H.R. 4481 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4481 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 16, 2021Mr. Phillips (for himself and Mr. Meuser) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business A BILL To amend the Small Business Act to establish requirements for 7(a) agents, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Small Business 7(a) Loan Agent Transparency Act. 2. Requirements for 7(a) agents (a) Office of Credit Risk Management Duties Section 47(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657t(b)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (2), by striking and at the end; (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (4) any 7(a) agent. . (b) Enforcement authority (1) Office of Credit Risk Management Section 47(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657t(e)) is amended by inserting or 7(a) agent after 7(a) lender each place such term appears. (2) Lender Oversight Committee Section 48(c)(2) of the Small Business Act is amended by striking and any Lending Partner or Intermediary participant and inserting , any 7(a) agent (as defined in section 47), or any Lending Partner or Intermediary participant. (c) Registration system Section 47 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657t) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections: (j) Registration system for 7(a) agents (1) In general The Director shall establish a registration system for 7(a) agents that assigns a unique identifier to each 7(a) agent and collects data necessary for the Director to submit the report required under paragraph (4). (2) Requirements A 7(a) agent shall— (A) register in the system established under paragraph (1) before providing covered services to a lender or applicant; and (B) effective 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subsection, submit an annual fee for such registration to the Director. (3) Database The Director shall establish and maintain an electronic database of the types of covered services provided by each 7(a) agent. (k) Definitions In this section: (1) 7(a) agent The term 7(a) agent means a person who provides covered services on behalf of a lender or applicant. (2) Covered services The term covered services means— (A) assistance with completing an application for a loan under section 7(a) (including preparing a business plan, cash flow projections, financial statements, and related documents); or (B) consulting, broker, or referral services with respect to a loan under section 7(a). . (d) Effective date This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.