To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small business concerns, and for other purposes.

July 15, 2005

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. BOND, Mr. BURNS, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BINGAMAN, and Mr. ROCKEFELLER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small business concerns, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act of 2005'.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a 4-year pilot program to--

(1) provide confidential assistance to small business concerns;

(2) provide small business concerns with the information necessary to improve their rate of compliance with Federal and State regulations derived from Federal law;

(3) create a partnership among Federal agencies to increase outreach efforts to small business concerns with respect to regulatory compliance;

(4) provide a mechanism for unbiased feedback to Federal agencies on the regulatory environment for small business concerns; and

(5) expand the services delivered by the Small Business Development Centers under section 21(c)(3)(H) of the Small Business Act to improve access to programs to assist small business concerns with regulatory compliance.

SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE PILOT PROGRAM.

(a) Definitions- In this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) ADMINISTRATION- The term `Administration' means the Small Business Administration.

(2) ADMINISTRATOR- The term `Administrator' means the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, acting through the Associate Administrator for Small Business Development Centers.

(3) ASSOCIATION- The term `association' means the association established pursuant to section 21(a)(3)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(A)) representing a majority of Small Business Development Centers.

(4) PARTICIPATING SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER- The term `participating Small Business Development Center' means a Small Business Development Center participating in the pilot program established under this Act.

(5) REGULATORY COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE- The term `regulatory compliance assistance' means assistance provided by a Small Business Development Center to a small business concern to assist and facilitate the concern in complying with Federal and State regulatory requirements derived from Federal law.

(6) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER- The term `Small Business Development Center' means a Small Business Development Center described in section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648).

(7) STATE- The term `State' means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam.

(b) Authority- In accordance with this section, the Administrator shall establish a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small business concerns through participating Small Business Development Centers.

(c) Small Business Development Centers-

(1) IN GENERAL- In carrying out the pilot program established under this section, the Administrator shall enter into arrangements with participating Small Business Development Centers under which such Centers shall--

(A) provide access to information and resources, including current Federal and State nonpunitive compliance and technical assistance programs similar to those established under section 507 of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 7661f);

(B) conduct training and educational activities;

(C) offer confidential, free-of-charge, one-on-one, in-depth counseling to the owners and operators of small business concerns regarding compliance with Federal and State regulations derived from Federal law, provided that such counseling is not considered to be the practice of law in a State in which a Small Business Development Center is located or in which such counseling is conducted;

(D) provide technical assistance;

(E) give referrals to experts and other providers of compliance assistance who meet such standards for educational, technical, and professional competency as are established by the Administrator; and

(F) form partnerships with Federal compliance programs.

(2) REPORTS- Each participating Small Business Development Center shall transmit to the Administrator and the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, as the Administrator may direct, a quarterly report that includes--

(A) a summary of the regulatory compliance assistance provided by the Center under the pilot program;

(B) the number of small business concerns assisted under the pilot program; and

(C) for every fourth report, any regulatory compliance information based on Federal law that a Federal or State agency has provided to the Center during the preceding year and requested that it be disseminated to small business concerns.

(d) Eligibility- A Small Business Development Center shall be eligible to receive assistance under the pilot program established under this section only if such Center is certified under section 21(k)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(k)(2)).

(e) Selection of Participating State Programs-

(1) GROUPINGS-

(A) CONSULTATION- In consultation with the association, and giving substantial weight to the recommendations of the association, the Administrator shall select the Small Business Development Center Programs of 2 States from each of the groups of States described in subparagraphs (B) through (K) to participate in the pilot program established under this section.

(B) GROUP 1- Group 1 shall consist of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

(C) GROUP 2- Group 2 shall consist of New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

(D) GROUP 3- Group 3 shall consist of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Delaware.

(E) GROUP 4- Group 4 shall consist of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

(F) GROUP 5- Group 5 shall consist of Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

(G) GROUP 6- Group 6 shall consist of Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

(H) GROUP 7- Group 7 shall consist of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.

(I) GROUP 8- Group 8 shall consist of Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Utah.

(J) GROUP 9- Group 9 shall consist of California, Guam, American Samoa, Hawaii, Nevada, and Arizona.

(K) GROUP 10- Group 10 shall consist of Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon.

(2) DEADLINE FOR SELECTION- The Administrator shall make selections under this subsection not later than 60 days after the date of publication of final regulations under section 4.

(f) Matching Requirement- Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 21(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)) shall apply to assistance made available under the pilot program established under this section.

(g) Grant Amounts- Each State program selected to receive a grant under subsection (e) shall be eligible to receive a grant in an amount equal to--

(1) not less than $150,000 per fiscal year; and

(2) not more than $300,000 per fiscal year.

(h) Evaluation and Report- The Comptroller General of the United States shall--

(1) not later than 30 months after the date of disbursement of the first grant under the pilot program established under this section, initiate an evaluation of the pilot program; and

(2) not later than 6 months after the date of the initiation of the evaluation under paragraph (1), transmit to the Administrator, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives, a report containing--

(A) the results of the evaluation; and

(B) any recommendations as to whether the pilot program, with or without modification, should be extended to include the participation of all Small Business Development Centers.

(i) Authorization of Appropriations-

(1) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section--

(A) $5,000,000 for the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act; and

(B) $5,000,000 for each of the 3 fiscal years following the fiscal year described in subparagraph (A).

(2) LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER FUNDS- The Administrator may carry out the pilot program established under this section only with amounts appropriated in advance specifically to carry out this section.

(j) Termination- The Small Business Regulatory Assistance Pilot Program established under this section shall terminate 4 years after the date of disbursement of the first grant under the pilot program.

SEC. 4. RULEMAKING.

After providing notice and an opportunity for comment, and after consulting with the association (but not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act), the Administrator shall promulgate final regulations to carry out this Act, including regulations that establish--

(1) priorities for the types of assistance to be provided under the pilot program established under this Act;

(2) standards relating to educational, technical, and support services to be provided by participating Small Business Development Centers;

(3) standards relating to any national service delivery and support function to be provided by the association under the pilot program;

(4) standards relating to any work plan that the Administrator may require a participating Small Business Development Center to develop; and

(5) standards relating to the educational, technical, and professional competency of any expert or other assistance provider to whom a small business concern may be referred for compliance assistance under the pilot program.

END