[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 999 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 999

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 16, 2015

  Mr. Vitter 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 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, support for the development and 
        maintenance of clusters, or business training.
            ``(2) Exception.--This section shall not apply to--
                    ``(A) services provided to assist small business 
                concerns owned by an Indian tribe (as such term is 
                defined in section 8(a)(13));
                    ``(B) activities and programs in support of a 
                member of the Armed Forces, including National Guard 
                and Reserve components, a veteran, or a spouse of a 
                member of the Armed Forces or a veteran;
                    ``(C) the Microenterprise Technical Assistance and 
                Capacity Building Program established under subtitle C 
                of title I of the Riegle Community Development and 
                Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 6901 et 
                seq.);
                    ``(D) the State Trade and Export Promotion Grant 
                Program established under section 1207 of the Small 
                Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act 
                of 2010 (15 U.S.C. 649b note); and
                    ``(E) the Federal and State Technology Partnership 
                Program established under section 34 of the Small 
                Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657d).
    ``(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.

    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''.

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. 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 
                        advice, information, and assistance, as 
                        described in subsection (c), to a small 
                        business concern located outside of the State, 
                        without regard to geographic proximity to the 
                        small business development center, 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).
                            ``(ii) Term.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--A small business 
                                development center may provide advice, 
                                information, and assistance to a small 
                                business concern under clause (i) for a 
                                period of not more than 2 years after 
                                the date on which the President 
                                declared a major disaster under section 
                                401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
                                Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 5170) for the area in which the 
                                small business concern is located.
                                    ``(II) Extension.--The 
                                Administrator may, at the discretion of 
                                the Administrator, extend the period 
                                described in subclause (I).
                                    ``(III) 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.
                                    ``(IV) 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.''.

SEC. 8. 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. 9. 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 
section 3 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(p) Limitation on Award of Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--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.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--This subsection shall not be 
        construed to prohibit a grant recipient under this section from 
        entering into a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with 
        any other entity.''.
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