[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1700 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1700
To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE program, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 23, 2017
Ms. Adams (for herself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Small Business
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE program, 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 ``SCORE for Small Business Act of
2017''.
SEC. 2. SCORE REAUTHORIZATION.
Section 20 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (f); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) SCORE Program.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Administrator to carry out the SCORE program authorized by section
8(b)(1) such sums as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants
or enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that does not
exceed $10,500,000 in each of fiscal years 2018 and 2019.''.
SEC. 3. SCORE PROGRAM.
Section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ``a Service Corps
of Retired Executives (SCORE)'' and inserting ``the SCORE
program described in subsection (c)''; and
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) SCORE Program.--
``(1) Definition.--In this subsection:
``(A) SCORE association.--The term `SCORE
Association' means the Service Corps of Retired
Executives Association or any successor or other
organization who receives a grant from the
Administrator to operate the SCORE program under
paragraph (2)(A).
``(B) SCORE program.--The term `SCORE program'
means the SCORE program authorized by subsection
(b)(1)(B).
``(2) Management and volunteers.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall provide
a grant to the SCORE Association to manage the SCORE
program.
``(B) Volunteers.--A volunteer participating in the
SCORE program shall--
``(i) based on the business experience and
knowledge of the volunteer--
``(I) provide at no cost to
individuals who own, or aspire to own,
small business concerns personal
counseling, mentoring, and coaching
relating to the process of starting,
expanding, managing, buying, and
selling a business; and
``(II) facilitate 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.
``(3) Plans and goals.--The Administrator, in consultation
with the SCORE Association, shall ensure that the SCORE program
and each chapter of the SCORE program develop and implement
plans and goals to more effectively and efficiently provide
services to individuals in rural areas, economically
disadvantaged communities, and other traditionally underserved
communities, including plans for electronic initiatives, web-
based initiatives, chapter expansion, partnerships, and the
development of new skills by volunteers participating in the
SCORE program.
``(4) Annual report.--The SCORE Association shall submit to
the Administrator an annual report that contains--
``(A) the number of individuals counseled or
trained under the SCORE program;
``(B) the number of hours of counseling provided
under the SCORE program; and
``(C) to the extent possible--
``(i) the number of small business concerns
formed with assistance from the SCORE program;
``(ii) the number of small business
concerns expanded with assistance from the
SCORE program; and
``(iii) the number of jobs created with
assistance from the SCORE program.
``(5) Privacy requirements.--
``(A) In general.--Neither the Administrator nor
the SCORE Association may disclose the name, address,
or telephone number of any individual or small business
concern receiving assistance from the SCORE Association
without the consent of such individual or small
business concern, unless--
``(i) the Administrator is ordered to make
such a disclosure by a court in any civil or
criminal enforcement action initiated by a
Federal or State agency; or
``(ii) the Administrator determines such a
disclosure to be 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 program activity data; or
``(ii) prevent the Administrator from using
client information to conduct client surveys.
``(C) Standards.--
``(i) In general.--The Administrator shall,
after the opportunity for notice and comment,
establish standards for--
``(I) disclosures with respect to
financial audits under 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.''.
SEC. 4. ONLINE COMPONENT.
(a) In General.--Section 8(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
637(c)), as amended by section 3, is further amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(6) Online component.--In carrying out this subsection,
the SCORE Association shall make use of online counseling,
including by developing and implementing webinars and an
electronic mentoring platform to expand access to services
provided under this subsection and to further support
entrepreneurs.''.
(b) Online Component Report.--
(1) In general.--At the end of fiscal year 2018, the SCORE
Association shall issue a report to the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate on the
effectiveness of the online counseling and webinars required as
part of the SCORE program, including--
(A) 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;
(B) describing the internal controls that are used
and a summary of the topics covered by the webinars;
and
(C) 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 such online counseling and webinars.
(2) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection, the
terms ``SCORE Association'' and ``SCORE program'' have the
meaning given those terms, respectively, under section 8(c)(1)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(c)(1)).
SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FUTURE ROLE OF THE SCORE PROGRAM.
(a) 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 evolve to meet the needs of small business
concerns and potential future small business concerns over the course
of the 5 years following the date of enactment of this Act, with
markers and specific objectives for year 1, year 3, and year 5.
(b) Report.--Not later than the end of the 6-month period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act, the SCORE Association shall
issue a report to the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate containing--
(1) all findings and determination made in carrying out the
study required under subsection (a);
(2) the strategic plan developed under subsection (a);
(3) an explanation of how the SCORE Association plans to
achieve the strategic plan, assuming both stagnant and
increased funding levels.
(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the terms ``SCORE
Association'' and ``SCORE program'' have the meaning given those terms,
respectively, under section 8(c)(1) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 637(c)(1)).
SEC. 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 7(m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII) (15 U.S.C.
636(m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII)), by striking ``Service Corps of Retired
Executives'' and inserting ``SCORE program''; and
(2) in section 22 (15 U.S.C. 649)--
(A) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Service
Corps of Retired Executives'' 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'' and inserting ``SCORE
program''.
(b) Other Laws.--
(1) 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
authorized by section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B));''; and
(B) in subsection (b)(4)(A)(iv), by striking
``Service Corps of Retired Executives'' and inserting
``SCORE program''.
(2) 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''.
<all>