Small Business Disaster Reform Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-956
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi [D-ND]
Introduced: 2015-04-15
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Disaster relief and insurance

Government lending and loan guarantees

Housing finance and home ownership

Small business
Latest action: action_date: 2015-04-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-04-15
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Small Business Disaster Reform Act of 2015</b></p> <p> Amends the Small Business Act with respect to obtaining the best available collateral for a disaster loan of up to $200,000 relating to damage to or destruction of the property of, or economic injury to, a small business. Prohibits the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), in obtaining such collateral, from requiring the small business owner to use the owner's primary residence as collateral if the owner has other assets with a value equal to or greater than the loan amount that could be used.</p> <p>Allows the Administrator to authorize a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to provide assistance to small businesses outside the state of that SBDC, without regard to geographical proximity, if the small business is in a declared major disaster area.</p> <p>Expresses the sense of Congress that the Administrator shall ensure that a SBDC is appropriately reimbursed for any legitimate expenses in carrying out such assistance.</p> <p>Directs the Administrator to increase oversight of small businesses receiving economic injury disaster loans, including random site visits and random reviews of loan usage. Expresses the sense of Congress that no additional federal funds shall be made available for such increased oversight.</p> <p>Expresses the sense of Congress that the Administrator should: (1) reduce paperwork burdens on small businesses applying for SBA disaster assistance loans; and (2) ensure that the application for such assistance facilitates deterring and detecting potential instances of waste, fraud, and abuse. Requires the Administrator to take steps to reduce such paperwork.</p> <p>Requires a report from the Administrator to specified congressional committees relating to the creation of a web portal to track the status of applications for SBA disaster assistance.</p>

tv_txt: II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 956 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 15, 2015 Ms. Heitkamp introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship A BILL To clarify the collateral requirement for certain loans under section 7(d) of the Small Business Act, to address assistance to out-of-State small business concerns, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Small Business Disaster Reform Act of 2015 . 2. Clarification of collateral requirements Section 7(d)(6) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(d)(6) ) is amended by inserting after which are made under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) the following: : Provided further , That the Administrator, in obtaining the best available collateral for a loan of not more than $200,000 under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) relating to damage to or destruction of the property of, or economic injury to, a small business concern, shall not require the owner of the small business concern to use the primary residence of the owner as collateral if the Administrator determines that the owner has other assets with a value equal to or greater than the amount of the loan that could be used as collateral for the loan: Provided further , That nothing in the preceding proviso may be construed to reduce the amount of collateral required by the Administrator in connection with a loan described in the preceding proviso or to modify the standards used to evaluate the quality (rather than the type) of such collateral . 3. Assistance to out-of-State small businesses Section 21(b)(3) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 648(b)(3) ) is amended— (1) by striking (3) At the discretion and inserting the following: (3) Assistance to out-of-state small businesses (A) In general At the discretion ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (B) Disaster recovery assistance (i) In general At the discretion of the Administrator, the Administrator may authorize a small business development center to provide assistance, as described in subsection (c), to a small business concern located outside of the State, without regard to geographic proximity, if the small business concern is located in an area for which the President has declared a major disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170 ), during the period of the declaration. (ii) Continuity of services A small business development center that provides counselors to an area described in clause (i) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure continuity of services in any State in which the small business development center otherwise provides services. (iii) Access to disaster recovery facilities For purposes of this subparagraph, the Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, permit the personnel of a small business development center to use any site or facility designated by the Administrator for use to provide disaster recovery assistance. . 4. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that, subject to the availability of funds, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that a small business development center is appropriately reimbursed for any legitimate expenses incurred in carrying out activities under section 21(b)(3)(B) of the Small Business Act, as added by this Act. 5. Increased oversight of economic injury disaster loans (a) In general Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) ) is amended by inserting immediately after paragraph (9)(D)(3)(cc) the following: (10) Increased oversight of economic injury disaster loans The Administrator shall increase oversight of entities receiving loans under paragraph (2), including— (A) scheduled site visits to ensure borrower eligibility and compliance with requirements established by the Administrator; and (B) reviews of the use of the loan proceeds by an entity described in paragraph (2) to ensure compliance with requirements established by the Administrator. . (b) Sense of Congress relating to using existing funds It is the sense of Congress that no additional Federal funds shall be made available to carry out the amendments made by this section. 6. Reduction of paperwork burden (a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator of the Small Business Administration should— (1) reduce paperwork burdens pursuant to section 3501 of title 44, United States Code, on small business concerns applying for disaster assistance under section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) ); and (2) ensure that the application for disaster assistance under section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) ) facilitates deterring and detecting potential incidents of waste, fraud, and abuse. (b) Reduction Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) ) is amended by inserting immediately after paragraph (10), as added by this Act, the following: (11) Paperwork reduction The Administrator shall take steps to reduce, to the maximum extent practicable, the paperwork associated with the application for a loan under this subsection. . 7. Report on web portal for disaster loan applicants Section 38 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657j ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (c) Report on web portal for disaster loan application status (1) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report relating to the creation of a web portal to the track the status of applications for disaster assistance under section 7(b). (2) Contents The report under paragraph (1) shall include— (A) information on the progress of the Administration in implementing the information system under subsection (a); (B) recommendations from the Administration relating to the creation of a web portal for applicants to check the status of an application for disaster assistance under section 7(b), including a review of best practices and web portal models from the private sector; (C) information on any related costs or staffing needed to implement such a web portal; (D) information on whether such a web portal can maintain high standards for data privacy and data security; (E) information on whether such a web portal will minimize redundancy among Administration disaster programs, improve management of the number of inquiries made by disaster applicants to employees located in the area affected by the disaster and to call centers, and reduce paperwork burdens on disaster victims; and (F) such additional information as is determined necessary by the Administrator. .