Sec. 2. Amendments to the SCORE program
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Section 8 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637 ) is amended— in subsection (b)(1)— in subparagraph (A)(i)(II)(aa), by inserting with relevant knowledge of modern business practices after institutions ; and in subparagraph (B)— by striking a Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and an Active Corps of Executive
(ACE)and inserting a Supporting Coaching Opportunities for Resilient Entrepreneurs (SCORE) program ; and by striking SCORE may and inserting the SCORE Program may ; and by striking subsection
(c)and inserting the following: Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the SCORE Act of 2023 , the Administrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement with an organization described in subparagraph
(B)to carry out the SCORE program, which shall provide business coaching to entrepreneurs seeking to form, grow, scale, or sell their small business concern. The awardee of the cooperative agreement under subparagraph
(A)shall be an organization that— is well-equipped to provide fundamental, modern, and relevant business training and counseling to individuals in both rural and urban areas; and shall be able to effectively reach underserved individuals while overseeing the volunteers participating in the SCORE program. Not later than 5 years after the date on which the Administrator enters into a cooperative agreement under subparagraph (A), and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator shall engage in a competitive bidding process to enter into a cooperative agreement with an organization described in subparagraph (B). The Administrator shall— assist the Office of Inspector General of the Administration in conducting their audit of the SCORE program that shall occur once every 3 years; and establish a process to certify eligible coaches under the SCORE program, which shall— ensure that the business investments, affiliations, or connections of a coach do not present a conflict of interest with any individual participant that the coach is actively coaching, as determined by the National Women’s Business Coaches; and determine whether the individual applying to be a coach has— relevant knowledge of modern business practices, including accounting, marketing, and hiring personnel; and a general understanding of the opportunities for growth that the internet and e-commerce poses for owners of small business concerns. The SCORE Association shall— in addition to providing in-person services, maintain and expand online counseling services including webinars, electronic mentoring platforms, e-commerce, and online toolkits to further support entrepreneurs; and maintain and enforce requirements for volunteers participating in the SCORE program, including requirements that— each volunteer shall meet the performance standards established under subparagraph (C); if a volunteer fails to meet performance standards, as evaluated through an annual review, the volunteer shall adhere to a performance improvement plan for the duration of 1 year; and if the volunteer continues to fail to meet performance standards after conducting a year-long performance improvement plan described in clause (ii), the volunteer shall be terminated and dismissed from all participation in the SCORE program. 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 effectively and efficiently provide services to individuals in rural areas, including plans for virtual and web-based initiatives, chapter expansion, partnerships, and the development of new skills by volunteers participating in the SCORE program; recruit diverse volunteers for the chapters of the SCORE program, in conjunction with the National Women’s Business Coaches; and establish performance standards for all coaches and employees of the SCORE program. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the SCORE Act of 2023 , the Comptroller General of the United States shall— conduct a study to identify how many SCORE program chapters are located in rural areas and understand how well the SCORE program is servicing rural areas; examine the efficacy of performance standards established under paragraph (3)(C); and 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 matters described in subparagraphs
(A)and (B). The SCORE program shall sunset on the date that is 4 years after the date of enactment of the SCORE Act of 2023 , and shall be subject to reauthorization thereafter. . The Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 631 et seq. ) is amended— in section 3 ( 15 U.S.C. 632 ), by adding at the end the following: In this Act: The term SCORE program means the Supporting Coaching Opportunities for Resilient Entrepreneurs program described in section 8(c). The term SCORE Association means the Supporting Coaching Opportunities for Resilient Entrepreneurs 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. ; in section 7 ( 15 U.S.C. 636 )— in subsection (b)(12)— in the paragraph heading, by striking and inserting score ; and SCORE program in subparagraph (A), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program ; and in subsection (m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program ; 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 in section 22 ( 15 U.S.C. 649 )— in subsection (b)— in paragraph (1), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives authorized by section (8)(b)(1) and inserting SCORE program ; and in paragraph (3), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program ; and in subsection (c)(12), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives authorized by section 8(b)(1) and inserting SCORE program . 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) ) Section 301 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 ( 15 U.S.C. 657b note) is amended— in subsection (a)— 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 ( and inserting 15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B) ) and in this section referred to as SCORE ) 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 ) in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), by striking SCORE each place the term appears and inserting the SCORE program ; and in paragraph (2), by striking the before establishing ; and in subsection (b), by striking SCORE each place the term appears and inserting the SCORE program . The Military Reservist and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity Act of 2008 ( 15 U.S.C. 636 note) is amended— in section 3, by striking paragraph
(5)and inserting the following: 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 in section 201(c)(2)(B)(i), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program . Section 621 of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 ( 15 U.S.C. 657p ) is amended— in subsection (a), by striking paragraph
(4)and inserting the following: 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 in subsection (b)(4)(A)(iv), by striking Service Corps of Retired Executives and inserting SCORE program . 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 described in section 8(c) of the Small Business Act ( . 15 U.S.C. 637(c) )
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Sec. 2
Amendments to the SCORE program
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