II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 999 

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

business development centers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

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, support for the development 

11 and maintenance of clusters, or business training. 

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

13 to— 

14 ‘‘(A) services provided to assist small busi15 ness concerns owned by an Indian tribe (as 

16 such term is defined in section 8(a)(13)); 

17 ‘‘(B) activities and programs in support of 

18 a member of the Armed Forces, including Na19 tional Guard and Reserve components, a vet20 eran, or a spouse of a member of the Armed 

21 Forces or a veteran; 

22 ‘‘(C) the Microenterprise Technical Assist23 ance and Capacity Building Program estab24 lished under subtitle C of title I of the Riegle 

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1 provement Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 6901 et 

2 seq.); 

3 ‘‘(D) the State Trade and Export Pro4 motion Grant Program established under sec5 tion 1207 of the Small Business Export En6 hancement and International Trade Act of 

7 2010 (15 U.S.C. 649b note); and 

8 ‘‘(E) the Federal and State Technology 

9 Partnership Program established under section 

10 34 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657d). 

11 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning on the first De12 cember 1 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

13 the Administrator shall annually report to the Committee 

14 on Small Business of the House of Representatives and 

15 the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

16 of the Senate on all entrepreneurial development activities 

17 undertaken in the current fiscal year. This report shall 

18 include— 

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

20 each program and activity; 

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

22 operating procedures for each program and activity; 

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

24 grants under each program and activity; 


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1 ‘‘(4) a list of all awardees, contractors, and ven2 dors (including organization name and location) and 

3 the amount of awards for the current fiscal year for 

4 each program and activity; 

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

6 current fiscal year for each program and activity; 

7 and 

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

9 responsible for each program and activity.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. MARKETING OF SERVICES. 

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

12 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(o) NO PROHIBITION OF MARKETING OF SERV14 ICES.—The Administrator shall not prohibit applicants re15 ceiving grants under this section from marketing and ad16 vertising their services to individuals and small busi17 nesses.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION. 

19 Section 21(a)(3)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 

20 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(A)) is amended— 

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

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

23 and 

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

25 following: ‘‘, and (iv) governing data collection acVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Apr 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S999.IS S999

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1 tivities related to applicants receiving grants under 

2 this section’’. 

3 SEC. 5. FEES FROM PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND CO4 SPONSORSHIPS. 

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

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

7 ‘‘(C) Participation in private partnerships and 

8 cosponsorships with the Administration shall not 

9 limit small business development centers from col10 lecting fees or other income related to the operation 

11 of such private partnerships and cosponsorships.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. EQUITY FOR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CEN13 TERS. 

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

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

16 (1) in item (aa), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and insert17 ing a period; and 

18 (2) by striking item (bb). 

19 SEC. 7. ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE SMALL BUSINESSES. 

20 Section 21(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 

21 U.S.C. 648(b)(3)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘(3) At the discretion’’ and in23 serting the following: 

24 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE SMALL

25 BUSINESSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion’’; 

2 and 

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

4 ‘‘(B) DISASTER RECOVERY ASSISTANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion 

6 of the Administrator, the Administrator 

7 may authorize a small business develop8 ment center to provide advice, information, 

9 and assistance, as described in subsection 

10 (c), to a small business concern located 

11 outside of the State, without regard to geo12 graphic proximity to the small business de13 velopment center, if the small business 

14 concern is located in an area for which the 

15 President has declared a major disaster 

16 under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf17 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist18 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). 

19 ‘‘(ii) TERM.— 

20 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A small busi21 ness development center may provide 

22 advice, information, and assistance to 

23 a small business concern under clause 

24 (i) for a period of not more than 2 

25 years after the date on which the 


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1 President declared a major disaster 

2 under section 401 of the Robert T. 

3 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer4 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 5170) for the area in which the small 

6 business concern is located. 

7 ‘‘(II) EXTENSION.—The Admin8 istrator may, at the discretion of the 

9 Administrator, extend the period de10 scribed in subclause (I). 

11 ‘‘(III) CONTINUITY OF SERV12 ICES.—A small business development 

13 center that provides counselors to an 

14 area described in clause (i) shall, to 

15 the maximum extent practicable, en16 sure continuity of services in any 

17 State in which the small business de18 velopment center otherwise provides 

19 services. 

20 ‘‘(IV) ACCESS TO DISASTER RE21 COVERY FACILITIES.—For purposes of 

22 this subparagraph, the Administrator 

23 shall, to the maximum extent prac24 ticable, permit the personnel of a 

25 small business development center to 


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1 use any site or facility designated by 

2 the Administrator for use to provide 

3 disaster recovery assistance.’’. 

4 SEC. 8. CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS. 

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

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

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

8 Federal agency, or third party’’. 

9 SEC. 9. LIMITATION ON AWARD OF GRANTS TO SMALL 

10 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS. 

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

12 648), as amended by section 3 of this Act, is further 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(p) LIMITATION ON AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except for not-for-profit 

16 institutions of higher education, and notwithstanding 

17 any provision of law, the Administrator may not 

18 award grants (including contracts and cooperative 

19 agreements) under this section to any entity other 

20 than those that received grants (including contracts 

21 and cooperative agreements) under this section prior 

22 to September 30, 2015, and that seek to renew such 

23 grants (including contracts and cooperative agree24 ments) after such date. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This sub2 section shall not be construed to prohibit a grant re3 cipient under this section from entering into a grant, 

4 contract, or cooperative agreement with any other 

5 entity.’’. 

Æ 


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