SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business 
Development Centers Improvement Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. USE OF AUTHORIZED ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVEL-
OPMENT PROGRAMS. 
The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 47 as section 48; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 46 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 47. USE OF AUTHORIZED ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVEL-
OPMENT PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) EXPANDED SUPPORT FOR ENTREPRENEURS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Administrator shall only deliver 
entrepreneurial development services, entrepreneurial 
education, support for the development and mainte-
nance of clusters, or business training through a 
program authorized under— 
‘‘(A) section 7(j), 7(m), 8(a), 8(b)(1), 21, 
22, 29, or 32 of this Act; or 
‘‘(B) sections 358 or 389 of the Small 
Business Investment Act of 1958. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—This section shall not apply 
to services provided to assist small business concerns
owned by an Indian tribe (as such term is defined 
in section 8(a)(13)). 
‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning on the first De-
cember 1 after the date of the enactment of this sub-
section, the Administrator shall annually report to the 
Committee on Small Business of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre-
neurship of the Senate on all entrepreneurial development 
activities undertaken in the current fiscal year through a 
program described in subsection (a). Such report shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(1) a description and operating details for 
each program and activity; 
‘‘(2) operating circulars, manuals, and standard 
operating procedures for each program and activity; 
‘‘(3) a description of the process used to award 
grants under each program and activity; 
‘‘(4) a list of all awardees, contractors, and ven-
dors (including organization name and location) and 
the amount of awards for the current fiscal year for 
each program and activity; 
‘‘(5) the amount of funding obligated for the 
current fiscal year for each program and activity; 
and
‘‘(6) the names and titles for those individuals 
responsible for each program and activity.’’. 
SEC. 3. MARKETING OF SERVICES. 
Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(o) NO PROHIBITION OF MARKETING OF SERV-
ICES.—The Administrator shall not prohibit applicants re-
ceiving grants under this section from marketing and ad-
vertising their services to individuals and small business 
concerns.’’. 
SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 21(a)(3)(A) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(A)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘as provided in this section 
and’’ and inserting ‘‘as provided in this section,’’; 
and 
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the 
following: ‘‘, and (iv) governing data collection ac-
tivities related to applicants receiving grants under 
this section’’. 
(b) ANNUAL REPORT ON DATA COLLECTION.—Sec-
tion 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648), as 
amended by section 3 of this Act, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(p) ANNUAL REPORT ON DATA COLLECTION.—The 
Administrator shall report annually to the Committee on 
Small Business of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 
the Senate on any data collection activities related to the 
Small Business Development Center Program.’’. 
(c) WORKING GROUP TO IMPROVE DATA COLLEC-
TION.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND STUDY.—The Admin-
istrator of the Small Business Administration shall 
establish a group to be known as the ‘‘Data Collec-
tion Working Group’’ consisting of members from 
entrepreneurial development grant recipients asso-
ciations and organizations and officials from the 
Small Business Administration, to carry out a study 
to determine the best way to capture data collection 
and create or revise existing systems dedicated to 
data collection. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than the end of the 
180-day period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Data Collection Working 
Group shall issue a report to the Committee on 
Small Business of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre-
neurship of the Senate containing the findings and
determinations made in carrying out the study re-
quired under paragraph (1), including— 
(A) recommendations for revising existing 
data collection practices; and 
(B) a proposed plan for the Small Busi-
ness Administration to implement such rec-
ommendations. 
SEC. 5. FEES FROM PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND CO-
SPONSORSHIPS. 
Section 21(a)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(C)), as amended by section 4, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) FEES FROM PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND CO-
SPONSORSHIPS.—A small business development center 
that participates in a private partnership or cosponsorship 
with the Administration shall not be prohibited from col-
lecting fees or other income related to the operation of 
such a private partnership or cosponsorship.’’. 
SEC. 6. EQUITY FOR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CEN-
TERS. 
Subclause (I) of section 21(a)(4)(C)(v) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(v)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(I) 
IN
GENERAL.—Of 
the 
amounts made available in any fiscal
year to carry out this section, not 
more than $600,000 may be used by 
the Administration to pay expenses 
enumerated in subparagraphs (B) 
through (D) of section 20(a)(1).’’. 
SEC. 7. CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 21(a)(7)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 648(a)(7)(A)) is amended by inserting after 
‘‘under this section’’ the following: ‘‘to any State, local, 
or Federal agency, or to any third party’’. 
SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON AWARD OF GRANTS TO SMALL 
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 21 of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 648), as amended by section 4, is further 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘any wom-
en’s business center operating pursuant to section 
29,’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(q) LIMITATION ON AWARD OF GRANTS.—Except 
for not-for-profit institutions of higher education, and not-
withstanding any other provision of law, the Administrator 
may not award grants (including contracts and coopera-
tive agreements) under this section to any entity other 
than those that received grants (including contracts and
cooperative agreements) under this section prior to the 
date of the enactment of this subsection, and that seek 
to renew such grants (including contracts and cooperative 
agreements) after such date.’’. 
(b) RULE
OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amendments 
made by this section may not be construed as prohibiting 
a women’s business center (as described under section 29 
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656)) from receiving 
a subgrant from an entity receiving a grant under section 
21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648). 
Passed the House of Representatives May 8, 2018. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1702 
AN ACT 
To amend the Small Business Act to improve the 
small business development centers program, and 
for other purposes.