 

9 Federal department or agency such information as the 

10 SCORE Advisory Board considers necessary to carry out 

11 this Act. Upon request of the Chairman of the SCORE 

12 Advisory Board, the head of such department or agency 

13 shall furnish such information to the SCORE Advisory 

14 Board. 

15 (d) POSTAL SERVICES.—The SCORE Advisory 

16 Board may use the United States mails in the same man17 ner and under the same conditions as other departments 

18 and agencies of the Federal Government. 

19 (e) GIFTS.—The SCORE Advisory Board may ac20 cept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of services or 

21 property. 

22 SEC. 104. SCORE ADVISORY BOARD PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

23 (a) COMPENSATION.—Members of the SCORE Advi24 sory Board shall not be compensated for services per25 formed on behalf of the SCORE Advisory Board. 


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1 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the 

2 SCORE Advisory Board shall be allowed travel expenses, 

3 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author4 ized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chap5 ter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 

6 their homes or regular places of business in the perform7 ance of services for the SCORE Advisory Board. 

8 (c) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any 

9 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the 

10 SCORE Advisory Board without reimbursement, and such 

11 detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service 

12 status or privilege. 

13 SEC. 105. INAPPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY 

14 COMMITTEE ACT TO THE SCORE ADVISORY 

15 BOARD. 

16 Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

17 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply with respect to the 

18 SCORE Advisory Board. 

19 SEC. 106. FUNDING. 

20 The expenses of the SCORE Advisory Board, includ21 ing expenses relating to personnel, as described in section 

22 104, shall be paid by SCORE, from amounts made avail23 able to SCORE to carry out section 8(b)(1)(B) of the 

24 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B)). 


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1 TITLE II—FINANCIAL REFORMS 

2 SEC. 201. REAUTHORIZATION. 

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

4 note) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub6 section (f); and 

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

8 ‘‘(g) SCORE PROGRAM.—The Administrator may 

9 make grants and enter into cooperative agreements to 

10 carry out the SCORE program authorized by section 

11 8(b)(1) in a total amount that does not exceed $7,000,000 

12 for each of fiscal years 2013, 2014, and 2015.’’. 

13 SEC. 202. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF SCORE. 

14 (a) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF SALARY.—The rate 

15 of basic pay of the chief executive officer of SCORE may 

16 not exceed the maximum rate of basic pay established 

17 under section 5382 of title 5, United States Code, for a 

18 position in the Senior Executive Service. 

19 (b) FEDERAL SHARE OF SALARY.—For any year 

20 during which the chief executive officer of SCORE serves 

21 in a leadership capacity on a foundation affiliated with 

22 SCORE, the Federal share of the basic pay of the chief 

23 executive officer of SCORE may not exceed 80 percent. 


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1 SEC. 203. ALLOCATION COMMITTEE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—SCORE shall establish a 

3 committee to determine the amount allocated each year 

4 to each SCORE chapter. 

5 (b) MEMBERS.—The members of the committee es6 tablished under subsection (a) shall include— 

7 (1) 1 member of the staff of SCORE who is not 

8 the chief executive officer of SCORE; and 

9 (2) not fewer than 4 members of the SCORE 

10 Advisory Board. 

11 SEC. 204. ALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS. 

12 SCORE shall establish a method for allocating 

13 amounts received by SCORE from the Federal Govern14 ment, which shall— 

15 (1) ensure that not less than 50 percent of the 

16 amounts are allocated to SCORE chapters; and 

17 (2) be subject to the approval of the Adminis18 trator and the committee established under section 

19 203. 

20 SEC. 205. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

21 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

22 States shall conduct a study of the technology activities 

23 of SCORE that includes an examination of each expendi24 ture by SCORE for technology activities and the result 

25 of each such expenditure. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

3 submit to Congress and the Administrator a report that 

4 contains— 

5 (1) a detailed description of the amounts 

6 SCORE has expended for technology activities, in7 cluding how SCORE expended Federal funds to 

8 carry out and sustain technology initiatives during 

9 the 4-year period ending on the date of enactment 

10 of this Act; 

11 (2) a determination of whether SCORE has ex12 pended Federal funds efficiently and effectively to 

13 carry out technology activities; 

14 (3) an evaluation of— 

15 (A) how well SCORE has met objectives 

16 relating to technology spending; and 

17 (B) the policy that resulted in the estab18 lishment of objectives relating to technology 

19 spending; and 

20 (4) recommendations for actions by SCORE to 

21 achieve objectives relating to technology spending 

22 while safeguarding Federal funds. 

Æ 


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