SCORE for Small Business Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-1744
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2023-05-18
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Accounting and auditing

Business education

Business records

Congressional oversight

Corporate finance and management

Government information and archives

Performance measurement

Right of privacy

Small business

Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Wages and earnings
Latest action: action_date: 2023-11-01
text: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-05-18
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>SCORE for Small Business Act of 2023</b></p> <p>This bill reauthorizes through FY2025 the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) program, outlines the duties of the SCORE Association, and requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to cooperate with the association to carry out the program.</p> <p>Specifically, the bill requires the association to manage nationwide chapters of the program to enable volunteers participating in the program to provide personal, cost-free business expertise and facilitate education workshops to small businesses. The association must also offer online counseling through web-based platforms to small businesses.</p> <p>In consultation with the association, the SBA must ensure that the program (1) recruits diverse volunteers for each chapter of the program, and (2) provides services to rural and underserved communities.</p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1744 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 18, 2023 Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Cardin , and Mr. Markey ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship A BILL To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE program, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the SCORE for Small Business Act of 2023 . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Administration; Administrator The terms Administration and Administrator mean the Small Business Administration and the Administrator thereof, respectively. (2) SCORE Association; SCORE Program The terms SCORE Association and SCORE program have the meanings given those terms in subsection (gg) of section 3 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632 ), as added by section 6 of this Act. (3) Small business concern The term small business concern has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632 ). 3. SCORE Program provisions and requirements Section 8 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)— (A) by striking a Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and inserting the SCORE program ; and (B) by striking SCORE may and inserting the SCORE Association may ; and (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: (c) SCORE program (1) Cooperative agreement The Administrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the SCORE Association to carry out the SCORE program, which shall include the following requirements: (A) Administrator duties The Administrator shall— (i) every 2 years, conduct a financial examination of the SCORE Association to ensure that any costs paid for with Federal funds are allowable, allocable, and reasonable; (ii) review and approve contracts entered into by the SCORE Association to provide goods or services for the SCORE program of a value greater than an amount determined by the Administrator; (iii) maintain a system through which the SCORE Association provides documentation relating to those contracts; and (iv) not later than 30 days after the receipt of a quarterly report on the achievements of the SCORE program submitted by the SCORE Association, reconcile differences between that report and the performance results of the SCORE program reported in a management information system of the Office of Entrepreneurial Development. (B) SCORE Association duties The SCORE Association shall— (i) manage nationwide chapters of the SCORE program; (ii) provide annual training to employees of the SCORE Association on generating and using program income from the SCORE program; (iii) submit documentation to the Administrator verifying the annual training is completed; (iv) maintain separation of funds donated to the SCORE Association from program income and funds received pursuant to a cooperative agreement; and (v) maintain and enforce requirements for volunteers participating in the SCORE program, including requirements that each volunteer shall— (I) based on the business experience and knowledge of the volunteer— (aa) provide personal counseling, mentoring, and coaching on the process of starting, expanding, managing, buying, and selling a business at no cost to individuals who own, or aspire to own, small business concerns; and (bb) facilitate free or low-cost education workshops for individuals who own, or aspire to own, small business concerns; and (II) as appropriate, use tools, resources, and expertise of other organizations to carry out the SCORE program. (C) Joint duties The Administrator, in consultation with the SCORE Association, shall ensure that the SCORE program and each chapter of the SCORE program— (i) develop and implement plans and goals to effectively and efficiently provide services to individuals in rural areas, economically disadvantaged communities, or other traditionally underserved communities, including plans for virtual, remote, and web-based initiatives, chapter expansion, partnerships, and the development of new skills by volunteers participating in the SCORE program; and (ii) reinforce an inclusive culture by recruiting diverse volunteers for the chapters of the SCORE program. (2) Online component In addition to providing in-person services, the SCORE Association shall maintain and expand online counseling services including webinars, electronic mentoring platforms, and online toolkits to further support entrepreneurs. (3) Accounting The SCORE Association shall— (A) maintain a centralized accounting and financing system for each chapter of the SCORE program; (B) maintain a uniform policy and procedures to manage Federal funds received pursuant to a cooperative agreement described in paragraph (1); and (C) maintain an employee of the SCORE Association to serve as a compliance officer to ensure expenditures of the SCORE program are fully compliant with any law, regulation, or cooperative agreement relating to the SCORE program. (4) Compensation The SCORE Association shall— (A) maintain a documented compensation policy that— (i) specifies the maximum rate of pay allowable for any individual in the SCORE Association; (ii) specifies the maximum percent of the aggregate salaries of employees of the SCORE Association that may be spent on individual performance awards to employees of the SCORE Association; and (iii) shall be reviewed annually by the SCORE Association and the Administrator; (B) prohibit payment of salaries or performance awards that exceed the limits set by the SCORE Association compensation policy; and (C) prohibit members of the Board of Directors of the SCORE Association or any employees of the SCORE Association from simultaneously serving on the Board of Directors of, or receiving compensation from, the SCORE Foundation without written approval from the Administrator. (5) Whistleblower protection requirements The SCORE Association shall— (A) annually update all manuals or other documents applicable to employees and volunteers of the SCORE Association or the SCORE program to include requirements relating to reporting procedures and protections for whistleblowers; and (B) conduct an annual training for employees and volunteers of the SCORE Association or the SCORE program on the requirements described in subparagraph (A) and encourage the use of the hotline established by the Office of the Inspector General of the Administration to submit whistleblower reports. (6) Published materials The SCORE Association shall ensure all published materials include written acknowledgment of Administration support of the SCORE program if those materials are paid for in whole or in part by Federal funds. (7) Privacy requirements (A) In general Neither the Administrator nor the SCORE Association may disclose the name, email address, address, or telephone number of any individual or small business concern receiving assistance from the SCORE Association without the consent of the individual or small business concern, unless— (i) the Administrator is ordered to make a disclosure by a court in any civil or criminal enforcement action initiated by a Federal or State agency; or (ii) the Administrator determines that a disclosure is necessary for the purpose of conducting a financial audit of the SCORE program, in which case disclosure shall be limited to the information necessary for the audit. (B) Administrator use of information This paragraph shall not— (i) restrict the access of the Administrator to SCORE program activity data; or (ii) prevent the Administrator from using SCORE program client information to conduct client surveys. (C) Standards (i) In general The Administrator shall, after opportunity for notice and comment, establish standards for— (I) disclosures with respect to financial audits described in subparagraph (A)(ii); and (II) conducting client surveys, including standards for oversight of the surveys and for dissemination and use of client information. (ii) Maximum privacy protection The standards issued under this subparagraph shall, to the extent practicable, provide for the maximum amount of privacy protection. (8) Annual report Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the SCORE for Small Business Act of 2023 and annually thereafter, 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 on the performance and effectiveness of the SCORE program, which may be included as part of another report submitted to those committees by the Administrator, and which shall include— (A) the total number and the number of unique clients counseled or trained under the SCORE program; (B) the total number of hours of counseling or training provided under the SCORE program; (C) the total number of local workshops provided under the SCORE program; (D) the total number of clients attending local workshops provided under the SCORE program; (E) to the extent practicable, the demographics of SCORE program clients and volunteers, which may include the gender, race, ethnicity, and age of each client or volunteer; (F) the number of SCORE program clients and volunteers who are veterans; (G) the number of referrals of SCORE program clients to other resources and programs of the Administration; (H) the results of SCORE program client satisfactory surveys, including a summary of any comments received from those clients; (I) the number of new businesses started by SCORE program clients; (J) the percentage of new revenue growth realizing by businesses assisted by the SCORE program; (K) to the extent practicable, the number of jobs created with assistance from the SCORE program; (L) the total cost of the SCORE program; (M) any recommendations of the Administrator to improve the SCORE program; (N) an explanation of how the SCORE program has been integrated with— (i) small business development centers; (ii) women’s business centers described in section 29; (iii) Veteran Business Outreach Centers described in section 32; (iv) other offices of the Administration; and (v) other public and private entities engaging in entrepreneurial and small business development; (O) the SCORE compensation policy for the relevant fiscal year, including— (i) a list of any changes to the compensation policy since the previous fiscal year; and (ii) justification if the maximum rate of pay allowable for any individual in the SCORE Association exceeds the maximum rate of pay allowable for an individual in the career Senior Executive Service employed at the Administration; (P) the names, positions, and salaries of any employees of the SCORE Association whose salaries exceed the maximum rate of pay allowable per the SCORE compensation policy; (Q) the percent of the aggregate salaries of employees of the SCORE Association spent on individual performance awards to employees of the SCORE Association, with a justification if this amount exceeds 10 percent; (R) the total amount of performance awards that have been disbursed or will be disbursed after the last day of the fiscal year in which the awards were earned and a justification for any awards that have been disbursed or will be disbursed outside the fiscal year in which the awards were earned; and (S) the names, positions, and salaries of any members of the Board of Directors of the SCORE Association or any employees of the SCORE Association that simultaneously serve on the Board of Directors of, or receive compensation from, the SCORE Foundation without written approval of the Administrator. . 4. Authorization of appropriations for the SCORE program Section 20 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended by adding at the end the following: (i) SCORE program There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the SCORE program such sums as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that does not exceed $18,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025. . 5. Reporting requirements (a) Study and report on the future role of the SCORE program (1) Study The SCORE Association shall carry out a study on the future role of the SCORE program and develop a strategic plan for how the SCORE program will meet the needs of small business concerns during the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, with specific objectives for the first, third, and fifth years of the 5-year period. (2) Report Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the SCORE Association 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 containing— (A) all findings and determinations made in carrying out the study required under paragraph (1); (B) the strategic plan developed under paragraph (1); and (C) an explanation of how the SCORE Association plans to achieve the strategic plan, assuming both stagnant and increased funding levels. (b) Administrator report on leased space Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 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 containing an assessment of the cost of leased space that is donated to the SCORE Association. (c) Online component report Not later than 3 months after the last day of the first full fiscal year following the date of enactment of this Act, the SCORE Association 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 on the effectiveness of the online counseling services required under paragraph (2) of section 8(c) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(c) ), as added by section 3 of this Act, including a description of— (1) how the SCORE Association determines electronic mentoring and webinar needs, develops training for electronic mentoring, establishes webinar criteria curricula, and evaluates webinar and electronic mentoring results; (2) the internal controls that are used and a summary of the topics covered by the webinars; and (3) performance metrics, including the number of small business concerns counseled by, the number of small business concerns created by, the number of jobs created and retained by, and the funding amounts directed towards those online counseling services. 6. Technical and conforming amendments (a) Small Business Act The Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 631 et seq. ) is amended— (1) in section 3 ( 15 U.S.C. 632 ), by adding at the end the following: (gg) SCORE program definitions In this Act: (1) SCORE program The term SCORE program means the Service Corps of Retired Executives program described in section 8(c). (2) SCORE Association The term SCORE Association means the Service Corps of Retired Executives Association or any successor or other organization that enters into a cooperative agreement described in section 8(c)(1) with the Administrator to operate the SCORE program. (3) SCORE Foundation The term SCORE Foundation means an organization with a mission to support the SCORE Association and volunteers of the SCORE program. ; (2) in section 7 ( 15 U.S.C. 636 )— (A) in subsection (b)(12)— (i) in the paragraph heading, by striking score and inserting SCORE program ; and (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program ; and (B) in subsection (m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program ; (3) in section 20(d)(1)(E) ( 15 U.S.C. 631 note), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives program and inserting SCORE program ; and (4) in section 22 ( 15 U.S.C. 649 )— (A) in subsection (b)— (i) in paragraph (1), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives authorized by section (8)(b)(1) and inserting SCORE program ; and (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program ; and (B) in subsection (c)(12), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives authorized by section 8(b)(1) and inserting SCORE program . (b) Other laws (1) Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 Section 707 of the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 ( 15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) program and inserting SCORE program described in section 8(c) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(c) ) . (2) Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 Section 301 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 ( 15 U.S.C. 657b note) is amended— (A) in subsection (a)— (i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking Service Core of Retired Executives (described in section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B) ) and in this section referred to as SCORE ) and inserting SCORE program described in section 8(c) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(c) ) (in this section referred to as the SCORE program ) ; (ii) in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), by striking SCORE each place the term appears and inserting the SCORE program ; and (iii) in paragraph (2), by striking the before establishing ; and (B) in subsection (b), by striking SCORE each place the term appears and inserting the SCORE program . (3) Military Reservist and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity Act of 2008 The Military Reservist and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity Act of 2008 ( 15 U.S.C. 636 note) is amended— (A) in section 3, by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following: (5) the term SCORE program means the SCORE program described in section 8(c) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(c) ); ; and (B) in section 201(c)(2)(B)(i), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program . (4) Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 Section 621 of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 ( 15 U.S.C. 657p ) is amended— (A) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following: (4) the term SCORE program means the SCORE program described in section 8(c) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(c) ); ; and (B) in subsection (b)(4)(A)(iv), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program . (5) Energy Policy and Conservation Act Section 337(d)(2)(A) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6307(d)(2)(A) ) is amended by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and inserting SCORE program .