[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 731 Introduced in House (IH)]
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).
``(2) Reports.--
``(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.
``(f) Eligibility.--
``(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.
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