A bill 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

Summary: National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act of 2005 - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small businesses through participating Small Business Development Centers (Centers). Requires the Administrator to enter into arrangements with participating Centers to provide: (1) access to regulatory information and resources; (2) training and education activities; (3) confidential counseling to owners and operators of small businesses regarding compliance with Federal regulations; (4) technical assistance; and (5) partnerships with Federal compliance programs. Requires the Administrator, giving substantial weight to the recommendations of the majority of the Centers, to select the Center programs of two States from each of ten groups of States for participation in the pilot program. Provides grant limits. Terminates the pilot program four years after disbursement of the first grant.

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.