H.R. 9810 — Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act of 2026

This section requires the Small Business Administration to deliver entrepreneurial development services, entrepreneurial education, and support for the Regional Innovation Clusters Program only through programs established before the date of enactment, and prohibits new programs without explicit congressional authority. It mandates prior congressional notification and detailed annual reporting on all such activities and recipients beginning with the first report after October 1, 2026, with an exception for businesses owned by Indian tribes.

This section requires the Small Business Administration to establish rules governing data collection activities for applicants receiving Small Business Development Center grants. It also establishes the Data Collection Working Group, consisting of grant recipients from women’s business centers, small business development centers, and SCORE chapters, along with their associations, data contractors, and SBA Associate Administrators, to identify best methods for data collection, develop recommendations for revised systems, and report findings and an implementation plan to the House and Senate small business committees within 180 days.

This section permits applicants receiving grants for small business development centers to use up to 10 percent of grant amounts to market and advertise their services to individuals and small business concerns.

This section authorizes small business development centers to collect fees or other income from private partnerships or cosponsorships in which the Administrator or designee also participates.

This section limits to $600,000 the amount the Small Business Administration may use in any fiscal year from amounts made available to carry out the small business development center program to pay expenses described in subparagraphs (B) through (D) of section 20(a)(1).

This section expands confidentiality protections for small businesses receiving assistance from small business development centers. It prohibits disclosure of the name, telephone number, or email address of any such concern, as well as the nature or content of the assistance provided, to any State, local, or Federal agency or third party.

This section limits eligibility for Small Business Development Center grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under section 21 of the Small Business Act to institutions of higher education and to entities that received such funding before the date of enactment and seek renewal thereafter. It removes women's business centers from direct eligibility but permits them to receive subgrants from eligible entities.

This section requires the Small Business Administration to negotiate the development of small business development center programs with the full participation of all parties, including the authorized association, and to carry out such agreements accordingly. It also makes technical corrections to capitalization in related provisions.

This section authorizes $175 million annually for small business development center grants for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029. It increases the amount reserved for centers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to not more than $2 million (from not less than $1 million) and raises the per-center limit to $200,000 (from $100,000).

This section requires applicants for small business development center grants to provide the Administrator with good faith certifications and representations of matching funds availability before the grant close-out date, and permits applicants to expend federal funds before receiving those matching funds.

This section deems a contract approved if the Associate Administrator fails to issue a determination within 10 days after receiving a request for such determination.

This section requires the Associate Administrator for Small Business Development Centers to market and advertise the Small Business Development Center Program and its participants as a resource available to any Federal program providing assistance to small business concerns.

This section requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to submit an annual report on Small Business Development Center Program activities, beginning the first December 1 after enactment. The report must detail counseling and training hours provided, participant demographics including gender, race, age, and veteran status, new businesses started, jobs created or retained, capital secured, financial assistance received, gross receipts and revenue changes, referrals to other Administration resources, satisfaction survey results, and recommendations for program improvement.