I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1845 
To amend the Small Business Act to modernize Small Business Development 
Centers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 1, 2009 
Mr. SCHOCK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Small Business 
A BILL 
To amend the Small Business Act to modernize Small 
Business Development Centers, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Devel-
opment Centers Modernization Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS OPER-
ATIONAL CHANGES. 
(a) 
ACCREDITATION
REQUIREMENT.—Section 
21(a)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(1)) 
is amended as follows: 
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(1) In the proviso, by inserting before ‘‘institu-
tion’’ the following: ‘‘accredited’’. 
(2) In the sentence beginning ‘‘The Administra-
tion shall’’, by inserting before ‘‘institutions’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘accredited’’. 
(3) By adding at the end the following new sen-
tence: ‘‘In this paragraph, the term ‘accredited insti-
tution of higher education’ means an institution that 
is accredited as described in section 101(a)(5) of the 
Higher 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
1001(a)(5)).’’. 
(b) PROGRAM NEGOTIATIONS.—Section 21(a)(3) of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)) is amended 
in the matter before subparagraph (A), by inserting before 
‘‘agreed’’ the following: ‘‘mutually’’. 
(c) CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS.—Section 21(a)(3)(A) 
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(A)) is 
amended by inserting after ‘‘uniform negotiated’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘mutually agreed to’’. 
(d) SBDC HIRING.—Section 21(c)(2)(A) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(2)(A)) is amended 
by inserting after ‘‘full-time staff’’ the following: ‘‘, the 
hiring of which shall be at the sole discretion of the center 
without the need for input or approval from any officer 
or employee of the Administration’’. 
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(e) 
CONTENT
OF
CONSULTATIONS.—Section 
21(a)(7)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
648(a)(7)(A)) is amended in the matter before clause (i) 
by inserting after ‘‘under this section’’ the following: ‘‘, 
or the content of any consultation with such an individual 
or small business concern,’’. 
(f) AMOUNTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 
Section 21(a)(4)(C)(v)(I) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(v)(I)) 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 $500,000 
may be used by the Administration to pay 
expenses enumerated in subparagraphs (B) 
through (D) of section 20(a)(1).’’. 
(g) NON-MATCHING PORTABILITY GRANTS.—Section 
21(a)(4)(C)(viii) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
648(a)(4)(C)(viii)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘In the event of a disaster, the dollar limitation 
in the preceding sentence shall not apply.’’. 
(h) DISTRIBUTION TO SBDCS.—Section 21(b) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(b)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON DISTRIBUTION TO SMALL BUSI-
NESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro-
vided in this paragraph, the Administration shall not 
distribute funds to a Small Business Development 
Center if the State in which the Small Business De-
velopment Center is located is served by more than 
one Small Business Development Center. 
‘‘(B) UNAVAILABILITY
EXCEPTION.—The Ad-
ministration may distribute funds to a maximum of 
2 Small Business Development Centers in any State 
if no applicant has applied to serve the entire State. 
‘‘(C) GRANDFATHER CLAUSE.—The limitations 
in this paragraph shall not apply to any State in 
which more than one Small Business Development 
Center received funding prior to January 1, 2007. 
‘‘(D) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 
paragraph, the term ‘Small Business Development 
Center’ means the entity selected by the Administra-
tion to receive funds pursuant to the funding for-
mula set forth in subsection (a)(4), without regard 
to the number of sites for service delivery such enti-
ty establishes or funds.’’. 
(i) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.—Section 21(a)(1) 
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(1)), as 
amended, is further amended by striking ‘‘or a women’s 
business center operating pursuant to section 29’’ and by 
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striking ‘‘and women’s business centers operating pursu-
ant to section 29’’. 
SEC. 3. ACCESS TO CREDIT AND CAPITAL. 
Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(o) ACCESS TO CREDIT AND CAPITAL PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 
establish a grant program for small business devel-
opment centers in accordance with this subsection. 
To be eligible for the program, a small business de-
velopment center must be in good standing and com-
ply with the other requirements of this section. 
Funds made available through the program shall be 
used to— 
‘‘(A) develop specialized programs to assist 
local small business concerns in securing capital 
and repairing damaged credit; 
‘‘(B) provide informational seminars on se-
curing credit and loans; 
‘‘(C) provide one-on-one counseling with 
potential borrowers to improve financial presen-
tations to lenders; and 
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‘‘(D) facilitate borrowers’ access to non- 
traditional financing sources, as well as tradi-
tional lending sources. 
‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE LIMIT.—The Administration 
may not award an entity more than $300,000 in 
grant funds under this subsection. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORITY.—Subject to amounts ap-
proved in advance in appropriations Acts and sepa-
rate from amounts approved to carry out the pro-
gram established in subsection (a)(1), the Adminis-
tration may make grants or enter into cooperative 
agreements to carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 
be appropriated not more than $2,500,000 for the 
purposes of carrying out this subsection for each of 
the fiscal years 2010 and 2011.’’. 
SEC. 4. PROCUREMENT TRAINING AND ASSISTANCE. 
Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
648), as amended, is further amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(p) PROCUREMENT TRAINING AND ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 
establish a grant program for small business devel-
opment centers in accordance with this subsection. 
To be eligible for the program, a small business de-
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velopment center must be in good standing and com-
ply with the other requirements of this section. 
Funds made available through the program shall be 
used to— 
‘‘(A) work with local agencies to identify 
contracts that are suitable for local small busi-
ness concerns; 
‘‘(B) prepare small businesses to be ready 
as subcontractors and prime contractors for 
contracts made available under the American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public 
Law 111–5) through training and business ad-
visement, 
particularly 
in 
the 
construction 
trades; and 
‘‘(C) provide technical assistance regarding 
the Federal procurement process, including as-
sisting small business concerns to comply with 
federal regulations and bonding requirements. 
‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE LIMIT.—The Administration 
may not award an entity more than $300,000 in 
grant funds under this subsection. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORITY.—Subject to amounts ap-
proved in advance in appropriations Acts and sepa-
rate from amounts approved to carry out the pro-
gram established in subsection (a)(1), the Adminis-
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tration may make grants or enter into cooperative 
agreements to carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated not more 
than $2,500,000 for the purposes of carrying out 
this subsection for each of the fiscal years 2010 and 
2011.’’. 
SEC. 5. GREEN ENTREPRENEURS TRAINING PROGRAM. 
Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
648), as amended, is further amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(q) GREEN
ENTREPRENEURS
TRAINING
PRO-
GRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 
establish a grant program for small business devel-
opment centers in accordance with this subsection. 
To be eligible for the program, a small business de-
velopment center must be in good standing and com-
ply with the other requirements of this section. 
Funds made available through the program shall be 
used to— 
‘‘(A) provide education classes and one-on- 
one instruction in starting a business in the 
fields of energy efficiency, green technology, or 
clean technology; 
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‘‘(B) coordinate such classes and instruc-
tion, to the extent practicable, with local com-
munity colleges and local professional trade as-
sociations; and 
‘‘(C) assist and provide technical coun-
seling to individuals seeking to start a business 
in the fields of energy efficiency, green tech-
nology, or clean technology. 
‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE LIMIT.—The Administration 
may not award an entity more than $300,000 in 
grant funds under this subsection. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORITY.—Subject to amounts ap-
proved in advance in appropriations Acts and sepa-
rate from amounts approved to carry out the pro-
gram established in subsection (a)(1), the Adminis-
tration may make grants or enter into cooperative 
agreements to carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated not more 
than $2,500,000 for the purposes of carrying out 
this subsection for each of the fiscal years 2010 and 
2011.’’. 
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SEC. 6. MAIN STREET STABILIZATION. 
Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
648), as amended, is further amended by adding the fol-
lowing new subsection at the end thereof: 
‘‘(r) MAIN STREET STABILIZATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 
establish a grant program for small business devel-
opment centers in accordance with this subsection. 
To be eligible for the program, a small business de-
velopment center must be in good standing and com-
ply with the other requirements of this section. 
Funds made available through the program shall be 
used to— 
‘‘(A) establish a statewide small business 
helpline within every State and United States 
territory to provide immediate expert informa-
tion and assistance to small business concerns; 
‘‘(B) develop a portfolio of online survival 
and growth tools and resources that struggling 
small business concerns can utilize through the 
Internet; 
‘‘(C) develop business advisory capacity to 
provide expert consulting and education to as-
sist small businesses at-risk of failure and to, in 
areas of high demand, shorten the response 
time of small business development centers, 
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