U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1

99–010

" ! SENATE 107TH Congress

2d Session

REPORT

2002

107–153

SMALL BUSINESS PAPERWORK RELIEF ACT

OF 2001

R E P O R T

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

UNITED STATES SENATE

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 1271

TO AMEND CHAPTER 35 OF TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE, FOR

THE PURPOSE OF FACILITATING COMPLIANCE BY SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS WITH CERTAIN FEDERAL PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS, TO ESTABLISH A TASK FORCE TO EXAMINE INFORMATION COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION, AND FOR

OTHER PURPOSES

MAY 21, 2002.—Ordered to be printed
(II)

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman

CARL LEVIN, Michigan

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois

ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey

MAX CLELAND, Georgia

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware

JEAN CARNAHAN, Missouri

MARK DAYTON, Minnesota

FRED THOMPSON, Tennessee

TED STEVENS, Alaska

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi

ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah

JIM BUNNING, Kentucky

PETER G. FITZGERALD, Illinois

JOYCE A. RECHTSCHAFFEN, Staff Director and Counsel

LAWRENCE B. NOVEY, Counsel

RICHARD A. HERTLING, Minority Staff Director

ELIZABETH A. VANDERSARL, Minority Counsel

DARLA D. CASSELL, Chief Clerk
107TH CONGRESS REPORT

2d Session " ! SENATE 107–153

SMALL BUSINESS PAPERWORK RELIEF ACT OF 2001

MAY 21, 2002.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. LIEBERMAN, from the Committee on Governmental Affairs,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany S. 1271]

The Committee on Governmental Affairs, to which was referred

the bill (S. 1271) to amend chapter 35 of title 44, United States

Code, for the purpose of facilitating compliance by small business

concerns with certain Federal paperwork requirements, to establish

a task force to examine information collection and dissemination,

and for other purposes, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

CONTENTS

Page

I. Purposes and Summary ................................................................................ 1

II. Background and Discussion of Legislation .................................................. 2

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 4

IV. Section-by-Section Description ...................................................................... 5

V. Regulatory Impact Statement ....................................................................... 7

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 7

VII. Changes to Existing Law .............................................................................. 8

I. PURPOSES AND SUMMARY

S. 1271, as amended, helps small businesses. The bill aids small

businesses in understanding and complying with Federal information-collection requirements, mandates a study of how to streamline information-collection requirements for small businesses and

how to strengthen the dissemination of information by the Federal

Government, and directs that certain data be compiled about enforcement activities involving small entities. The legislation includes the following provisions to help small businesses:

• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will annually

publish in the Federal Register and make available on the Internet

a list of the compliance assistance resources available to small

businesses.
2

1See regulatory Reform: Implementation of Selected Agencies’ Civil Penalty Relief Policies for

Small Entities, at page 6 (GAO–01–280, February 2001). 2 Regulatory requirements generally, and information collection requirements in particular,

may affect small businesses and other small entities more, in proportion to their size, than big

entities. See, e.g., id.; Part V, ‘‘Factors Contributing to Disproportionate Small-Entity Costs,’’ in

Impacts of Federal Regulation, Paperwork, and Tax Requirements on Small Business, Report

Prepared for the U.S. Small Business Administration, by Microeconomic Applications Inc. (September 10, 1988).

• Each agency will establish a single point of contact within the

agency to serve as liaison with small business concerns with respect to the collection of information and the control of paperwork. • Each agency will make efforts to further reduce the information collection burden for very small business concerns with fewer

than 25 employees. • An interagency task force will be convened to study measures

to streamline information collection requirements for small businesses and to strengthen dissemination of information by the Federal Government. Among other things, the task force will recommend a plan for an interactive government website to help small

businesses understand which Federal information-collection requirements apply to its business and will examine the savings from

electronic reporting of information. • Each agency will report biennially on the number of enforcement actions in which civil penalties were assessed, the number of

such actions against small entities, the number of such actions in

which civil penalties were reduced or waived, and the amount of

such reductions and waivers.

II. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION OF LEGISLATION

America’s small businesses are a critical part of the nation’s

economy and a key driver of new job growth. Small businesses comprise 99% of all businesses, generate about 50% of the gross domestic product, and sustain about 53% of private industry’s workforce.1

However, small businesses face particular challenges in complying

with government information-collection requirements, and the costs

in time and money needed to understand and comply with these requirements can have a direct impact on the businesses’ bottom line.

Many categories of government activity to protect or otherwise

benefit the public depend on the collection of information—including tax collection, regulatory and compliance reporting, applications

for benefits, agency program planning and evaluation, development

of basic statistics, and scientific research. For example, environmental, health, and safety programs depend heavily on reporting

to enable government to identify risks and head off potential danger, and a number of these programs rely on public disclosures of

information, in lieu of more restrictive regulations, to help protect

the public.

Recognizing the importance of such collections of information, it

is crucial that those entities subject to the requirements be able to

understand and comply with them easily. But the cost in time and

money required to understand and comply with information-collection requirements can be very substantial, and, because of economies of scale, it may be relatively more expensive for small businesses than for big businesses to hire the technical and legal assistance to facilitate understanding and complying with Federal information collection requirements.2 Indeed, the smallest businesses
3

3 Under its ‘‘Business Compliance One-Stop’’ initiative, the SBA is developing an Internet portal (www.BusinessLaw.gov) to help small business find, understand, and comply with Federal,

State, and local laws and regulation. See Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office

of Management and Budget, Managing Information Collection and Dissemination, Fiscal Year

2002, pages 40–41; SBA Budget Request and Performance Plan, FY 2003 Congressional Submission, at pages 13, 42–43.

may lack research departments and legal teams, while their statutory and regulatory obligations (Federal, State, and local) may be

substantial in proportion to the company’s size. Accordingly, S.

1271 establishes several initiatives to assist small businesses in

ascertaining, understanding, and complying with their Federal information-collection obligations. Implementation of these initiatives

should reduce the costs and other impacts of those requirements on

small businesses.

Federal agencies, frequently at the direction of Congress, have

developed an array of different programs over the years to help

small businesses in complying with reporting requirements. Federal agencies and others make available many books, pamphlets,

manuals, and—of increasing importance—Internet web sites to

help businesses understand how to fill in forms and fulfill other information-collection responsibilities. However, many businesses

may be unaware of the available resources and how to gain access

to them. The bill requires the Director of OMB, in consultation

with the Small Business Administration, to compile a list of such

compliance assistance resources available to small businesses and

to publish it, as well as annual updates, in the Federal Register

and on the Internet. A central inventory of such resources would

make it easier for small businesses to take advantage of all the

compliance assistance programs available to them.

Likewise, the bill requires the appointment of a single small

business liaison within each agency. Under this provision, small

businesses will know the single person within each agency to whom

they can turn to find information and assistance. The bill also provides for the establishment of a task force of agency officials and

others, whose mission will include studying and making recommendations regarding two strategies intended to help small

businesses ascertain what information-collection requirements are

applicable. First, the task force will recommend a plan for the development of an interactive website to allow each small business to

identify which specific Federal requirements apply to their specific

situation. Second, the task force will examine whether, and to what

extent, it would be feasible and beneficial to small businesses for

the Director of OMB to publish in the Federal Register and on the

Internet an annual list of all Federal information collection requirements, organized by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, by industrial sector description, or another manner by which small businesses can more easily identify which requirements apply to their particular businesses. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is already establishing on the Internet

a one-stop compliance assistance portal for small businesses,3 and

the task force may coordinate its activities with SBA to avoid duplication of effort and to achieve the greatest benefit. These provisions of the bill should increase the level of compliance with reporting requirements, while also making it simpler and less time-consuming for small businesses.
4

The task force is also directed to study measures to help small

businesses through integration and streamlining of information-collection processes and by implementing electronic paperwork submission. Specifically, the task force will examine the feasibility of

requiring agencies to consolidate information-collection requirements without negatively impacting the effectiveness of underlying

laws and regulations to enable a small business to submit required

information to one place in each agency and in a single format,

such as an electronic reporting system. The task force also will

focus specifically on examining the savings that could be realized

by implementing a system of electronic paperwork submissions.

The task force would look at the potential savings of time and

money both to the businesses and others who submit information

and to the agencies that receive and use the information. As part

of this inquiry, the task force should also consider ways to better

identify and authenticate the filer.

The task force will also study ways to strengthen the dissemination of information by the Federal Government to facilitate greater

public access to the information.

Finally, the bill includes a permanent requirement that each

agency file biennial reports providing certain data about its enforcement and penalty actions, including data regarding such actions against small businesses. Requiring this information will facilitate congressional oversight.

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

On July 15, 1999, in the 106th Congress, Senator Voinovich introduced S. 1378, a predecessor bill to S. 1271, for himself and Senator Lincoln, and a hearing was held on the bill. In the 107th Congress, S. 1271 was introduced on July 30, 2001, by Senator

Voinovich, for himself and Senators Lincoln and Leahy, and was

referred to the Governmental Affairs Committee. The bill now has

13 additional cosponsors: Senators Bond, Bunning, Carnahan, Carper, Cleland, Collins, Conrad, Dayton, Jeffords, Kerry, Lieberman,

Miller, and Thompson.

The bill was considered by the Committee at its business meeting on November 14, 2001. At the meeting, Senator Voinovich offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute, which had been

developed after discussions with Senator Lieberman and others.

Changes made to the bill by the amendment in the nature of a substitute include:

• Requiring that the Director of OMB publish annually a list of

compliance assistance resources available to small businesses.

• Striking a requirement that the Director of OMB publish annually a list of information-collection requirements applicable to

small business concerns, organized by North American Industrial

Classification System, and requiring instead that the task force examine the feasibility and helpfulness of such an undertaking.

• Adding that the task force’s purposes include strengthening

the dissemination of information.

• Adding three representatives of the small business community

to the task force.

• Requiring that the task study several ways that Internetbased technology could enable small businesses to better under-
5

stand applicable requirements and to submit paperwork electronically.

• Adding the caveat that, in studying the feasibility of requiring

consolidation of information-collection requirements, the task force

will not study any measure that would negatively impact the effectiveness of underlying laws and regulations.

• Striking a provision requiring the task force to study whether

information collection should be consolidated by enabling small

businesses to submit all paperwork required by an agency ‘‘on the

same date.’’

The Committee adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute by voice vote and ordered the bill, as amended, favorably reported by voice vote. Senators present were: Senators Akaka, Durbin, Cleland, Carper, Carnahan, Thompson, Voinovich, Cochran,

Bunning, and Lieberman.

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION DESCRIPTION

Section 1. Short title

Section 1 of the bill provides that the Act may be cited as the

‘‘Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001.’’

Section 2. Facilitation of compliance with Federal paperwork requirements

Publication of list of compliance-assistance resources. Subsection

(a) of section 2 of the bill adds a new paragraph to the Paperwork

Reduction Act (PRA), at 44 U.S.C. § 3504(c)(6). The new paragraph

(6), read together with existing subsection (c), requires that, with

respect to the collection of information and the control of paperwork, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

will publish in the Federal Register and make available on the

Internet a list of compliance assistance resources available to small

businesses. The applicable definition of ‘‘collection of information’’

in the PRA, at 44 U.S.C. § 3502(3), includes an agency’s questions

and recordkeeping requirements posted to, or imposed upon, 10 or

more persons to obtain information or require its disclosure. The

purpose of this subsection of the bill is to provide small businesses

a resource to help them quickly and efficiently find the compliance

assistance they need.

Point of contact. Subsection (b) of section 2 of the bill adds a new

subsection to the PRA, at 44 U.S.C. § 3506(i), requiring that, with

respect to the collection of information and the control of paperwork, each agency must establish one point of contact to act as liaison between the agency and small business concerns. The applicable definition of ‘‘agency,’’ as set forth in the PRA at 44 U.S.C.

§ 3502(1), includes generally any department, Government corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch, including

independent regulatory agencies. The amendment also makes applicable the definition of ‘‘small business concern’’ in the Small

Business Act, at 15 U.S.C. § 632. The purpose of this subsection of

the bill is to establish the place in each agency that small businesses can contact when they need help with respect to information

collection or the control of paperwork. This subsection applies to

any agency with a head listed as a level I position on the Executive

Schedule, as well as the FCC, the SEC, and the EPA.
6

Further efforts to reduce paperwork for very small enterprises.

Subsection (c) of section 2 of the amendment adds a new paragraph

to the PRA, at 44 U.S.C. § 3506(c)(4), requiring that, in addition to

the requirements of the PRA regarding the reduction of information collection burdens for small business concerns generally, each

agency must make efforts to further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees and eliminate any unnecessary paperwork burdens.

Section 3. Establishment of task force on information collection and

dissemination

Establishment of task force and statement of purposes. Section 3

of the bill adds a new section to the PRA, at 44 U.S.C. § 3520. Subsection (a) of new 44 U.S.C. § 3520 establishes a task force to study

the feasibility of streamlining requirements with respect to small

business concerns regarding collection of information and strengthening dissemination of information by the Federal Government.

Selection of task force members. Subsection (b) of new 44 U.S.C.

§ 3520 provides that the Director of OMB will appoint the representatives from each of a number of departments and agencies

named in the bill and from two additional agencies to be named by

the Director. The Director will appoint a representative of the Director, who will convene and chair the task force, and will appoint

no fewer than three representatives of the small business community to serve on the task force.

Task force assignments. Subsection (c) of new 44 U.S.C. §3520 directs the task force to do the following:

• Recommend a plan for the development of an interactive Internet-based system to allow each small business to better understand

which Federal information-collection requirements (and, where possible, which other Federal regulatory requirements) apply.

• Identify ways to integrate information collection and examine

whether, and to what extent, it would be feasible to require agencies to consolidate requirements regarding collections of information within and across agencies (without negatively impacting the

effectiveness of underlying laws and regulations) in order to enable

each small business concern to submit required information—(A) to

one point of contact in the agency, and (B) in a single format, such

as an electronic reporting system.

• Examine whether, and to what extent, it would be feasible and

helpful to small businesses for the Director to publish a list of all

collections of information applicable to small business concerns organized by North American Industry Classification System

(NAICS) code, by industrial sector description, or in another manner by which small business concerns can more easily identify applicable requirements.

• Examine the savings for implementing a system of electronic

paperwork submission.

The task force will also study ways to strengthen the dissemination of information by the Federal Government to facilitate greater

public access to the information.

Task force reports. Subsection (d) of new 44 U.S.C. §3520 requires the task force to submit a report of its findings not later

than one year after enactment of the bill. The task force shall sub-
7

mit its report to the Director of OMB and to certain committees of

Congress identified in the bill.

Section 4. Regulatory enforcement reports

Section 4 of the bill revises section 223 of the Small Business

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. §601 note)

to require that each agency shall submit biennial reports on each

of the following:

(A) The number of enforcement actions in which a civil penalty

is assessed.

(B) The number of enforcement actions in which a civil penalty

is assessed against a small entity.

(C) The number of enforcement actions described under items (A)

and (B), above, in which the civil penalty is reduced or waived.

(D) The total monetary amount of the reductions or waivers referred to under item (C), above.

Each report shall include definitions of the terms ‘‘enforcement

actions,’’ ‘‘reduction or waiver,’’ and ‘‘small entity’’ as used in the

report. Each agency shall submit a report not later than one year

after the date of enactment of the bill and not later than every two

years thereafter to certain committees of Congress identified in the

bill.

V. REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

Paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the

Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill evaluate the

‘‘regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out this

bill.’’ S. 1271 would have no direct regulatory impact, because it

imposes no requirements on entities and individuals outside of the

Federal Government.

However, implementation of S. 1271 is likely to have an indirect

regulatory impact. Insofar as the implementation of the bill successfully fulfills the objective of assisting small businesses in

ascertaining, understanding, and complying with Federal information-collection requirements, the cost and other impact of those requirements on small businesses should be reduced. Likewise, insofar as the implementation of the bill successfully causes Federal information-collection requirements to be integrated and consolidated

for small businesses, the time that small businesses spend on fulfilling these requirements should be reduced, thereby decreasing

the costs and other impacts of those requirements on small businesses.

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

In compliance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the Standing

Rules of the Senate and with section 403 of the Congressional

Budget Act of 1974, 2 U.S.C. §653, the Committee sets forth the

following cost estimate with respect to S. 1202 submitted to the

Committee by the Congressional Budget Office:
8

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, November 19, 2001.

Hon. JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN,

Chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs,

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed estimate for S. 1271, the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001.

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford.

Sincerely,

STEVEN LIEBERMAN

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

S. 1271—Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001

S. 1271 would seek to provide relief from federal administrative

requirements to small businesses by: (1) directing the Office of

Management and Budget to publish an annual list of paperwork requirements, (2) requiring that agencies provide a single point of

contact for small business, and (3) establishing a multi-agency task

force, including members of the small business community, to

study the feasibility of streamlining requirements for collecting and

reporting information to the federal government.

Under S. 1271, agencies would incur additional costs to publish

lists of paperwork requirements, to participate in the multi-agency

task force, and to provide reports, but CBO expects that such costs

would not be significant. The bill would not affect direct spending

or receipts, so pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. S. 1271

contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no

costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford.

This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

VII. CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 1202 as

reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
9

UNITED STATES CODE

TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND

DOCUMENTS

CHAPTER 35—COORDINATION OF FEDERAL

INFORMATION POLICY

§ 3504. Authority and functions of Director

* * * * * * *

(c) With respect to the collection of information and the control

of paperwork, the Director shall—

* * * * * * *

(4) * * * ø ; and ¿ ;

(5) * * * ø . ¿ ;

(6) publish in the Federal Register and make available on the

Internet (in consultation with the Small Business Administration) on an annual basis a list of the compliance assistance resources available to small businesses, with the first such publication occurring not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001.

* * * * * * *

§ 3506. Federal agency responsibilities

(c) With respect to the collection of information and the control

of paperwork, each agency shall—

* * * * * * *

(2) * * *

* * * * * * *

(B) * * * ø; and¿ ;

* * * * * * *

(3) * * *

* * * * * * *

(J) * * * ø.¿ ;

(4) in addition to the requirements of this chapter regarding

the reduction of information collection burdens for small business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act

(15 U.S.C. 632)), make efforts to— (A) further reduce the information collection burden for

small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees; and

(B) eliminate any unnecessary paperwork burdens.

* * * * * * *

(i)(1) In addition to the requirements described in subsection (c),

each agency described under paragraph (2) shall, with respect to the

collection of information and the control of paperwork, establish 1

point of contact in the agency to act as a liaison between the agency

and small business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small

Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)). Each such point of contact shall be

established not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001.
10

(2) An agency described under this paragraph is— (A) any agency with a head that is listed at a level I position

on the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of title 5; and

(B) the Federal Communications Commission, the Securities

and Exchange Commission, and the Environmental Protection

Agency.

* * * * * * *

SEC. 3520. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE ON INFORMATION COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION.

(a) There is established a task force to study the feasibility of

streamlining requirements with respect to small business concerns

regarding collection of information and strengthening dissemination

of information (in this section referred to as the ‘‘task force’’).

(b) The members of the task force shall be appointed by the Director, and include— (1) not less than 2 representatives of the Department of Labor,

including 1 representative of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and

1 representative of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration;

(2) not less than 1 representative of the Environmental Protection Agency;

(3) not less than 1 representative of the Department of Transportation;

(4) not less than 1 representative of the Office of Advocacy of

the Small Business Administration;

(5) not less than 1 representative of the Internal Revenue

Service;

(6) not less than 2 representatives of the Department of

Health and Human Services, including 1 representative of the

Health Care Financing Administration;

(7) not less than 1 representative of the Department of Agriculture;

(8) not less than 1 representative of the Department of Interior;

(9) not less than 1 representative of the General Services Administration;

(10) not less than 1 representative of each of 2 agencies not

represented by representatives described under paragraphs (1)

through (9) and (11);

(11) 1 representative of the Director, who shall convene and

chair the task force; and

(12) not less than 3 representatives of the small business community.

(c) The task force shall—

(1) recommend a plan for the development of an interactive

Government application, available through the Internet, to

allow each small business to better understand which Federal

requirements regarding collection of information (and, when

possible, which other Federal regulatory requirements) apply to

that particular business;

(2) identify ways to integrate the collection of information

across Federal agencies and programs and examine the feasibility of requiring each agency to consolidate requirements regarding collections of information with respect to small busi-
11

ness concerns, within and across agencies without negatively

impacting the effectiveness of underlying laws and regulations

regarding such collections of information, in order that each

small business concern may submit all information required by

the agency— (A) to 1 point of contact in the agency; and

(B) in a single format, such as a single electronic reporting system, with respect to the agency;

(3) examine the feasibility and helpfulness to small businesses

of the Director publishing a list of the collections of information

applicable to small business concerns (as defined in section 3

of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), organized— (A) by North American Industrial Classification System

code;

(B) industrial/sector description; or

(C) in another manner by which small business concerns

can more easily identify requirements with which those

small business concerns are expected to comply; and

(4) examine the savings, including cost savings, for implementing a system of electronic paperwork submissions.

(d) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Small

Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001, the task force shall submit

a report of its findings under subsection (c) to— (1) the Director; and

(2) the chairpersons and ranking minority members of— (A) the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Small Business of the Senate; and

(B) the Committee on Government Reform and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives.

(e) In this section, the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the

meaning given under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

632).

SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT

FAIRNESS ACT OF 1996

Public Law 104–121 (5 U.S.C. § 601 note)

SEC. 223. RIGHTS OF SMALL ENTITIES IN ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.

* * * * * * *

ø(c) REPORTING.—Agencies shall report to the Committee on

Small Business and Committee on Governmental Affairs of the

Senate and the Committee on Small Business and Committee on

Judiciary of the House of Representatives no later than 2 years

after the date of enactment of this section (Mar. 29, 1996) on the

scope of their program or policy, the number of enforcement actions

against small entities that qualified or failed to qualify for the program or policy, and the total amount of penalty reductions and

waivers.¿

(c) REPORTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001,

and not later than every 2 years thereafter, each agency shall

submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and

Budget and the chairpersons and ranking minority members of
12

the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Committee on

Small Business of the Senate, and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives, that includes information with respect to the applicable 1-year period or 2-year period covered by the report on

each of the following:

(A) The number of enforcement actions in which a civil

penalty is assessed.

(B) The number of enforcement actions in which a civil

penalty is assessed against a small entity.

(C) The number of enforcement actions described under

subparagraphs (A) and (B) in which the civil penalty is reduced or waived.

(D) The total monetary amount of the reductions or waivers referred to under subparagraph (C).

(2) DEFINITIONS IN REPORTS.—Each report under paragraph

(1) shall include definitions of the terms ‘‘enforcement actions’’, ‘‘reduction or waiver’’, and ‘‘small entity’’ as used in the report.

Æ