Golden-preneurship Act
Bill: S.2348 | Sponsor: Sen. Scott, Tim (R-SC)
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Golden-preneurship Act
This bill establishes the Golden Entrepreneurs Training and Demonstration Curriculum within the Office of Entrepreneurial Development of the Small Business Administration to provide small businesses owned by individuals who are 60 years of age or older with tools to accelerate the growth of those businesses.
The bill also rescinds unobligated balances of amounts made available for the Community Navigator Pilot Program, which was an initiative designed to reduce barriers for underrepresented and underserved entrepreneurs in accessing small business support programs.

To establish within the Office of Entrepreneurial Development of the 
    Small Business Administration a training curriculum relating to 
     businesses owned by older individuals, 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 ``Golden-preneurship Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Small Business Administration;
            (2) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Small Business and 
                Entrepreneurship of the Senate;
                    (B) the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate; 
                and
                    (C) the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
                Representatives;
            (3) the term ``eligible entity'' means an operating 
        business that is owned by an older individual;
            (4) the terms ``Federal agency'', ``Small Business 
        Innovation Research Program'', and ``Small Business Technology 
        Transfer Program'' have the meanings given the terms in section 
        9(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e));
            (5) the term ``older individual'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 
        U.S.C. 3002);
            (6) the term ``operating business'' means a small business 
        concern that, as of the date on which the small business 
        concern seeks to enroll in the Program--
                    (A) has been in operation for not less than 3 
                years; and
                    (B) for the most recently completed taxable year, 
                had revenue of not less than $150,000;
            (7) the term ``Program'' means the Golden Entrepreneurs 
        Training and Demonstration Curriculum established under section 
        4;
            (8) the term ``resource partner'' means--
                    (A) a small business development center described 
                in section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
                648);
                    (B) the Service Corps of Retired Executives 
                described in section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business 
                Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B));
                    (C) a women's business center described in section 
                29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656); or
                    (D) a Veteran Business Outreach Center;
            (9) the term ``selected entity'' means an entity selected 
        by the Administrator to carry out the Program, as described in 
        section 4(a)(3); and
            (10) the term ``small business concern'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 632(a)).

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2018--
                    (A) \1/2\ of all new successful entrepreneurs in 
                the United States were older than 45 years of age; and
                    (B) 3 out of 10 entrepreneurs in the United States 
                were older than 50 years of age, a 50 percent increase 
                since 2007.
            (2) As of the date of enactment of this Act, entrepreneurs 
        who are older than 55 years of age represent 55 percent of all 
        small business employers in the United States.
            (3) Businesses started by older entrepreneurs--
                    (A) represent some of the highest growth businesses 
                in the United States; and
                    (B) rank among the top 0.1 percent of startups, 
                based on growth in the first 5 years of business.

SEC. 4. GOLDEN ENTREPRENEURS CURRICULUM.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the Office of 
Entrepreneurial Development of the Small Business Administration the 
Golden Entrepreneurs Training and Demonstration Curriculum--
            (1) the purpose of which shall be to provide eligible 
        entities with tools to accelerate the growth of those entities;
            (2) which shall be a 210-day, comprehensive curriculum--
                    (A) to effectuate the purpose described in 
                paragraph (1);
                    (B) that provides to eligible entities the 
                resources described in subsection (b);
                    (C) which shall be customizable by an eligible 
                entity enrolled in the curriculum; and
                    (D) that has the capability for both in-person and 
                virtual enrollment and participation;
            (3) that shall be carried out by an organization that is 
        described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code, or 
        by a resource partner, which the Administrator shall select 
        after submitting a request for proposal with respect to that 
        responsibility; and
            (4) that includes specific outreach, training, and 
        engagement directed towards eligible entities that are located 
        in, or that serve, rural areas.
    (b) Resources.--Under the Program, the Administrator, acting 
through a selected entity, shall provide to eligible entities the 
following:
            (1) Resources and training relating to--
                    (A) technology and digitization of business 
                operations;
                    (B) business expansion and hiring;
                    (C) estate management and retirement strategies; 
                and
                    (D) the winding down of business operations, 
                including training relating to--
                            (i) the sale of an eligible entity;
                            (ii) the formation or transfer of assets to 
                        an employee stock ownership plan, as that term 
                        is defined in section 4975(e)(7) of the 
                        Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
                            (iii) the transfer of the management 
                        functions of an eligible entity.
            (2) Access to capital resources and training.
            (3) Mentorship and networking opportunities.
            (4) Information regarding Federal and State government 
        contracting opportunities.
            (5) With respect to the 2-year period after the date on 
        which an eligible entity completes the Program--
                    (A) the establishment of benchmarks for the 
                eligible entity with respect to the performance and 
                growth of the eligible entity; and
                    (B) feedback with respect to the benchmarks 
                established under subparagraph (A).
    (c) Locations.--A training module under the Program shall be 
located in--
            (1) a district office of the Small Business Administration;
            (2) a facility provided by a nonprofit organization that 
        partners with the Small Business Administration; or
            (3) a facility provided by a resource partner.
    (d) Goal.--In carrying out the Program, the Administrator, acting 
through a selected entity, shall establish the goal of providing 
training to 1,000 eligible entities per year.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to prevent the Administrator from selecting multiple entities under 
subsection (a)(3) to carry out the responsibilities described in that 
provision.

SEC. 5. DATA COLLECTION.

    (a) In General.--Beginning on the date that is 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with 
the head of any other Federal agency as may be necessary, shall track 
the number and dollar amount of--
            (1) loans and grants made to older individuals, and to 
        small business concerns owned by older individuals, under all 
        of the programs of the Small Business Administration, including 
        under--
                    (A) section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 
                U.S.C. 636(a));
                    (B) section 7(m) of the Small Business Act (15 
                U.S.C. 636(m)); and
                    (C) title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 
                1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.); and
            (2) awards to small business concerns owned by older 
        individuals under the Small Business Innovation Research 
        Programs and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs.
    (b) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report regarding the 
data collected under subsection (a) for the period covered by the 
report.
    (c) Continuation of Requirements.--The requirements under 
subsections (a) and (b) shall continue in effect without regard to 
whether the Program, or the authorization to carry out the Program, is 
repealed.

SEC. 6. RESCISSION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR PILOT 
              PROGRAM.

    Of the unobligated balances of amounts appropriated under section 
5004(b)(2) of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2) 
on the date of enactment of this Act, $6,000,000 is rescinded.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 
$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 and 2023 to carry out this 
Act.
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