II

Calendar No. 234

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION 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 the feasibility of streamlining paperwork requirements applicable to small business

concerns, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 30, 2001

Mr. VOINOVICH (for himself, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. BOND, Mr.

CONRAD, Mr. MILLER, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. CLELAND, Mr.

CARPER, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. THOMPSON, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee

on Governmental Affairs

NOVEMBER 27, 2001

Reported by Mr. LIEBERMAN, with an amendment and an amendment to the

title

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

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 the feasibility of

streamlining paperwork requirements applicable to small

business concerns, and for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Paper5 work Relief Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. FACILITATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL PA7 PERWORK REQUIREMENTS.

8 (a) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO THE DIRECTOR

9 OF OMB.—Section 3504(c) of title 44, United States

10 Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction

11 Act’’), is amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and

13 inserting a semicolon;

14 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and

15 inserting a semicolon; and

16 (3) by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(6) publish in the Federal Register on an an18 nual basis a list of the collections of information ap19 plicable to small-business concerns (as defined in

20 section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

21 632)), organized by North American Industrial Clas22 sification System code and industrial/sector descrip23 tion (as published by the Office of Management and

24 Budget), with the first such publication occurring

25 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
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1 the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001;

2 and

3 ‘‘(7) make available on the Internet, not later

4 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Small

5 Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001, the list of

6 requirements described in paragraph (6).’’.

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF AGENCY POINT OF CON8 TACT.—Section 3506 of title 44, United States Code, is

9 amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(i) In addition to the requirements described in sub11 section (c), each agency shall, with respect to the collection

12 of information and the control of paperwork, establish 1

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

14 the agency and small-business concerns (as defined in sec15 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)).’’.

16 (c) ADDITIONAL REDUCTION OF PAPERWORK FOR

17 CERTAIN SMALL BUSINESSES.—Section 3506(c) of title

18 44, United States Code, is amended—

19 (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘; and’’

20 and inserting a semicolon;

21 (2) in paragraph (3)(J), by striking the period

22 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(4) in addition to the requirements of this

25 chapter regarding the reduction of paperwork for
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1 small-business concerns (as defined in section 3 of

2 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), make ef3 forts to further reduce the paperwork burden for

4 small-business concerns with fewer than 25 employ5 ees.’’.

6 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE TO STUDY

7 STREAMLINING OF PAPERWORK REQUIRE8 MENTS FOR SMALL-BUSINESS CONCERNS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 35 of title 44, United

10 States Code, is amended—

11 (1) by redesignating section 3520 as section

12 3521; and

13 (2) by inserting after section 3519 the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘§ 3520. Establishment of task force on feasibility of

16 streamlining information collection re17 quirements

18 ‘‘(a) There is established a task force to study the

19 feasibility of streamlining requirements with respect to

20 small-business concerns regarding collection of informa21 tion (in this section referred to as the ‘task force’).

22 ‘‘(b) The members of the task force shall be ap23 pointed by the Director, and include—

24 ‘‘(1) not less than 2 representatives of the De25 partment of Labor, including 1 representative of the
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1 Bureau of Labor Statistics and 1 representative of

2 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration;

3 ‘‘(2) not less than 1 representative of the Envi4 ronmental Protection Agency;

5 ‘‘(3) not less than 1 representative of the De6 partment of Transportation;

7 ‘‘(4) not less than 1 representative of the Office

8 of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration;

9 ‘‘(5) not less than 1 representative of each of

10 two agencies other than the Department of Labor,

11 the Environmental Protection Agency, the Depart12 ment of Transportation, and the Small Business Ad13 ministration; and

14 ‘‘(6) not less than 2 representatives of the De15 partment of Health and Human Services, including

16 one representative of the Health Care Financing Ad17 ministration.

18 ‘‘(c) The task force shall—

19 ‘‘(1) recommend a system to clarify which small

20 businesses within particular North American Indus21 trial Classification System codes are subject to

22 which information compliance requirements; and

23 ‘‘(2) examine the feasibility of requiring each

24 agency to consolidate requirements regarding collec25 tions of information with respect to small-business
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1 concerns, in order that each small business concern

2 may submit all information required by the agency—

3 ‘‘(A) to 1 point of contact in the agency;

4 ‘‘(B) in a single format, such as a single

5 electronic reporting system, with respect to the

6 agency; and

7 ‘‘(C) on the same date.

8 ‘‘(d) Not later than 1 year after the date of enact9 ment of the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001,

10 the task force shall submit a report of its findings under

11 subsection (c) to the chairpersons and ranking minority

12 members of the Committee on Governmental Affairs and

13 the Committee on Small Business of the Senate, and the

14 Committee on Government Reform and the Committee on

15 Small Business of the House of Representatives.

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

17 has the meaning given under section 3 of the Small Busi18 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 632).’’.

19 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

20 The table of sections for chapter 35 of title 44, United

21 States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to

22 section 3520 and inserting the following:

‘‘3520. Establishment of task force on feasibility of streamlining information

collection requirements.

‘‘3521. Authorization of appropriations.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT REFORMS.

2 Section 223 of the Small Business Regulatory En3 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 601 note) is

4 amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting:

5 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

7 the date of enactment of the Small Business Paper8 work Relief Act of 2001, and not later than every

9 2 years thereafter, each agency shall submit a report

10 to the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the

11 Committee on Small Business of the Senate, and the

12 Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on

13 Small Business of the House of Representatives,

14 that includes information with respect to the appli15 cable 1-year period or 2-year period covered by the

16 report on each of the following:

17 ‘‘(A) The number of enforcement actions

18 in which a civil penalty is assessed or proposed

19 to be assessed.

20 ‘‘(B) The number of enforcement actions

21 in which a civil penalty is assessed or proposed

22 to be assessed against a small entity.

23 ‘‘(C) The number of enforcement actions

24 described under subparagraphs (A) and (B) in

25 which the civil penalty is reduced or waived.
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1 ‘‘(D) The total monetary amount of the re2 ductions or waivers referred to under subpara3 graph (C).

4 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS IN REPORTS.—Each report

5 under paragraph (1) shall include definitions of the

6 terms ‘enforcement actions’, ‘reduction or waiver’,

7 and ‘small entity’ as used in the report.’’.

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Paper10 work Relief Act of 2001’’.

11 SEC. 2. FACILITATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL PA12 PERWORK REQUIREMENTS.

13 (a) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO THE DIRECTOR

14 OF OMB.—Section 3504(c) of title 44, United States Code

15 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’),

16 is amended—

17 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and

18 inserting a semicolon;

19 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and

20 inserting a semicolon; and

21 (3) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(6) publish in the Federal Register and make

23 available on the Internet (in consultation with the

24 Small Business Administration) on an annual basis

25 a list of the compliance assistance resources available
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1 to small businesses, with the first such publication oc2 curring not later than 1 year after the date of enact3 ment of the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of

4 2001.’’.

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF AGENCY POINT OF CON6 TACT.—Section 3506 of title 44, United States Code, is

7 amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(i)(1) In addition to the requirements described in

9 subsection (c), each agency described under paragraph (2)

10 shall, with respect to the collection of information and the

11 control of paperwork, establish 1 point of contact in the

12 agency to act as a liaison between the agency and small

13 business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small Busi14 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 632)). Each such point of contact shall

15 be established not later than 1 year after the date of enact16 ment of the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001.

17 ‘‘(2) An agency described under this paragraph is—

18 ‘‘(A) any agency with a head that is listed at a

19 level I position on the Executive Schedule under sec20 tion 5312 of title 5; and

21 ‘‘(B) the Federal Communications Commission,

22 the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the

23 Environmental Protection Agency.’’.
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1 (c) ADDITIONAL REDUCTION OF PAPERWORK FOR

2 CERTAIN SMALL BUSINESSES.—Section 3506(c) of title 44,

3 United States Code, is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘; and’’

5 and inserting a semicolon;

6 (2) in paragraph (3)(J), by striking the period

7 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

8 (3) by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(4) in addition to the requirements of this

10 chapter regarding the reduction of information collec11 tion burdens for small business concerns (as defined

12 in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

13 632)), make efforts to—

14 ‘‘(A) further reduce the information collec15 tion burden for small business concerns with

16 fewer than 25 employees; and

17 ‘‘(B) eliminate any unnecessary paperwork

18 burdens.’’.

19 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE ON INFORMATION

20 COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 35 of title 44, United

22 States Code, is amended—

23 (1) by redesignating section 3520 as section

24 3521; and

25 (2) by inserting after section 3519 the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 3520. Establishment of task force on information

2 collection and dissemination

3 ‘‘(a) There is established a task force to study the feasi4 bility of streamlining requirements with respect to small

5 business concerns regarding collection of information and

6 strengthening dissemination of information (in this section

7 referred to as the ‘task force’).

8 ‘‘(b) The members of the task force shall be appointed

9 by the Director, and include—

10 ‘‘(1) not less than 2 representatives of the De11 partment of Labor, including 1 representative of the

12 Bureau of Labor Statistics and 1 representative of the

13 Occupational Safety and Health Administration;

14 ‘‘(2) not less than 1 representative of the Envi15 ronmental Protection Agency;

16 ‘‘(3) not less than 1 representative of the Depart17 ment of Transportation;

18 ‘‘(4) not less than 1 representative of the Office

19 of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration;

20 ‘‘(5) not less than 1 representative of the Internal

21 Revenue Service;

22 ‘‘(6) not less than 2 representatives of the De23 partment of Health and Human Services, including

24 1 representative of the Health Care Financing Ad25 ministration;
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1 ‘‘(7) not less than 1 representative of the Depart2 ment of Agriculture;

3 ‘‘(8) not less than 1 representative of the Depart4 ment of Interior;

5 ‘‘(9) not less than 1 representative of the General

6 Services Administration;

7 ‘‘(10) not less than 1 representative of each of 2

8 agencies not represented by representatives described

9 under paragraphs (1) through (9) and (11);

10 ‘‘(11) 1 representative of the Director, who shall

11 convene and chair the task force; and

12 ‘‘(12) not less than 3 representatives of the small

13 business community.

14 ‘‘(c) The task force shall—

15 ‘‘(1) recommend a plan for the development of

16 an interactive Government application, available

17 through the Internet, to allow each small business to

18 better understand which Federal requirements regard19 ing collection of information (and, when possible,

20 which other Federal regulatory requirements) apply

21 to that particular business;

22 ‘‘(2) identify ways to integrate the collection of

23 information across Federal agencies and programs

24 and examine the feasibility of requiring each agency

25 to consolidate requirements regarding collections of
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1 information with respect to small business concerns,

2 within and across agencies without negatively im3 pacting the effectiveness of underlying laws and regu4 lations regarding such collections of information, in

5 order that each small business concern may submit

6 all information required by the agency—

7 ‘‘(A) to 1 point of contact in the agency;

8 and

9 ‘‘(B) in a single format, such as a single

10 electronic reporting system, with respect to the

11 agency;

12 ‘‘(3) examine the feasibility and helpfulness to

13 small businesses of the Director publishing a list of

14 the collections of information applicable to small busi15 ness concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small

16 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), organized—

17 ‘‘(A) by North American Industrial Classi18 fication System code;

19 ‘‘(B) industrial/sector description; or

20 ‘‘(C) in another manner by which small

21 business concerns can more easily identify re22 quirements with which those small business con23 cerns are expected to comply; and
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1 ‘‘(4) examine the savings, including cost savings,

2 for implementing a system of electronic paperwork

3 submissions.

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

5 of the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001, the

6 task force shall submit a report of its findings under sub7 section (c) to—

8 ‘‘(1) the Director; and

9 ‘‘(2) the chairpersons and ranking minority

10 members of—

11 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Governmental Af12 fairs and the Committee on Small Business of

13 the Senate; and

14 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Government Reform

15 and the Committee on Small Business of the

16 House of Representatives.

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

18 has the meaning given under section 3 of the Small Busi19 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 632).’’.

20 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The

21 table of sections for chapter 35 of title 44, United States

22 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section

23 3520 and inserting the following:

‘‘3520. Establishment of task force on information collection and dissemination.

‘‘3521. Authorization of appropriations.’’.
15

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1 SEC. 4. REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT REFORMS.

2 Section 223 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforce3 ment Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 601 note) is amended

4 by striking subsection (c) and inserting:

5 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

7 the date of enactment of the Small Business Paper8 work Relief Act of 2001, and not later than every 2

9 years thereafter, each agency shall submit a report to

10 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

11 and the chairpersons and ranking minority members

12 of the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the

13 Committee on Small Business of the Senate, and the

14 Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on

15 Small Business of the House of Representatives, that

16 includes information with respect to the applicable 1-

17 year period or 2-year period covered by the report on

18 each of the following:

19 ‘‘(A) The number of enforcement actions in

20 which a civil penalty is assessed.

21 ‘‘(B) The number of enforcement actions in

22 which a civil penalty is assessed against a small

23 entity.

24 ‘‘(C) The number of enforcement actions de25 scribed under subparagraphs (A) and (B) in

26 which the civil penalty is reduced or waived.
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1 ‘‘(D) The total monetary amount of the re2 ductions or waivers referred to under subpara3 graph (C).

4 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS IN REPORTS.—Each report

5 under paragraph (1) shall include definitions of the

6 terms ‘enforcement actions’, ‘reduction or waiver’,

7 and ‘small entity’ as used in the report.’’.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill 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.’’.

Calendar No. 234

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1271

A BILL

To amend chapter 35 of title 44, United States

Code, for the purpose of facilitating complianceby small business concerns with certain Federalpaperwork requirements, to establish a task forceto examine the feasibility of streamlining paperwork requirements applicable to small businessconcerns, and for other purposes.

NOVEMBER 27, 2001

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

title