I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4406 
To amend the Small Business Act to improve the small business development 
centers program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 
Mr. GOLDEN (for himself and Mrs. RADEWAGEN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 
A BILL 
To amend the Small Business Act to improve the small 
business development centers program, 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 subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business 
Development Centers Improvement Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. USE OF AUTHORIZED ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVEL-
OPMENT PROGRAMS. 
The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 
amended— 
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(1) by redesignating section 49 as section 50; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 48 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 49. 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, and support for the development and 
maintenance of the Regional Innovation Clusters 
Program (or similar business training services) 
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 section, 
the Administrator shall annually submit to the Committee 
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on Small Business of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 
of the Senate a report on the following: 
‘‘(1) All entrepreneurial development activities 
undertaken during the fiscal year preceding the date 
of the report through a program described in sub-
section (a), including— 
‘‘(A) a description and operating details 
for each program and the activities performed 
under each program; 
‘‘(B) operating circulars, manuals, and 
standard operating procedures for each pro-
gram; 
‘‘(C) a description of the process used to 
award grants under such programs; 
‘‘(D) a list of all recipients of awards 
under a program described in subsection (a), 
contractors, and vendors (including organiza-
tion name and location) and the amount of 
awards provided during the fiscal year pre-
ceding the date of the report for such programs 
and activities performed under such programs; 
‘‘(E) the total amount of funding obligated 
for such programs and activities for the fiscal 
year preceding the date of the report; and 
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‘‘(F) the names and titles of the individ-
uals responsible for such programs. 
‘‘(2) For entrepreneurial development activities 
undertaken during the fiscal year preceding the date 
of the report through the Small Business Develop-
ment Center Program (in this section referred to as 
the ‘Program’)— 
‘‘(A) the number of individuals counseled 
or trained through the Program; 
‘‘(B) the total number of hours of coun-
seling and training services provided through 
the Program; 
‘‘(C) the demographics of participants in 
the Program, which shall include the gender, 
race, and age of each such participant; 
‘‘(D) the number of participants in the 
Program who are veterans; 
‘‘(E) the number of new businesses started 
by participants in the Program; 
‘‘(F) to the extent practicable, the number 
of jobs supported, created, or retained with as-
sistance from small business development cen-
ters; 
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‘‘(G) the amount of capital secured by par-
ticipants in the Program, including through 
loans and equity investment; 
‘‘(H) the number of participants in the 
Program receiving financial assistance, includ-
ing the type and dollar amount, under the loan 
programs of the Administration; 
‘‘(I) an estimate of gross receipts, includ-
ing (to the extent practicable) a description of 
any change in revenue, of small business con-
cerns assisted through the Program; 
‘‘(J) the number of referrals to other re-
sources and programs of the Administration; 
‘‘(K) the results of satisfaction surveys of 
participants in the Program, including a sum-
mary of any comments received from such par-
ticipants; and 
‘‘(L) any recommendations by the Admin-
istrator to improve the delivery of services by 
the Program.’’. 
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.—An applicant receiving a grant under this section 
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may market and advertise the services of such applicant 
to individuals and small business concerns.’’. 
SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION BY THE SMALL BUSINESS DE-
VELOPMENT CENTER ASSOCIATION. 
(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 annually submit to the Committee on 
Small Business of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 
the Senate a report on any data collection activities related 
to the Small Business Development Center Program.’’. 
(c) WORKING GROUP TO IMPROVE DATA COLLEC-
TION.— 
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(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 entrepreneurial 
development grant recipients, the associations and 
organizations representing such recipients, and offi-
cials from the Small Business Administration, to 
carry out a study to determine the best methods for 
conducting data collection activities and create or re-
vise 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 for the Small Business 
Development Center Program; and 
(B) a proposed plan for the Administrator 
of the Small Business Administration to imple-
ment such recommendations. 
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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)) is 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 cosponsor-
ship, in which the Administrator or designee of the Admin-
istrator also participates, may collect fees or other income 
related to the operation of such private partnership or co-
sponsorship.’’. 
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)(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 $600,000 may be used by 
the Administration to pay expenses 
enumerated in subparagraphs (B) 
through (D) of section 20(a)(1).’’. 
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SEC. 7. CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 21(a)(7)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 648(a)(7)(A)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or telephone number’’ and in-
serting ‘‘, telephone number, or email address’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘, or the nature or content of 
such assistance, to any State, local, or Federal agen-
cy, or to any third party’’ after ‘‘receiving assistance 
under this section’’. 
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)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘any women’s business 
center operating pursuant to section 29,’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘or a women’s business 
center operating pursuant to section 29’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘and women’s business 
centers 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 a grant or contract to, or enter into a coop-
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erative agreement with, an entity under this section unless 
that entity— 
‘‘(1) received a grant or contract from, or en-
tered into a cooperative agreement with, the Admin-
istrator under this section before the date of the en-
actment of this subsection; and 
‘‘(2) seeks to renew such a grant, contract, or 
cooperative agreement 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) from receiving a subgrant from 
an entity receiving a grant under section 21 of the Small 
Business Act. 
SEC. 9. MANAGEMENT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES. 
Section 21(a)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 648(a)(3)), as amended by section 4, is further 
amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 
by striking ‘‘upon, with full participation of both 
parties,’’ and inserting ‘‘upon with the full participa-
tion of all parties (including the association author-
ized in subparagraph (A)), and carried out’’; 
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(2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and de-
velop’’ and inserting ‘‘and negotiate the development 
of’’; and 
(3) in subparagraph (C)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Whereas’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘Program’’ after ‘‘Cen-
ter’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘National’’ and inserting 
‘‘national’’; and 
(D) by moving such subparagraph two ems 
to the left. 
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 21(a)(4)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)) is amended— 
(1) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘subparagraph’’ 
and all that follows through the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘subparagraph $175,000,000 for fiscal 
years 2020 through 2023’’; and 
(2) in clause (viii), by striking ‘‘shall reserve 
not less than $1,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘shall re-
serve not more than $2,000,000’’. 
Æ 
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