I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 207 

To amend the Small Business Act to provide for improvements to small 

business development centers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2015 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Small Business 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to provide for 

improvements to small business development centers. 

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 ‘‘Small Business Devel5 opment Centers Improvement Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. USE OF AUTHORIZED ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVEL7 OPMENT PROGRAMS. 

8 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 48. USE OF AUTHORIZED ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVEL2 OPMENT PROGRAMS. 

3 ‘‘(a) EXPANDED SUPPORT FOR ENTREPRENEURS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of law, the Administrator shall only use 

6 the programs authorized in sections 7(j), 7(m), 8(a), 

7 8(b)(1), 21, 22, 29, and 32 of this Act, and sections 

8 358 and 389 of the Small Business Investment Act 

9 to deliver entrepreneurial development services, en10 trepreneurial education, business incubation services, 

11 growth acceleration services, support for the develop12 ment and maintenance of clusters, or business train13 ing. 

14 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—This section shall not apply 

15 to services provided to assist small business concerns 

16 owned by an Indian tribe (as such term is defined 

17 in section 8(a)(13)). 

18 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning on the first De19 cember 1 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

20 the Administrator shall annually report to the Committee 

21 on Small Business of the House of Representatives and 

22 the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

23 of the Senate on all entrepreneurial development activities 

24 undertaken in the current fiscal year. This report shall 

25 include— 

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1 ‘‘(1) a description and operating details for 

2 each program and activity; 

3 ‘‘(2) operating circulars, manuals, and standard 

4 operating procedures for each program and activity; 

5 ‘‘(3) a description of the process used to award 

6 grants under each program and activity; 

7 ‘‘(4) a list of all awardees, contractors, and ven8 dors (including organization name and location) and 

9 the amount of awards for the current fiscal year for 

10 each program and activity; 

11 ‘‘(5) the amount of funding obligated for the 

12 current fiscal year for each program and activity; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(6) the names and titles for those individuals 

15 responsible for each program and activity.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. MARKETING OF SERVICES. 

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

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(o) NO PROHIBITION OF MARKETING OF SERV20 ICES.—The Administrator shall not prohibit applicants re21 ceiving grants under this section from marketing and ad22 vertising their services to individuals and small busi23 nesses.’’. 

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1 SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 21(a)(3)(A) of the Small 

3 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(A)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘as provided in this section 

5 and’’ and inserting ‘‘as provided in this section,’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) by inserting before the period at the end the 

8 following: ‘‘, and (iv) governing data collection ac9 tivities related to applicants receiving grants under 

10 this section’’. 

11 (b) ANNUAL REPORT ON DATA COLLECTION.—Sec12 tion 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648), as 

13 amended by section 3 of this Act, is further amended by 

14 adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(p) ANNUAL REPORT ON DATA COLLECTION.—The 

16 Administrator shall report annually to the Committee on 

17 Small Business of the House of Representatives and the 

18 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

19 the Senate on any data collection activities related to the 

20 Small Business Development Center program.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. FEES FROM PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND CO22 SPONSORSHIPS. 

23 Section 21(a)(3)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 

24 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(C)) is amended to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(C) Participation in private partnerships and 

26 cosponsorships with the Administration shall not 

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1 limit small business development centers from col2 lecting fees or other income related to the operation 

3 of such private partnerships and cosponsorships.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. EQUITY FOR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CEN5 TERS. 

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

7 (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(v)) is amended— 

8 (1) in item (aa), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and insert9 ing a period; and 

10 (2) by striking item (bb). 

11 SEC. 7. CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS. 

12 Section 21(a)(7)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 

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

14 ‘‘under this section’’ the following: ‘‘to any State, local or 

15 Federal agency, or third party’’. 

16 SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON AWARD OF GRANTS TO SMALL 

17 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS. 

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

19 648), as amended by sections 3 and 4 of this Act, is fur20 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(q) LIMITATION ON AWARD OF GRANTS.—Except 

22 for not-for-profit institutions of higher education, and not23 withstanding any provision of law, the Administrator may 

24 not award grants (including contracts and cooperative 

25 agreements) under this section to any entity other than 

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1 those that received grants (including contracts and cooper2 ative agreements) under this section prior to September 

3 30, 2015, and that seek to renew such grants (including 

4 contracts and cooperative agreements) after such date.’’. 

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