HR5764-119

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Small Business Act's Small Business Development Center counseling duties. It adds assistance for small business concerns evaluating artificial intelligence for business operations. SBDCs must provide information, guidance, and training on AI best practices; using AI to plan for unexpected circumstances; protecting data and intellectual property; improving cybersecurity; facilitating regulatory compliance; improving customer trust; and incorporating AI into business operations. They must also conduct outreach to small businesses regarding AI use to the extent practical.

The bill also adds a definition of artificial intelligence to the Small Business Act by cross-referencing section 5002 of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020. The reported text includes a CUTGO provision stating that no additional amounts are authorized to carry out the Act or its amendments. That means SBA and SBDCs must absorb the new AI guidance and outreach duties within existing funding authority unless future appropriations provide resources separately.

Who Benefits and How

Small business owners benefit from SBDC training on how to evaluate AI tools for operations, cybersecurity, compliance, customer trust, and resilience. Small businesses adopting AI benefit from practical guidance before buying or deploying tools that could expose data or intellectual property. Small Business Development Centers benefit from a clearer statutory basis for AI counseling and outreach. AI technology providers benefit indirectly if better-informed small businesses become more comfortable adopting AI tools. SBA district offices benefit from a defined AI assistance category they can coordinate with SBDCs.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Small Business Development Center staff must add AI guidance, training, and outreach to their counseling workload. SBA program managers must update SBDC guidance, training materials, and performance expectations without a new authorization of funds. Federal taxpayers avoid a new authorization, but existing SBA resources may be stretched. Small businesses receiving advice still must evaluate vendor claims, cybersecurity risk, data protection, regulatory compliance, and customer trust issues before adopting AI. SBDC trainers must keep AI materials current as tools and risks change.

Key Provisions

• Requires SBDCs to assist small businesses in evaluating artificial intelligence for operations.
• Requires information, guidance, and training on AI best practices, resilience planning, data protection, intellectual-property protection, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, customer trust, and operational adoption.
• Requires practical outreach to small business concerns regarding AI use.
• Adds the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act definition of artificial intelligence to the Small Business Act.
• Provides that no additional amounts are authorized to carry out the bill or its amendments.