110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 731
To amend the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration to establish a program to provide regulatory
compliance assistance to small business concerns, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 30, 2007
Mr. LATHAM (for himself, Mr. TERRY, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY
of Pennsylvania, and Mr. MCHUGH) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Small Business
A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration to establish a 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 2007'.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a 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;
(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) utilize the service delivery network of Small Business Development
Centers to improve access of small business concerns to programs to assist
them with regulatory compliance.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the definitions set forth in section 37(a) of the Small Business
Act (as added by section 4 of this Act) shall apply.
SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 37 as section 38; and
(2) by inserting after section 36 the following new section:
`SEC. 37. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
`(a) Definitions- In this section, the following definitions apply:
`(1) ASSOCIATION- The term `Association' means the association recognized
by the Administrator of the Small Business Administration under section
21(a)(3)(A).
`(2) PARTICIPATING SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER- The term `participating
Small Business Development Center' means a Small Business Development
Center participating in the program.
`(3) PROGRAM- The term `program' means the regulatory assistance program
established under this section.
`(4) REGULATORY COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE- The term `regulatory compliance
assistance' means assistance provided by a Small Business Development
Center to a small business concern to enable the concern to comply with
Federal regulatory requirements.
`(5) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER- The term `Small Business Development
Center' means a Small Business Development Center described in section
21.
`(6) STATE- The term `State' means each of the several States, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
and American Samoa.
`(b) Authority- In accordance with this section, the Administrator shall
establish a program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small
business concerns through selected Small Business Development Centers, the
Association of Small Business Development Centers, and Federal compliance
partnership programs.
`(c) Small Business Development Centers-
`(1) IN GENERAL- In carrying out the program, the Administrator shall
enter into arrangements with selected Small Business Development Centers
under which such Centers shall provide--
`(A) 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 (42 U.S.C.
7661f);
`(B) training and educational activities;
`(C) 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, as long as 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) technical assistance;
`(E) 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) access to the Internet and training on Internet use, including
the use of the Internet website established by the Administrator under
subsection (d)(1)(C).
`(A) IN GENERAL- Each selected Small Business Development Center shall
transmit to the Administrator a quarterly report that includes--
`(i) a summary of the regulatory compliance assistance provided by
the center under the program; and
`(ii) any data and information obtained by the center from a Federal
agency regarding regulatory compliance that the agency intends to
be disseminated to small business concerns.
`(B) ELECTRONIC FORM- Each report required under subparagraph (A) shall
be transmitted in electronic form.
`(C) INTERIM REPORTS- A participating Small Business Development Center
may transmit to the Administrator such interim reports as the Center
considers appropriate.
`(D) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS- The Administrator shall
not require a Small Business Development Center to disclose the name
or address of any small business concern that received or is receiving
assistance under the program, except that the Administrator shall require
such a disclosure if ordered to do so by a court in any civil or criminal
action.
`(d) Data Repository and Clearinghouse-
`(1) IN GENERAL- In carrying out the program, the Administrator shall--
`(A) act as the repository of and clearinghouse for data and information
submitted by Small Business Development Centers;
`(B) submit to the President, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
of the Senate, and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives
an annual report that includes--
`(i) a description of the types of assistance provided by participating
Small Business Development Centers under the program;
`(ii) data regarding the number of small business concerns that contacted
participating Small Business Development Centers regarding assistance
under the program;
`(iii) data regarding the number of small business concerns assisted
by participating Small Business Development Centers under the program;
`(iv) data and information regarding outreach activities conducted
by participating Small Business Development Centers under the program,
including any activities conducted in partnership with Federal agencies;
`(v) data and information regarding each case known to the Administrator
in which one or more Small Business Development Centers offered conflicting
advice or information regarding compliance with a Federal or State
regulation to one or more small business concerns;
`(vi) any recommendations for improvements in the regulation of small
business concerns; and
`(vii) a list of regulations identified by the Administrator, after
consultation with the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Administration,
who shall review such list, and the Small Business and Agriculture
Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman, as being most burdensome to small
business concerns, and recommendations to reduce or eliminate the
burdens of such regulations; and
`(C) establish an Internet website that--
`(i) provides access to Federal, State, academic, and industry association
Internet websites containing industry-specific regulatory compliance
information that the Administrator deems potentially useful to small
businesses attempting to comply with Federal regulations; and
`(ii) arranges such Internet websites in industry-specific categories.
`(e) Review of Burdensome Regulations and Petition for Agency Review-
`(1) TRANSMISSION OF LIST OF REGULATIONS TO CHIEF COUNSEL FOR ADVOCACY-
The Administrator shall transmit to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of
the Administration a copy of the list of regulations submitted under subsection
(d)(1)(B) as part of the annual report required by that subsection.
`(2) REVIEW OF LIST OF REGULATIONS- The Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall
review the list of regulations transmitted under paragraph (1) and identify
any regulation that--
`(A) is eligible for review in accordance with section 610 of title
5, United States Code;
`(B) has a significant impact on a substantial number of small business
concerns that is substantially different from the impact indicated in
the final regulatory flexibility analysis for that regulation, as published
with the final regulation in the Federal Register; or
`(C) has a significant impact on a substantial number of small business
concerns and for which no final regulatory flexibility analysis was
ever performed.
`(3) NOTIFICATION AND AGENCY REVIEW- With respect to any regulation identified
under paragraph (2) the Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall--
`(A) notify the appropriate Federal rulemaking agency and the Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management of
the identification of such rule or regulation; and
`(B) request the review of such regulation--
`(i) in accordance with section 610 of title 5, United States Code;
or
`(ii) for any impact it has on small business concerns.
`(4) ANNUAL REPORT- The Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall publish an annual
report containing a list of any regulation identified under paragraph
(2) and the disposition by the appropriate agency.
`(1) IN GENERAL- A Small Business Development Center shall be eligible
to receive assistance under the program only if the center is certified
under section 21(k)(2).
`(2) WAIVER- With respect to a Small Business Development Center seeking
assistance under the program, the administrator may waive the certification
requirement set forth in paragraph (1) if the Administrator determines
that the center is making a good faith effort to obtain such certification.
`(3) EFFECTIVE DATE- The restriction described in paragraph (1) shall
not apply to any Small Business Development Center before October 1, 2007.
`(g) Selection of Participating State Programs-
`(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM- In consultation with the Association and
giving substantial weight to the Association's recommendations, the Administrator
shall select the Small Business Development Center programs of 2 States
from each of the following groups of States to participate in the program:
`(A) Group 1: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont,
and Rhode Island.
`(B) Group 2: New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
`(C) Group 3: Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, the District
of Columbia, and Delaware.
`(D) Group 4: Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi,
Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
`(E) Group 5: Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
`(F) Group 6: Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
`(G) Group 7: Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.
`(H) Group 8: Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana,
and Utah.
`(I) Group 9: California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, and Arizona.
`(J) Group 10: Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon.
`(2) DEADLINE FOR INITIAL SELECTIONS- The Administrator shall make selections
under paragraph (1) not later than 60 days after promulgation of regulations
under section 5 of the National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act
of 2007.
`(3) ADDITIONAL SELECTIONS- Not earlier than the date 3 years after the
date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Administrator may select
Small Business Development Center programs of States in addition to those
selected under paragraph (1). The Administrator shall consider the effect
on the programs selected under paragraph (1) before selecting additional
programs under this paragraph.
`(4) COORDINATION TO AVOID DUPLICATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS- In selecting
programs under this subsection, the Administrator shall give a preference
to Small Business Development Center programs that have a plan for consulting
with Federal and State agencies to ensure that any assistance provided
under this section is not duplicated by an existing Federal or State program.
`(h) Matching Not Required- Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 21(a)(4)
shall not apply to assistance made available under the program.
`(i) Distribution of Grants-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in paragraph (2), each State program
selected to receive a grant under subsection (g) in a fiscal year shall
be eligible to receive a grant in an amount not to exceed the product
obtained by multiplying--
`(A) the amount made available for grants under this section for the
fiscal year; and
`(B) the ratio that the population of the State bears to the population
of all the States with programs selected to receive grants under subsection
(g) for the fiscal year.
`(2) MINIMUM AMOUNT- The minimum amount that a State program selected
to receive a grant under subsection (g) shall be eligible to receive under
this section for any fiscal year shall be $250,000. The Administrator
shall reduce the amount described in paragraph (1) as appropriate to carry
out the purposes of this paragraph and subsection (j)(2).
`(j) Evaluation and Report- Not later than 3 years after the establishment
of the program, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct
an evaluation of the program and shall 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
the results of the evaluation along with any recommendations as to whether
the program, with or without modification, should be extended to include
the participation of all Small Business Development Centers.
`(k) Authorization of Appropriations-
`(1) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each subsequent fiscal year.
`(2) LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER FUNDS- The Administrator shall carry out
the program only with amounts appropriated in advance specifically to
carry out this section.'.
SEC. 5. PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.
After providing notice and an opportunity for comment and after consulting
with the Association (but not later than 180 days after the date of the
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 program;
(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 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 program.
END
