SCORE for Small Business Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1744 To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the fol- lowing 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SCORE for Small 4 Business Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ADMINISTRATION; ADMINISTRATOR.—The 8 terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Administrator’’ mean 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1744 IS the Small Business Administration and the Adminis- 1 trator thereof, respectively. 2 (2) SCORE ASSOCIATION; SCORE PROGRAM.— 3 The terms ‘‘SCORE Association’’ and ‘‘SCORE pro- 4 gram’’ have the meanings given those terms in sub- 5 section (gg) of section 3 of the Small Business Act 6 (15 U.S.C. 632), as added by section 6 of this Act. 7 (3) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term 8 ‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given the 9 term in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 10 U.S.C. 632). 11 SEC. 3. SCORE PROGRAM PROVISIONS AND REQUIRE- 12 MENTS. 13 Section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637) 14 is amended— 15 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)— 16 (A) by striking ‘‘a Service Corps of Retired 17 Executives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘the 18 SCORE program’’; and 19 (B) by striking ‘‘SCORE may’’ and insert- 20 ing ‘‘the SCORE Association may’’; and 21 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 22 following: 23 ‘‘(c) SCORE PROGRAM.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1744 IS ‘‘(1) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The Admin- 1 istrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement 2 with the SCORE Association to carry out the 3 SCORE program, which shall include the following 4 requirements: 5 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATOR DUTIES.—The Ad- 6 ministrator shall— 7 ‘‘(i) every 2 years, conduct a financial 8 examination of the SCORE Association to 9 ensure that any costs paid for with Federal 10 funds are allowable, allocable, and reason- 11 able; 12 ‘‘(ii) review and approve contracts en- 13 tered into by the SCORE Association to 14 provide goods or services for the SCORE 15 program of a value greater than an 16 amount determined by the Administrator; 17 ‘‘(iii) maintain a system through 18 which the SCORE Association provides 19 documentation relating to those contracts; 20 and 21 ‘‘(iv) not later than 30 days after the 22 receipt of a quarterly report on the 23 achievements of the SCORE program sub- 24 mitted by the SCORE Association, rec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1744 IS oncile differences between that report and 1 the performance results of the SCORE 2 program reported in a management infor- 3 mation system of the Office of Entrepre- 4 neurial Development. 5 ‘‘(B) SCORE ASSOCIATION DUTIES.—The 6 SCORE Association shall— 7 ‘‘(i) manage nationwide chapters of 8 the SCORE program; 9 ‘‘(ii) provide annual training to em- 10 ployees of the SCORE Association on gen- 11 erating and using program income from 12 the SCORE program; 13 ‘‘(iii) submit documentation to the 14 Administrator verifying the annual train- 15 ing is completed; 16 ‘‘(iv) maintain separation of funds do- 17 nated to the SCORE Association from pro- 18 gram income and funds received pursuant 19 to a cooperative agreement; and 20 ‘‘(v) maintain and enforce require- 21 ments for volunteers participating in the 22 SCORE program, including requirements 23 that each volunteer shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1744 IS ‘‘(I) based on the business expe- 1 rience and knowledge of the volun- 2 teer— 3 ‘‘(aa) provide personal coun- 4 seling, mentoring, and coaching 5 on the process of starting, ex- 6 panding, managing, buying, and 7 selling a business at no cost to 8 individuals who own, or aspire to 9 own, small business concerns; 10 and 11 ‘‘(bb) facilitate free or low- 12 cost education workshops for in- 13 dividuals who own, or aspire to 14 own, small business concerns; 15 and 16 ‘‘(II) as appropriate, use tools, 17 resources, and expertise of other orga- 18 nizations to carry out the SCORE 19 program. 20 ‘‘(C) JOINT DUTIES.—The Administrator, 21 in consultation with the SCORE Association, 22 shall ensure that the SCORE program and each 23 chapter of the SCORE program— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1744 IS ‘‘(i) develop and implement plans and 1 goals to effectively and efficiently provide 2 services to individuals in rural areas, eco- 3 nomically disadvantaged communities, or 4 other traditionally underserved commu- 5 nities, including plans for virtual, remote, 6 and web-based initiatives, chapter expan- 7 sion, partnerships, and the development of 8 new skills by volunteers participating in 9 the SCORE program; and 10 ‘‘(ii) reinforce an inclusive culture by 11 recruiting diverse volunteers for the chap- 12 ters of the SCORE program. 13 ‘‘(2) ONLINE COMPONENT.—In addition to pro- 14 viding in-person services, the SCORE Association 15 shall maintain and expand online counseling services 16 including webinars, electronic mentoring platforms, 17 and online toolkits to further support entrepreneurs. 18 ‘‘(3) ACCOUNTING.—The SCORE Association 19 shall— 20 ‘‘(A) maintain a centralized accounting 21 and financing system for each chapter of the 22 SCORE program; 23 ‘‘(B) maintain a uniform policy and proce- 24 dures to manage Federal funds received pursu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1744 IS ant to a cooperative agreement described in 1 paragraph (1); and 2 ‘‘(C) maintain an employee of the SCORE 3 Association to serve as a compliance officer to 4 ensure expenditures of the SCORE program are 5 fully compliant with any law, regulation, or co- 6 operative agreement relating to the SCORE 7 program. 8 ‘‘(4) COMPENSATION.—The SCORE Associa- 9 tion shall— 10 ‘‘(A) maintain a documented compensation 11 policy that— 12 ‘‘(i) specifies the maximum rate of 13 pay allowable for any individual in the 14 SCORE Association; 15 ‘‘(ii) specifies the maximum percent of 16 the aggregate salaries of employees of the 17 SCORE Association that may be spent on 18 individual performance awards to employ- 19 ees of the SCORE Association; and 20 ‘‘(iii) shall be reviewed annually by 21 the SCORE Association and the Adminis- 22 trator; 23 ‘‘(B) prohibit payment of salaries or per- 24 formance awards that exceed the limits set by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1744 IS the SCORE Association compensation policy; 1 and 2 ‘‘(C) prohibit members of the Board of Di- 3 rectors of the SCORE Association or any em- 4 ployees of the SCORE Association from simul- 5 taneously serving on the Board of Directors of, 6 or receiving compensation from, the SCORE 7 Foundation without written approval from the 8 Administrator. 9 ‘‘(5) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION REQUIRE- 10 MENTS.—The SCORE Association shall— 11 ‘‘(A) annually update all manuals or other 12 documents applicable to employees and volun- 13 teers of the SCORE Association or the SCORE 14 program to include requirements relating to re- 15 porting procedures and protections for whistle- 16 blowers; and 17 ‘‘(B) conduct an annual training for em- 18 ployees and volunteers of the SCORE Associa- 19 tion or the SCORE program on the require- 20 ments described in subparagraph (A) and en- 21 courage the use of the hotline established by the 22 Office of the Inspector General of the Adminis- 23 tration to submit whistleblower reports. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1744 IS ‘‘(6) PUBLISHED MATERIALS.—The SCORE 1 Association shall ensure all published materials in- 2 clude written acknowledgment of Administration 3 support of the SCORE program if those materials 4 are paid for in whole or in part by Federal funds. 5 ‘‘(7) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Adminis- 7 trator nor the SCORE Association may disclose 8 the name, email address, address, or telephone 9 number of any individual or small business con- 10 cern receiving assistance from the SCORE As- 11 sociation without the consent of the individual 12 or small business concern, unless— 13 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 14 make a disclosure by a court in any civil 15 or criminal enforcement action initiated by 16 a Federal or State agency; or 17 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines 18 that a disclosure is necessary for the pur- 19 pose of conducting a financial audit of the 20 SCORE program, in which case disclosure 21 shall be limited to the information nec- 22 essary for the audit. 23 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMA- 24 TION.—This paragraph shall not— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1744 IS ‘‘(i) restrict the access of the Adminis- 1 trator to SCORE program activity data; or 2 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from 3 using SCORE program client information 4 to conduct client surveys. 5 ‘‘(C) STANDARDS.— 6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 7 shall, after opportunity for notice and com- 8 ment, establish standards for— 9 ‘‘(I) disclosures with respect to 10 financial audits described in subpara- 11 graph (A)(ii); and 12 ‘‘(II) conducting client surveys, 13 including standards for oversight of 14 the surveys and for dissemination and 15 use of client information. 16 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRIVACY PROTEC- 17 TION.—The standards issued under this 18 subparagraph shall, to the extent prac- 19 ticable, provide for the maximum amount 20 of privacy protection. 21 ‘‘(8) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 22 days after the date of enactment of the SCORE for 23 Small Business Act of 2023 and annually thereafter, 24 the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1744 IS Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 1 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 2 of Representatives a report on the performance and 3 effectiveness of the SCORE program, which may be 4 included as part of another report submitted to 5 those committees by the Administrator, and which 6 shall include— 7 ‘‘(A) the total number and the number of 8 unique clients counseled or trained under the 9 SCORE program; 10 ‘‘(B) the total number of hours of coun- 11 seling or training provided under the SCORE 12 program; 13 ‘‘(C) the total number of local workshops 14 provided under the SCORE program; 15 ‘‘(D) the total number of clients attending 16 local workshops provided under the SCORE 17 program; 18 ‘‘(E) to the extent practicable, the demo- 19 graphics of SCORE program clients and volun- 20 teers, which may include the gender, race, eth- 21 nicity, and age of each client or volunteer; 22 ‘‘(F) the number of SCORE program cli- 23 ents and volunteers who are veterans; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1744 IS ‘‘(G) the number of referrals of SCORE 1 program clients to other resources and pro- 2 grams of the Administration; 3 ‘‘(H) the results of SCORE program client 4 satisfactory surveys, including a summary of 5 any comments received from those clients; 6 ‘‘(I) the number of new businesses started 7 by SCORE program clients; 8 ‘‘(J) the percentage of new revenue growth 9 realizing by businesses assisted by the SCORE 10 program; 11 ‘‘(K) to the extent practicable, the number 12 of jobs created with assistance from the 13 SCORE program; 14 ‘‘(L) the total cost of the SCORE pro- 15 gram; 16 ‘‘(M) any recommendations of the Admin- 17 istrator to improve the SCORE program; 18 ‘‘(N) an explanation of how the SCORE 19 program has been integrated with— 20 ‘‘(i) small business development cen- 21 ters; 22 ‘‘(ii) women’s business centers de- 23 scribed in section 29; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1744 IS ‘‘(iii) Veteran Business Outreach Cen- 1 ters described in section 32; 2 ‘‘(iv) other offices of the Administra- 3 tion; and 4 ‘‘(v) other public and private entities 5 engaging in entrepreneurial and small 6 business development; 7 ‘‘(O) the SCORE compensation policy for 8 the relevant fiscal year, including— 9 ‘‘(i) a list of any changes to the com- 10 pensation policy since the previous fiscal 11 year; and 12 ‘‘(ii) justification if the maximum rate 13 of pay allowable for any individual in the 14 SCORE Association exceeds the maximum 15 rate of pay allowable for an individual in 16 the career Senior Executive Service em- 17 ployed at the Administration; 18 ‘‘(P) the names, positions, and salaries of 19 any employees of the SCORE Association whose 20 salaries exceed the maximum rate of pay allow- 21 able per the SCORE compensation policy; 22 ‘‘(Q) the percent of the aggregate salaries 23 of employees of the SCORE Association spent 24 on individual performance awards to employees 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •S 1744 IS of the SCORE Association, with a justification 1 if this amount exceeds 10 percent; 2 ‘‘(R) the total amount of performance 3 awards that have been disbursed or will be dis- 4 bursed after the last day of the fiscal year in 5 which the awards were earned and a justifica- 6 tion for [Text truncated for display. 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