Improving Opportunities for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Act of 2014

To amend the Small Business Act and title 38, United States Code, to provide for a consolidated definition of a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Improving Opportunities for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Act of 2014 2. Small Business definition of small business concern consolidated Section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)) is amended— (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: (2) Small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans The term small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans (A) (i) not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans; and (ii) the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of a veteran with permanent and severe disability, the spouse or permanent caregiver of such veteran; or (B) not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more veterans with service-connected disabilities that are permanent and total who are unable to manage the daily business operations of such concern or, in the case of a publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more such veterans. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (6) Treatment of Businesses After Death of Veteran-Owner (A) In general If the death of a service-disabled veteran causes a small business concern to be less than 51 percent owned by one or more such veterans, the surviving spouse of such veteran who acquires ownership rights in such small business concern shall, for the period described in subparagraph (B), be treated as if the surviving spouse were that veteran for the purpose of maintaining the status of the small business concern as a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. (B) Period described The period referred to in subparagraph (A) is the period beginning on the date on which the service-disabled veteran dies and ending on the earliest of the following dates: (i) The date on which the surviving spouse remarries. (ii) The date on which the surviving spouse relinquishes an ownership interest in the small business concern. (iii) The date that— (I) in the case of a surviving spouse of a veteran with a service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling or who dies as a result of a service-connected disability, is 10 years after the date of the veteran's death; or (II) in the case of a surviving spouse of a veteran with a service-connected disability rated as less than 100 percent disabling who does not die as a result of a service-connected disability, is three years after the date of the veteran's death. . 3. Veterans Affairs Definition of small business concern consolidated Section 8127 (1) by striking subsection (h); and (2) in subsection (l)(2), by striking means has the meaning given that term under section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)). 4. GAO report on verification of status Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report— (1) evaluating whether it is practicable for the Administrator of the Small Business Administration or the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to have Government-wide responsibility for verifying whether a business concern purporting to be a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans (as defined under section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)), as amended by this Act) qualifies as a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans; and (2) making recommendations on the advisability of the Administrator of the Small Business Administration or the Secretary of Veterans Affairs having such Government-wide responsibility.

Summary: Improving Opportunities for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Act of 2014 - Amends the Small Business Act to expand the definition of "small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans" for purposes of federal agencies awarding small business contracts pursuant to Small Business Administration (SBA) programs to include: (1) a small business concern not less than 51% of which is owned by one or more veterans with service-connected disabilities that are permanent and total who are unable to manage the daily business operations of such concern; or (2) in the case of a publicly owned business, a small business concern not less than 51% of the stock of which is owned by one or more such veterans. (Currently, such veterans with permanent and total disabilities are provided for in a separate small business program under veterans' benefits laws carried out by the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA].) Revises the VA definition of "small business concern owned and controlled by veterans" to be the same as the SBA definition of such term, thereby making the eligibility requirements for participation in veteran-owned small business contracting programs consistent for both SBA programs and VA programs. Provides that if the death of a service-disabled veteran causes a small business concern to be less than 51% owned by one or more such veterans, the surviving spouse of such veteran who acquires ownership rights in such small business concern shall be treated as if the surviving spouse were that veteran for the purpose of maintaining the business's eligibility for such contracting programs until the earliest of the following dates: (1) the date on which the surviving spouse either remarries or relinquishes the ownership interest, (2) 10 years after the veteran's death in the case of a surviving spouse of a veteran with a service-connected disability rated as 100% disabling or who dies as a result of a service-connected disability, or (3) 3 years after the veteran's death in the case of a surviving spouse of a veteran with a service-connected disability rated as less than 100% disabling who does not die as a result of a service-connected disability. (Currently, the SBA program does not provide such treatment for surviving spouses while the VA program provides such treatment only until remarriage, ownership relinquishment, or for 10 years with respect to surviving spouses of veterans with a 100% disabling service-connected disability or who die as a result of a service-connected disability.) Requires a Comptroller General (GAO) report on the advisability of the SBA or the VA having government-wide responsibility for verifying businesses purporting to be small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans.