[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 207 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 207

 To amend the Small Business Act to provide for improvements to small 
                     business development centers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 8, 2015

Ms. Velaazquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Small Business Act to provide for improvements to small 
                     business development centers.

    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 ``Small Business Development Centers 
Improvement Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. USE OF AUTHORIZED ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

    The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:

``SEC. 48. USE OF AUTHORIZED ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Expanded Support for Entrepreneurs.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, the Administrator shall only use the programs authorized 
        in sections 7(j), 7(m), 8(a), 8(b)(1), 21, 22, 29, and 32 of 
        this Act, and sections 358 and 389 of the Small Business 
        Investment Act to deliver entrepreneurial development services, 
        entrepreneurial education, business incubation services, growth 
        acceleration services, support for the development and 
        maintenance of clusters, or business training.
            ``(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 December 1 after the 
date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall annually 
report to the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship of the Senate on all entrepreneurial development 
activities undertaken in the current fiscal year. This report shall 
include--
            ``(1) a description and operating details for each program 
        and activity;
            ``(2) operating circulars, manuals, and standard operating 
        procedures for each program and activity;
            ``(3) a description of the process used to award grants 
        under each program and activity;
            ``(4) a list of all awardees, contractors, and vendors 
        (including organization name and location) and the amount of 
        awards for the current fiscal year for each program and 
        activity;
            ``(5) the amount of funding obligated for the current 
        fiscal year for each program and activity; and
            ``(6) the names and titles for those individuals 
        responsible for each program and activity.''.

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 Services.--The Administrator 
shall not prohibit applicants receiving grants under this section from 
marketing and advertising their services to individuals and small 
businesses.''.

SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION.

    (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 activities 
        related to applicants receiving grants under this section''.
    (b) Annual Report on Data Collection.--Section 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 
report annually to the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship of the Senate on any data collection activities 
related to the Small Business Development Center program.''.

SEC. 5. FEES FROM PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND COSPONSORSHIPS.

    Section 21(a)(3)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
648(a)(3)(C)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(C) Participation in private partnerships and 
        cosponsorships with the Administration shall not limit small 
        business development centers from collecting fees or other 
        income related to the operation of such private partnerships 
        and cosponsorships.''.

SEC. 6. EQUITY FOR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.

    Section 21(a)(4)(C)(v)(I) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
648(a)(4)(C)(v)) is amended--
            (1) in item (aa), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        period; and
            (2) by striking item (bb).

SEC. 7. CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 21(a)(7)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
648(a)(7)(A)) is amended by inserting after ``under this section'' the 
following: ``to any State, local or Federal agency, or third party''.

SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON AWARD OF GRANTS TO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 
              CENTERS.

    Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648), as amended by 
sections 3 and 4 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(q) Limitation on Award of Grants.--Except for not-for-profit 
institutions of higher education, and notwithstanding any provision of 
law, the Administrator may not award grants (including contracts and 
cooperative agreements) under this section to any entity other than 
those that received grants (including contracts and cooperative 
agreements) under this section prior to September 30, 2015, and that 
seek to renew such grants (including contracts and cooperative 
agreements) after such date.''.
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