Full bill text rendering is coming soon.
In the meantime, read the full text on Congress.gov ↗.
Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 2
Online counseling services expansion mandate
Requires SCORE to maintain and expand online mentoring services including webinars and electronic toolkits, extending support to entrepreneurs who cannot access in-person counseling. Caps SCORE employee salaries at the Senior Executive Service maximum pay rate and limits performance bonuses to 5 percent of total salary costs, with advance notice to the SBA at least 60 days before any bonus disbursement. Requires SCORE to update employee manuals with whistleblower protections annually, conduct yearly training for staff and volunteers, and promote the SBA Inspector General hotline for reporting fraud or misconduct. Prohibits the SBA and SCORE from sharing the personal contact information of small business clients without their consent, with narrow exceptions for court orders and audits, protecting the privacy of people who use SCORE services. Requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to enter into a formal cooperative agreement with SCORE, establishing a binding legal framework for federal oversight of SCORE's volunteer mentoring program for small businesses. Requires the SBA to examine SCORE's finances every two years, review and approve major contracts, and reconcile performance data discrepancies within 30 days, strengthening federal accountability over how SCORE spends federal funds. Requires SCORE to manage nationwide chapters and provide free counseling, mentoring, and low-cost educational workshops to current and aspiring small business owners, codifying core service-delivery obligations in federal law. Requires SCORE to maintain a centralized accounting system across all chapters, keep federal funds separate from donated funds, conduct annual training on program income, and designate a compliance officer to ensure all spending follows the law.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects SCORE's staff, volunteers, and the subset of small business owners and entrepreneurs who use SCORE services — a narrow population well under 10% of the U.S. public.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low This component neither authorizes nor appropriates funds; it imposes operational and compliance mandates on SCORE and the Small Business Administration (SBA) without a dedicated dollar figure.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Collectively creates a dense web of new statutory mandates — binding service-delivery duties, a formal cooperative agreement requirement, compensation ceilings, financial controls, privacy prohibitions, and whistleblower obligations — each constituting substantive law that constrains both a federal agency and a private nonprofit.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Mandatory 'shall' language dominates throughout, leaving SBA Administrator and SCORE little discretion on core obligations such as biennial examinations, quarterly reconciliations, fund separation, and salary caps.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden High Creates an ongoing compliance infrastructure — biennial financial audits, quarterly data reconciliations, contract review and approval, annual whistleblower training, a dedicated compliance officer, and advance bonus-reporting — imposing substantial recurring administrative load on both SBA and SCORE.
- Temporal Commitment High The statutory mandates carry no expiration date or reauthorization trigger and persist indefinitely until Congress affirmatively acts to repeal or amend them.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations Top 2
Authorize $17M/year for SCORE (FY2027–2028)
Authorizes $17 million per year for fiscal years 2027 and 2028 to fund the SCORE small business mentoring program through the Small Business Administration (SBA), providing the legal basis for Congress to appropriate these funds.
- Population Scope Low Directly benefits SCORE and the small business owners and entrepreneurs it serves — a narrow population well under 10% of the U.S. public.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Authorizes $34 million in total ($17 million annually for two years) in discretionary appropriations — meaningful but modest at the federal program scale.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new authorization of appropriations for a defined two-year window, a procedural legal step that enables but does not itself compel spending and does not alter substantive rights or agency authority.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium Authorizes rather than appropriates, leaving Congress and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator discretion over whether and how funds are ultimately obligated within the authorized ceiling.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low A funding authorization alone creates no new enforcement mechanism, penalty, or compliance obligation — administrative burden flows from the cooperative agreement provisions in component 0, not this provision.
- Temporal Commitment Low The authorization is fixed to fiscal years 2027 and 2028, self-terminating within two years unless Congress acts to extend it.
No signal yet
No possible riders have been surfaced for this bill.
Summary
This bill updates how the federal government oversees and funds SCORE, a nonprofit that gives free mentoring and low-cost workshops to small business owners and people starting businesses. The Small Business Administration (SBA) must sign a formal agreement with SCORE and take a more active role in reviewing SCORE's finances, contracts, and performance data. Among other elements, the bill * requires SBA to conduct financial examinations of SCORE every two years and reconcile performance data quarterly; * sets rules for how SCORE manages money, including keeping donated funds separate from federal funds and capping employee salaries; * mandates free counseling and online services, including webinars and electronic mentoring, for entrepreneurs; * protects the privacy of SCORE clients and requires whistleblower training and reporting procedures; * authorizes $17 million per year for fiscal years 2027 and 2028 to fund the SCORE program; * and requires SCORE to develop a five-year strategic plan and report on the effectiveness of its online services.
AI-generated summary, pending human review.
| Version | Event | Date | User support | Your vote | Roll calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original |
Initial publication
Oct 9, 2026
|
Oct 9, 2026 | No votes yet | — | — |
Log in or create an account to record your vote on this legislation. Results are visible to all visitors.
Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 2
Online counseling services expansion mandate
Requires SCORE to maintain and expand online mentoring services including webinars and electronic toolkits, extending support to entrepreneurs who cannot access in-person counseling. Caps SCORE employee salaries at the Senior Executive Service maximum pay rate and limits performance bonuses to 5 percent of total salary costs, with advance notice to the SBA at least 60 days before any bonus disbursement. Requires SCORE to update employee manuals with whistleblower protections annually, conduct yearly training for staff and volunteers, and promote the SBA Inspector General hotline for reporting fraud or misconduct. Prohibits the SBA and SCORE from sharing the personal contact information of small business clients without their consent, with narrow exceptions for court orders and audits, protecting the privacy of people who use SCORE services. Requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to enter into a formal cooperative agreement with SCORE, establishing a binding legal framework for federal oversight of SCORE's volunteer mentoring program for small businesses. Requires the SBA to examine SCORE's finances every two years, review and approve major contracts, and reconcile performance data discrepancies within 30 days, strengthening federal accountability over how SCORE spends federal funds. Requires SCORE to manage nationwide chapters and provide free counseling, mentoring, and low-cost educational workshops to current and aspiring small business owners, codifying core service-delivery obligations in federal law. Requires SCORE to maintain a centralized accounting system across all chapters, keep federal funds separate from donated funds, conduct annual training on program income, and designate a compliance officer to ensure all spending follows the law.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects SCORE's staff, volunteers, and the subset of small business owners and entrepreneurs who use SCORE services — a narrow population well under 10% of the U.S. public.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low This component neither authorizes nor appropriates funds; it imposes operational and compliance mandates on SCORE and the Small Business Administration (SBA) without a dedicated dollar figure.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Collectively creates a dense web of new statutory mandates — binding service-delivery duties, a formal cooperative agreement requirement, compensation ceilings, financial controls, privacy prohibitions, and whistleblower obligations — each constituting substantive law that constrains both a federal agency and a private nonprofit.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Mandatory 'shall' language dominates throughout, leaving SBA Administrator and SCORE little discretion on core obligations such as biennial examinations, quarterly reconciliations, fund separation, and salary caps.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden High Creates an ongoing compliance infrastructure — biennial financial audits, quarterly data reconciliations, contract review and approval, annual whistleblower training, a dedicated compliance officer, and advance bonus-reporting — imposing substantial recurring administrative load on both SBA and SCORE.
- Temporal Commitment High The statutory mandates carry no expiration date or reauthorization trigger and persist indefinitely until Congress affirmatively acts to repeal or amend them.
No signal yet
Regulatory or Legal Changes
Online counseling services expansion mandate
Funding / Appropriations Top 2
Authorize $17M/year for SCORE (FY2027–2028)
Authorizes $17 million per year for fiscal years 2027 and 2028 to fund the SCORE small business mentoring program through the Small Business Administration (SBA), providing the legal basis for Congress to appropriate these funds.
- Population Scope Low Directly benefits SCORE and the small business owners and entrepreneurs it serves — a narrow population well under 10% of the U.S. public.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Authorizes $34 million in total ($17 million annually for two years) in discretionary appropriations — meaningful but modest at the federal program scale.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new authorization of appropriations for a defined two-year window, a procedural legal step that enables but does not itself compel spending and does not alter substantive rights or agency authority.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium Authorizes rather than appropriates, leaving Congress and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator discretion over whether and how funds are ultimately obligated within the authorized ceiling.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low A funding authorization alone creates no new enforcement mechanism, penalty, or compliance obligation — administrative burden flows from the cooperative agreement provisions in component 0, not this provision.
- Temporal Commitment Low The authorization is fixed to fiscal years 2027 and 2028, self-terminating within two years unless Congress acts to extend it.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations
Authorize $17M/year for SCORE (FY2027–2028)
Incomplete vote
You have not made a selection on all required items:
Choose Neutral if you prefer not to commit. Leaving without completing will remove all your votes for this bill from the totals.
Maximum recommendations reached
You have already recommended the maximum number of components allowed on this bill. To recommend [new component], choose one of your current recommendations to unselect: