SCORE for Small Business Act of 2023

Subjects: Commerce


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1744 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1744

 To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE program, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 18, 2023

  Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Markey) 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 reauthorize the SCORE program, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``SCORE for Small Business Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administration; administrator.--The terms 
        ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean the Small 
        Business Administration and the Administrator thereof, 
        respectively.
            (2) SCORE association; score program.--The terms ``SCORE 
        Association'' and ``SCORE program'' have the meanings given 
        those terms in subsection (gg) of section 3 of the Small 
        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632), as added by section 6 of this 
        Act.
            (3) Small business concern.--The term ``small business 
        concern'' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).

SEC. 3. SCORE PROGRAM PROVISIONS AND REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)--
                    (A) by striking ``a Service Corps of Retired 
                Executives (SCORE)'' and inserting ``the SCORE 
                program''; and
                    (B) by striking ``SCORE may'' and inserting ``the 
                SCORE Association may''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
    ``(c) SCORE Program.--
            ``(1) Cooperative agreement.--The Administrator shall enter 
        into a cooperative agreement with the SCORE Association to 
        carry out the SCORE program, which shall include the following 
        requirements:
                    ``(A) Administrator duties.--The Administrator 
                shall--
                            ``(i) every 2 years, conduct a financial 
                        examination of the SCORE Association to ensure 
                        that any costs paid for with Federal funds are 
                        allowable, allocable, and reasonable;
                            ``(ii) review and approve contracts entered 
                        into by the SCORE Association to provide goods 
                        or services for the SCORE program of a value 
                        greater than an amount determined by the 
                        Administrator;
                            ``(iii) maintain a system through which the 
                        SCORE Association provides documentation 
                        relating to those contracts; and
                            ``(iv) not later than 30 days after the 
                        receipt of a quarterly report on the 
                        achievements of the SCORE program submitted by 
                        the SCORE Association, reconcile differences 
                        between that report and the performance results 
                        of the SCORE program reported in a management 
                        information system of the Office of 
                        Entrepreneurial Development.
                    ``(B) SCORE association duties.--The SCORE 
                Association shall--
                            ``(i) manage nationwide chapters of the 
                        SCORE program;
                            ``(ii) provide annual training to employees 
                        of the SCORE Association on generating and 
                        using program income from the SCORE program;
                            ``(iii) submit documentation to the 
                        Administrator verifying the annual training is 
                        completed;
                            ``(iv) maintain separation of funds donated 
                        to the SCORE Association from program income 
                        and funds received pursuant to a cooperative 
                        agreement; and
                            ``(v) maintain and enforce requirements for 
                        volunteers participating in the SCORE program, 
                        including requirements that each volunteer 
                        shall--
                                    ``(I) based on the business 
                                experience and knowledge of the 
                                volunteer--
                                            ``(aa) provide personal 
                                        counseling, mentoring, and 
                                        coaching on the process of 
                                        starting, expanding, managing, 
                                        buying, and selling a business 
                                        at no cost to individuals who 
                                        own, or aspire to own, small 
                                        business concerns; and
                                            ``(bb) facilitate free or 
                                        low-cost education workshops 
                                        for individuals who own, or 
                                        aspire to own, small business 
                                        concerns; and
                                    ``(II) as appropriate, use tools, 
                                resources, and expertise of other 
                                organizations to carry out the SCORE 
                                program.
                    ``(C) Joint duties.--The Administrator, in 
                consultation with the SCORE Association, shall ensure 
                that the SCORE program and each chapter of the SCORE 
                program--
                            ``(i) develop and implement plans and goals 
                        to effectively and efficiently provide services 
                        to individuals in rural areas, economically 
                        disadvantaged communities, or other 
                        traditionally underserved communities, 
                        including plans for virtual, remote, and web-
                        based initiatives, chapter expansion, 
                        partnerships, and the development of new skills 
                        by volunteers participating in the SCORE 
                        program; and
                            ``(ii) reinforce an inclusive culture by 
                        recruiting diverse volunteers for the chapters 
                        of the SCORE program.
            ``(2) Online component.--In addition to providing in-person 
        services, the SCORE Association shall maintain and expand 
        online counseling services including webinars, electronic 
        mentoring platforms, and online toolkits to further support 
        entrepreneurs.
            ``(3) Accounting.--The SCORE Association shall--
                    ``(A) maintain a centralized accounting and 
                financing system for each chapter of the SCORE program;
                    ``(B) maintain a uniform policy and procedures to 
                manage Federal funds received pursuant to a cooperative 
                agreement described in paragraph (1); and
                    ``(C) maintain an employee of the SCORE Association 
                to serve as a compliance officer to ensure expenditures 
                of the SCORE program are fully compliant with any law, 
                regulation, or cooperative agreement relating to the 
                SCORE program.
            ``(4) Compensation.--The SCORE Association shall--
                    ``(A) maintain a documented compensation policy 
                that--
                            ``(i) specifies the maximum rate of pay 
                        allowable for any individual in the SCORE 
                        Association;
                            ``(ii) specifies the maximum percent of the 
                        aggregate salaries of employees of the SCORE 
                        Association that may be spent on individual 
                        performance awards to employees of the SCORE 
                        Association; and
                            ``(iii) shall be reviewed annually by the 
                        SCORE Association and the Administrator;
                    ``(B) prohibit payment of salaries or performance 
                awards that exceed the limits set by the SCORE 
                Association compensation policy; and
                    ``(C) prohibit members of the Board of Directors of 
                the SCORE Association or any employees of the SCORE 
                Association from simultaneously serving on the Board of 
                Directors of, or receiving compensation from, the SCORE 
                Foundation without written approval from the 
                Administrator.
            ``(5) Whistleblower protection requirements.--The SCORE 
        Association shall--
                    ``(A) annually update all manuals or other 
                documents applicable to employees and volunteers of the 
                SCORE Association or the SCORE program to include 
                requirements relating to reporting procedures and 
                protections for whistleblowers; and
                    ``(B) conduct an annual training for employees and 
                volunteers of the SCORE Association or the SCORE 
                program on the requirements described in subparagraph 
                (A) and encourage the use of the hotline established by 
                the Office of the Inspector General of the 
                Administration to submit whistleblower reports.
            ``(6) Published materials.--The SCORE Association shall 
        ensure all published materials include written acknowledgment 
        of Administration support of the SCORE program if those 
        materials are paid for in whole or in part by Federal funds.
            ``(7) Privacy requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Neither the Administrator nor 
                the SCORE Association may disclose the name, email 
                address, address, or telephone number of any individual 
                or small business concern receiving assistance from the 
                SCORE Association without the consent of the individual 
                or small business concern, unless--
                            ``(i) the Administrator is ordered to make 
                        a disclosure by a court in any civil or 
                        criminal enforcement action initiated by a 
                        Federal or State agency; or
                            ``(ii) the Administrator determines that a 
                        disclosure is necessary for the purpose of 
                        conducting a financial audit of the SCORE 
                        program, in which case disclosure shall be 
                        limited to the information necessary for the 
                        audit.
                    ``(B) Administrator use of information.--This 
                paragraph shall not--
                            ``(i) restrict the access of the 
                        Administrator to SCORE program activity data; 
                        or
                            ``(ii) prevent the Administrator from using 
                        SCORE program client information to conduct 
                        client surveys.
                    ``(C) Standards.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Administrator shall, 
                        after opportunity for notice and comment, 
                        establish standards for--
                                    ``(I) disclosures with respect to 
                                financial audits described in 
                                subparagraph (A)(ii); and
                                    ``(II) conducting client surveys, 
                                including standards for oversight of 
                                the surveys and for dissemination and 
                                use of client information.
                            ``(ii) Maximum privacy protection.--The 
                        standards issued under this subparagraph shall, 
                        to the extent practicable, provide for the 
                        maximum amount of privacy protection.
            ``(8) Annual report.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of the SCORE for Small Business Act of 2023 
        and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the 
        Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 
        and the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
        Representatives a report on the performance and effectiveness 
        of the SCORE program, which may be included as part of another 
        report submitted to those committees by the Administrator, and 
        which shall include--
                    ``(A) the total number and the number of unique 
                clients counseled or trained under the SCORE program;
                    ``(B) the total number of hours of counseling or 
                training provided under the SCORE program;
                    ``(C) the total number of local workshops provided 
                under the SCORE program;
                    ``(D) the total number of clients attending local 
                workshops provided under the SCORE program;
                    ``(E) to the extent practicable, the demographics 
                of SCORE program clients and volunteers, which may 
                include the gender, race, ethnicity, and age of each 
                client or volunteer;
                    ``(F) the number of SCORE program clients and 
                volunteers who are veterans;
                    ``(G) the number of referrals of SCORE program 
                clients to other resources and programs of the 
                Administration;
                    ``(H) the results of SCORE program client 
                satisfactory surveys, including a summary of any 
                comments received from those clients;
                    ``(I) the number of new businesses started by SCORE 
                program clients;
                    ``(J) the percentage of new revenue growth 
                realizing by businesses assisted by the SCORE program;
                    ``(K) to the extent practicable, the number of jobs 
                created with assistance from the SCORE program;
                    ``(L) the total cost of the SCORE program;
                    ``(M) any recommendations of the Administrator to 
                improve the SCORE program;
                    ``(N) an explanation of how the SCORE program has 
                been integrated with--
                            ``(i) small business development centers;
                            ``(ii) women's business centers described 
                        in section 29;
                            ``(iii) Veteran Business Outreach Centers 
                        described in section 32;
                            ``(iv) other offices of the Administration; 
                        and
                            ``(v) other public and private entities 
                        engaging in entrepreneurial and small business 
                        development;
                    ``(O) the SCORE compensation policy for the 
                relevant fiscal year, including--
                            ``(i) a list of any changes to the 
                        compensation policy since the previous fiscal 
                        year; and
                            ``(ii) justification if the maximum rate of 
                        pay allowable for any individual in the SCORE 
                        Association exceeds the maximum rate of pay 
                        allowable for an individual in the career 
                        Senior Executive Service employed at the 
                        Administration;
                    ``(P) the names, positions, and salaries of any 
                employees of the SCORE Association whose salaries 
                exceed the maximum rate of pay allowable per the SCORE 
                compensation policy;
                    ``(Q) the percent of the aggregate salaries of 
                employees of the SCORE Association spent on individual 
                performance awards to employees of the SCORE 
                Association, with a justification if this amount 
                exceeds 10 percent;
                    ``(R) the total amount of performance awards that 
                have been disbursed or will be disbursed after the last 
                day of the fiscal year in which the awards were earned 
                and a justification for any awards that have been 
                disbursed or will be disbursed outside the fiscal year 
                in which the awards were earned; and
                    ``(S) the names, positions, and salaries of any 
                members of the Board of Directors of the SCORE 
                Association or any employees of the SCORE Association 
                that simultaneously serve on the Board of Directors of, 
                or receive compensation from, the SCORE Foundation 
                without written approval of the Administrator.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SCORE PROGRAM.

    Section 20 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) SCORE Program.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
the Administrator to carry out the SCORE program such sums as are 
necessary for the Administrator to make grants or enter into 
cooperative agreements in a total amount that does not exceed 
$18,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025.''.

SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Study and Report on the Future Role of the SCORE Program.--
            (1) Study.--The SCORE Association shall carry out a study 
        on the future role of the SCORE program and develop a strategic 
        plan for how the SCORE program will meet the needs of small 
        business concerns during the 5-year period beginning on the 
        date of enactment of this Act, with specific objectives for the 
        first, third, and fifth years of the 5-year period.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the SCORE Association shall submit to 
        the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
        Representatives a report containing--
                    (A) all findings and determinations made in 
                carrying out the study required under paragraph (1);
                    (B) the strategic plan developed under paragraph 
                (1); and
                    (C) an explanation of how the SCORE Association 
                plans to achieve the strategic plan, assuming both 
                stagnant and increased funding levels.
    (b) Administrator Report on Leased Space.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 
to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 
and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a 
report containing an assessment of the cost of leased space that is 
donated to the SCORE Association.
    (c) Online Component Report.--Not later than 3 months after the 
last day of the first full fiscal year following the date of enactment 
of this Act, the SCORE Association shall submit to the Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 
Small Business of the House of Representatives a report on the 
effectiveness of the online counseling services required under 
paragraph (2) of section 8(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
637(c)), as added by section 3 of this Act, including a description 
of--
            (1) how the SCORE Association determines electronic 
        mentoring and webinar needs, develops training for electronic 
        mentoring, establishes webinar criteria curricula, and 
        evaluates webinar and electronic mentoring results;
            (2) the internal controls that are used and a summary of 
        the topics covered by the webinars; and
            (3) performance metrics, including the number of small 
        business concerns counseled by, the number of small business 
        concerns created by, the number of jobs created and retained 
        by, and the funding amounts directed towards those online 
        counseling services.

SEC. 6. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Small Business Act.--The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 3 (15 U.S.C. 632), by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(gg) SCORE Program Definitions.--In this Act:
            ``(1) SCORE program.--The term `SCORE program' means the 
        Service Corps of Retired Executives program described in 
        section 8(c).
            ``(2) SCORE association.--The term `SCORE Association' 
        means the Service Corps of Retired Executives Association or 
        any successor or other organization that enters into a 
        cooperative agreement described in section 8(c)(1) with the 
        Administrator to operate the SCORE program.
            ``(3) SCORE foundation.--The term `SCORE Foundation' means 
        an organization with a mission to support the SCORE Association 
        and volunteers of the SCORE program.'';
            (2) in section 7 (15 U.S.C. 636)--
                    (A) in subsection (b)(12)--
                            (i) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
                        ``score'' and inserting ``SCORE program''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``Service Corps of Retired Executives'' and 
                        inserting ``SCORE program''; and
                    (B) in subsection (m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII), by striking 
                ``Service Corps of Retired Executives'' and inserting 
                ``SCORE program'';
            (3) in section 20(d)(1)(E) (15 U.S.C. 631 note), by 
        striking ``Service Corps of Retired Executives program'' and 
        inserting ``SCORE program''; and
            (4) in section 22 (15 U.S.C. 649)--
                    (A) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Service 
                        Corps of Retired Executives authorized by 
                        section (8)(b)(1)'' and inserting ``SCORE 
                        program''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking 
                        ``Service Corps of Retired Executives'' and 
                        inserting ``SCORE program''; and
                    (B) in subsection (c)(12), by striking ``Service 
                Corps of Retired Executives authorized by section 
                8(b)(1)'' and inserting ``SCORE program''.
    (b) Other Laws.--
            (1) Small business reauthorization act of 1997.--Section 
        707 of the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 (15 
        U.S.C. 631 note) is amended by striking ``Service Corps of 
        Retired Executives (SCORE) program'' and inserting ``SCORE 
        program described in section 8(c) of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 637(c))''.
            (2) Veterans entrepreneurship and small business 
        development act of 1999.--Section 301 of the Veterans 
        Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 (15 
        U.S.C. 657b note) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
                        by striking ``Service Core of Retired 
                        Executives (described in section 8(b)(1)(B) of 
                        the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B)) 
                        and in this section referred to as `SCORE')'' 
                        and inserting ``SCORE program described in 
                        section 8(c) of the Small Business Act (15 
                        U.S.C. 637(c)) (in this section referred to as 
                        the `SCORE program')'';
                            (ii) in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), by 
                        striking ``SCORE'' each place the term appears 
                        and inserting ``the SCORE program''; and
                            (iii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the'' 
                        before ``establishing''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``SCORE'' each 
                place the term appears and inserting ``the SCORE 
                program''.
            (3) Military reservist and veteran small business 
        reauthorization and opportunity act of 2008.--The Military 
        Reservist and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and 
        Opportunity Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 636 note) is amended--
                    (A) in section 3, by striking paragraph (5) and 
                inserting the following:
            ``(5) the term `SCORE program' means the SCORE program 
        described in section 8(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
        637(c));''; and
                    (B) in section 201(c)(2)(B)(i), by striking 
                ``Service Corps of Retired Executives'' and inserting 
                ``SCORE program''.
            (4) Children's health insurance program reauthorization act 
        of 2009.--Section 621 of the Children's Health Insurance 
        Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (15 U.S.C. 657p) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (4) 
                and inserting the following:
            ``(4) the term `SCORE program' means the SCORE program 
        described in section 8(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
        637(c));''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)(4)(A)(iv), by striking 
                ``Service Corps of Retired Executives'' and inserting 
                ``SCORE program''.
            (5) Energy policy and conservation act.--Section 
        337(d)(2)(A) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 
        U.S.C. 6307(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``Service Corps of 
        Retired Executives (SCORE)'' and inserting ``SCORE program''.
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