II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1730 

To reform the regulatory process to ensure that small businesses are free 

to compete and to create jobs, to clear unnecessary regulatory burdens, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2013 

Ms. COLLINS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To reform the regulatory process to ensure that small businesses are free to compete and to create jobs, to clear 

unnecessary regulatory burdens, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 TITLE I—CLEARING UNNECES4 SARY REGULATORY BURDENS 

5 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Clearing Unnecessary 

7 Regulatory Burdens Act of 2013’’ or the ‘‘CURB Act’’. 

8 SEC. 102. REGULATORY REFORM. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad2 ministrator of the Office of Information and Regu3 latory Affairs in the Office of Management and 

4 Budget; 

5 (2) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the same meaning as 

6 in section 3502(1) of title 44, United States Code; 

7 (3) the term ‘‘economically significant guidance 

8 document’’ means a significant guidance document 

9 that may reasonably be anticipated to lead to an an10 nual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more 

11 or adversely affect in a material way the economy or 

12 a sector of the economy, except that economically 

13 significant guidance documents do not include guid14 ance documents on Federal expenditures and re15 ceipts; 

16 (4) the term ‘‘disseminated’’— 

17 (A) means prepared by an agency and dis18 tributed to the public or regulated entities; and 

19 (B) does not include— 

20 (i) distribution limited to Federal 

21 Government employees; 

22 (ii) intra- or interagency use or shar23 ing of Federal Government information; 

24 and 


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1 (iii) responses to requests for agency 

2 records under section 552 of title 5, 

3 United States Code (commonly referred to 

4 as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), 

5 section 552a of title 5, United States Code, 

6 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Privacy 

7 Act’’), the Federal Advisory Committee 

8 Act (5 U.S.C. App.), or other similar laws; 

9 (5) the term ‘‘guidance document’’ means an 

10 agency statement of general applicability and future 

11 effect, other than a regulatory action, that sets forth 

12 a policy on a statutory, regulatory or technical issue 

13 or an interpretation of a statutory or regulatory 

14 issue; 

15 (6) the term ‘‘regulation’’ means an agency 

16 statement of general applicability and future effect, 

17 which the agency intends to have the force and ef18 fect of law, that is designed to implement, interpret, 

19 or prescribe law or policy or to describe the proce20 dure or practice requirements of an agency; 

21 (7) the term ‘‘regulatory action’’ means any 

22 substantive action by an agency (normally published 

23 in the Federal Register) that promulgates or is ex24 pected to lead to the promulgation of a final regula25 tion, including notices of inquiry, advance notices of 


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1 proposed rulemaking, and notices of proposed rule2 making; 

3 (8) the term ‘‘significant guidance document’’— 

4 (A) means a guidance document dissemi5 nated to regulated entities or the general public 

6 that may reasonably be anticipated to— 

7 (i) lead to an annual effect on the 

8 economy of $100,000,000 or more or affect 

9 in a material way the economy, a sector of 

10 the economy, productivity, competition, 

11 jobs, the environment, public health or 

12 safety, or State, local, or tribal govern13 ments or communities; 

14 (ii) create a serious inconsistency or 

15 otherwise interfere with an action taken or 

16 planned by another agency; 

17 (iii) materially alter the budgetary im18 pact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or 

19 loan programs or the rights and obliga20 tions of recipients thereof; or 

21 (iv) raise novel legal or policy issues 

22 arising out of legal mandates and the pri23 orities, principles, and provisions of this 

24 section; and 

25 (B) does not include— 


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1 (i) legal advisory opinions for internal 

2 Executive Branch use and not for release 

3 (such as Department of Justice Office of 

4 Legal Counsel opinions); 

5 (ii) briefs and other positions taken by 

6 agencies in investigations, pre-litigation, 

7 litigation, or other enforcement pro8 ceedings; 

9 (iii) speeches; 

10 (iv) editorials; 

11 (v) media interviews; 

12 (vi) press materials; 

13 (vii) congressional correspondence; 

14 (viii) guidance documents that pertain 

15 to a military or foreign affairs function of 

16 the United States (other than guidance on 

17 procurement or the import or export of 

18 non-defense articles and services); 

19 (ix) grant solicitations; 

20 (x) warning letters; 

21 (xi) case or investigatory letters re22 sponding to complaints involving fact-spe23 cific determinations; 

24 (xii) purely internal agency policies; 


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1 (xiii) guidance documents that pertain 

2 to the use, operation or control of a gov3 ernment facility; 

4 (xiv) internal guidance documents di5 rected solely to other agencies; and 

6 (xv) any other category of significant 

7 guidance documents exempted by an agen8 cy head in consultation with the Adminis9 trator; and 

10 (9) the term ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ 

11 means any regulatory action that is likely to result 

12 in a regulation that may— 

13 (A) have an annual effect on the economy 

14 of $100,000,000 or more or adversely affect in 

15 a material way the economy, a sector of the 

16 economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 

17 environment, public health or safety, or State, 

18 local, or tribal governments or communities; 

19 (B) create a serious inconsistency or other20 wise interfere with an action taken or planned 

21 by another agency; 

22 (C) materially alter the budgetary impact 

23 of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan pro24 grams or the rights and obligations of recipi25 ents thereof; or 


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1 (D) raise novel legal or policy issues aris2 ing out of legal mandates and the priorities, 

3 principles, and provisions of this section. 

4 (b) AGENCY ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANT REGU5 LATORY ACTIONS.—For each significant regulatory ac6 tion, each agency shall submit, at such times specified by 

7 the Administrator, a report to the Office of Information 

8 and Regulatory Affairs that includes— 

9 (1) an assessment, including the underlying 

10 analysis, of benefits anticipated from the significant 

11 regulatory action, such as— 

12 (A) the promotion of the efficient func13 tioning of the economy and private markets; 

14 (B) the enhancement of health and safety; 

15 (C) the protection of the natural environ16 ment; and 

17 (D) the elimination or reduction of dis18 crimination or bias; 

19 (2) to the extent feasible, a quantification of 

20 the benefits assessed under paragraph (1); 

21 (3) an assessment, including the underlying 

22 analysis, of costs anticipated from the regulatory ac23 tion, such as— 

24 (A) the direct cost both to the Federal 

25 Government in administering the significant 


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1 regulatory action and to businesses, consumers, 

2 and others (including State, local, and tribal of3 ficials) in complying with the regulation; and 

4 (B) any adverse effects on the efficient 

5 functioning of the economy, private markets 

6 (including productivity, employment, and com7 petitiveness), health, safety, the natural envi8 ronment, job creation, the prices of consumer 

9 goods, and energy costs; 

10 (4) to the extent feasible, a quantification of 

11 the costs assessed under paragraph (3); and 

12 (5) an assessment, including the underlying 

13 analysis, of costs and benefits of potentially effective 

14 and reasonably feasible alternatives to the planned 

15 significant regulatory action, identified by the agen16 cy or the public (including improving the current 

17 regulation and reasonably viable nonregulatory ac18 tions), and an explanation why the planned regu19 latory action is preferable to the identified potential 

20 alternatives. 

21 (c) AGENCY GOOD GUIDANCE PRACTICES.— 

22 (1) AGENCY STANDARDS FOR SIGNIFICANT

23 GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.— 

24 (A) APPROVAL PROCEDURES.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall 

2 develop or have written procedures for the 

3 approval of significant guidance docu4 ments, which shall ensure that the issuance 

5 of significant guidance documents is ap6 proved by appropriate senior agency offi7 cials. 

8 (ii) REQUIREMENT.—Employees of an 

9 agency may not depart from significant 

10 guidance documents without appropriate 

11 justification and supervisory concurrence. 

12 (B) STANDARD ELEMENTS.—Each signifi13 cant guidance document— 

14 (i) shall— 

15 (I) include the term ‘‘guidance’’ 

16 or its functional equivalent; 

17 (II) identify the agency or office 

18 issuing the document; 

19 (III) identify the activity to 

20 which and the persons to whom the 

21 significant guidance document applies; 

22 (IV) include the date of issuance; 

23 (V) note if the significant guid24 ance document is a revision to a pre25 viously issued guidance document and, 


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1 if so, identify the document that the 

2 significant guidance document re3 places; 

4 (VI) provide the title of the docu5 ment and a document identification 

6 number; and 

7 (VII) include the citation to the 

8 statutory provision or regulation (in 

9 Code of Federal Regulations format) 

10 which the significant guidance docu11 ment applies to or interprets; and 

12 (ii) shall not include mandatory terms 

13 such as ‘‘shall’’, ‘‘must’’, ‘‘required’’, or 

14 ‘‘requirement’’ unless— 

15 (I) the agency is using those 

16 terms to describe a statutory or regu17 latory requirement; or 

18 (II) the terminology is addressed 

19 to agency staff and will not foreclose 

20 agency consideration of positions ad21 vanced by affected private parties. 

22 (2) PUBLIC ACCESS AND FEEDBACK FOR SIG23 NIFICANT GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.— 

24 (A) INTERNET ACCESS.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each agency 

2 shall— 

3 (I) maintain on the Web site for 

4 the agency, or as a link on the Web 

5 site of the agency to the electronic list 

6 posted on a Web site of a component 

7 of the agency a list of the significant 

8 guidance documents in effect of the 

9 agency, including a link to the text of 

10 each significant guidance document 

11 that is in effect; and 

12 (II) not later than 30 days after 

13 the date on which a significant guid14 ance document is issued, update the 

15 list described in clause (i). 

16 (ii) LIST REQUIREMENTS.—The list 

17 described in subparagraph (A)(i) shall— 

18 (I) include the name of each— 

19 (aa) significant guidance 

20 document; 

21 (bb) document identification 

22 number; and 

23 (cc) issuance and revision 

24 dates; and 


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1 (II) identify significant guidance 

2 documents that have been added, re3 vised, or withdrawn in the preceding 

4 year. 

5 (B) PUBLIC FEEDBACK.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall 

7 establish and clearly advertise on the Web 

8 site for the agency a means for the public 

9 to electronically submit— 

10 (I) comments on significant guid11 ance documents; and 

12 (II) a request for issuance, recon13 sideration, modification, or rescission 

14 of significant guidance documents. 

15 (ii) AGENCY RESPONSE.—Any com16 ments or requests submitted under sub17 paragraph (A)— 

18 (I) are for the benefit of the 

19 agency; and 

20 (II) shall not require a formal re21 sponse from the agency. 

22 (iii) OFFICE FOR PUBLIC COM23 MENTS.— 

24 (I) IN GENERAL.—Each agency 

25 shall designate an office to receive and 


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1 address complaints from the public re2 lating to— 

3 (aa) the failure of the agen4 cy to follow the procedures de5 scribed in this section; or 

6 (bb) the failure to treat a 

7 significant guidance document as 

8 a binding requirement. 

9 (II) WEB SITE.—The agency 

10 shall provide, on the Web site of the 

11 agency, the name and contact infor12 mation for the office designated under 

13 clause (i). 

14 (3) NOTICE AND PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ECO15 NOMICALLY SIGNIFICANT GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 paragraph (2), in preparing a draft of an eco18 nomically significant guidance document, and 

19 before issuance of the final significant guidance 

20 document, each agency shall— 

21 (i) publish a notice in the Federal 

22 Register announcing that the draft docu23 ment is available; 

24 (ii) post the draft document on the 

25 Internet and make a tangible copy of that 


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1 document publicly available (or notify the 

2 public how the public can review the guid3 ance document if the document is not in a 

4 format that permits such electronic posting 

5 with reasonable efforts); 

6 (iii) invite public comment on the 

7 draft document; and 

8 (iv) prepare and post on the Web site 

9 of the agency a document with responses 

10 of the agency to public comments. 

11 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—In consultation with 

12 the Administrator, an agency head may identify 

13 a particular economically significant guidance 

14 document or category of such documents for 

15 which the procedures of this subsection are not 

16 feasible or appropriate. 

17 (4) EMERGENCIES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—In emergency situa19 tions or when an agency is obligated by law to 

20 act more quickly than normal review procedures 

21 allow, the agency shall notify the Administrator 

22 as soon as possible and, to the extent prac23 ticable, comply with this subsection. 

24 (B) SIGNIFICANT GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS

25 SUBJECT TO STATUTORY OR COURT-IMPOSED


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1 DEADLINE.—For a significant guidance docu2 ment that is governed by a statutory or court3 imposed deadline, the agency shall, to the ex4 tent practicable, schedule the proceedings of the 

5 agency to permit sufficient time to comply with 

6 this subsection. 

7 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take 

8 effect 60 days after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act. 

10 SEC. 103. REDUCTION OR WAIVER OF CIVIL PENALTIES IM11 POSED ON SMALL ENTITIES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 6 of title 5, United 

13 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘§ 613. Reduction or waiver of civil penalties imposed 

16 on small entities 

17 ‘‘(a) Upon notifying a small entity of a violation by 

18 the small entity of a collection of information or record19 keeping requirement, the agency shall provide the small 

20 entity with an opportunity to request that the agency re21 duce or waive any civil penalty imposed on the small entity 

22 as a result of the violation. 

23 ‘‘(b) If a small entity requests a reduction or waiver 

24 under subsection (a), the agency that receives the request 

25 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) review the records of the agency; and 

2 ‘‘(2) reduce or waive the civil penalty imposed 

3 on the small entity if the agency determines that— 

4 ‘‘(A) the civil penalty was the result of a 

5 first-time violation by the small entity of a col6 lection of information or recordkeeping require7 ment; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the reduction or waiver is consistent 

9 with the conditions and exclusions described in 

10 paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (5), and (6) of section 

11 223(b) of the Small Business Regulatory En12 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 601 

13 note). 

14 ‘‘(c) Not later than 60 days after the receipt of a 

15 request from a small entity under subsection (a), an agen16 cy shall send the small entity written notice of the deter17 mination of the agency with respect to the request and 

18 the reasons for the determination. 

19 ‘‘(d) The Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall submit to 

20 Congress an annual report summarizing— 

21 ‘‘(1) all requests received by the agencies under 

22 subsection (a) during the previous year; and 

23 ‘‘(2) the results of the requests described in 

24 paragraph (1).’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

2 The table of sections for chapter 6 of title 5, United States 

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘613. Reduction or waiver of civil penalties imposed on small entities.’’. 

4 TITLE II—REGULATORY 

5 FLEXIBILITY IMPROVEMENT 

6 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Regulatory Flexibility 

8 Improvement Act of 2013’’. 

9 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

10 Congress finds the following: 

11 (1) A vibrant and growing small business sector 

12 is critical to the recovery of the economy of the 

13 United States. 

14 (2) Regulations designed for application to 

15 large-scale entities have been applied uniformly to 

16 small businesses and other small entities, sometimes 

17 inhibiting the ability of small entities to create new 

18 jobs. 

19 (3) Uniform Federal regulatory and reporting 

20 requirements in many instances have imposed on 

21 small businesses and other small entities unneces22 sary and disproportionately burdensome demands, 

23 including legal, accounting, and consulting costs, 

24 thereby threatening the viability of small entities 


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1 and the ability of small entities to compete and cre2 ate new jobs in a global marketplace. 

3 (4) Since 1980, Federal agencies have been re4 quired to recognize and take account of the dif5 ferences in the scale and resources of regulated enti6 ties, but in many instances have failed to do so. 

7 (5) In 2009, there were nearly 70,000 pages in 

8 the Federal Register, and, according to research by 

9 the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Admin10 istration, the annual cost of Federal regulations to11 tals $1,750,000,000,000. Small firms bear a dis12 proportionate burden, paying approximately 36 per13 cent more per employee than larger firms in annual 

14 regulatory compliance costs. 

15 (6) All agencies in the Federal Government 

16 should fully consider the costs, including indirect 

17 economic impacts and the potential for job loss, of 

18 proposed rules, periodically review existing regula19 tions to determine their impact on small entities, 

20 and repeal regulations that are unnecessarily dupli21 cative or have outlived their stated purpose. 

22 (7) It is the intention of Congress to amend 

23 chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, to ensure 

24 that all impacts, including foreseeable indirect ef25 fects, of proposed and final rules are considered by 


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1 agencies during the rulemaking process and that the 

2 agencies assess a full range of alternatives that will 

3 limit adverse economic consequences, enhance eco4 nomic benefits, and fully address potential job loss. 

5 SEC. 203. INCLUDING INDIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT IN 

6 SMALL ENTITY ANALYSES. 

7 Section 601 of title 5, United States Code, is amend8 ed by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(9) the term ‘economic impact’ means, with 

10 respect to a proposed or final rule— 

11 ‘‘(A) the economic effects on small entities 

12 directly regulated by the rule; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the reasonably foreseeable economic 

14 effects of the rule on small entities that— 

15 ‘‘(i) purchase products or services 

16 from, sell products or services to, or other17 wise conduct business with entities directly 

18 regulated by the rule; 

19 ‘‘(ii) are directly regulated by other 

20 governmental entities as a result of the 

21 rule; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) are not directly regulated by the 

23 agency as a result of the rule but are oth24 erwise subject to other agency regulations 

25 as a result of the rule.’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. JUDICIAL REVIEW TO ALLOW SMALL ENTITIES TO 

2 CHALLENGE PROPOSED REGULATIONS. 

3 Section 611(a) of title 5, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘603,’’ after 

6 ‘‘601,’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘603,’’ after 

8 ‘‘601,’’; 

9 (3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(3) A small entity may seek such review during the 

12 1-year period beginning on the date of final agency action, 

13 except that— 

14 ‘‘(A) if a provision of law requires that an ac15 tion challenging a final agency action be commenced 

16 before the expiration of 1 year, the lesser period 

17 shall apply to an action for judicial review under this 

18 section; and 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of noncompliance with section 

20 603 or 605(b), a small entity may seek judicial re21 view of agency compliance with such section before 

22 the close of the public comment period.’’; and 

23 (4) in paragraph (4)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 

25 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

2 period and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(C) issuing an injunction prohibiting an agen5 cy from taking any agency action with respect to a 

6 rulemaking until that agency is in compliance with 

7 the requirements of section 603 or 605.’’. 

8 SEC. 205. PERIODIC REVIEW. 

9 Section 610 of title 5, United States Code, is amend10 ed to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘§ 610. Periodic review of rules 

12 ‘‘(a)(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of en13 actment of the Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act of 

14 2013, each agency shall establish a plan for the periodic 

15 review of— 

16 ‘‘(A) each rule issued by the agency that the 

17 head of the agency determines has a significant eco18 nomic impact on a substantial number of small enti19 ties, without regard to whether the agency per20 formed an analysis under section 604 with respect to 

21 the rule; and 

22 ‘‘(B) any small entity compliance guide required 

23 to be published by the agency under section 212 of 

24 the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fair25 ness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 601 note). 


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1 ‘‘(2) In reviewing rules and small entity compliance 

2 guides under paragraph (1), the agency shall determine 

3 whether the rules and guides should— 

4 ‘‘(A) be amended or rescinded, consistent with 

5 the stated objectives of applicable statutes, to mini6 mize any significant adverse economic impacts on a 

7 substantial number of small entities (including an 

8 estimate of any adverse impacts on job creation and 

9 employment by small entities); or 

10 ‘‘(B) continue in effect without change. 

11 ‘‘(3) Each agency shall publish the plan established 

12 under paragraph (1) in the Federal Register and on the 

13 Web site of the agency. 

14 ‘‘(4) An agency may amend the plan established 

15 under paragraph (1) at any time by publishing the amend16 ment in the Federal Register and on the Web site of the 

17 agency. 

18 ‘‘(b) Each plan established under subsection (a) shall 

19 provide for— 

20 ‘‘(1) the review of each rule and small entity 

21 compliance guide described in subsection (a)(1) in 

22 effect on the date of enactment of the Regulatory 

23 Flexibility Improvement Act of 2013— 


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1 ‘‘(A) not later than 9 years after the date 

2 of publication of the plan in the Federal Reg3 ister; and 

4 ‘‘(B) every 9 years thereafter; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the review of each rule adopted and small 

6 entity compliance guide described in subsection 

7 (a)(1) that is published after the date of enactment 

8 of the Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act of 

9 2013— 

10 ‘‘(A) not later than 9 years after the publi11 cation of the final rule in the Federal Register; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) every 9 years thereafter. 

14 ‘‘(c) In reviewing rules under the plan required under 

15 subsection (a), the agency shall consider— 

16 ‘‘(1) the continued need for the rule; 

17 ‘‘(2) the nature of complaints received by the 

18 agency from small entities concerning the rule; 

19 ‘‘(3) comments by the Regulatory Enforcement 

20 Ombudsman and the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 

21 the Small Business Administration; 

22 ‘‘(4) the complexity of the rule; 

23 ‘‘(5) the extent to which the rule overlaps, du24 plicates, or conflicts with other Federal rules and, 


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1 unless the head of the agency determines it to be in2 feasible, State and local rules; 

3 ‘‘(6) the contribution of the rule to the cumu4 lative economic impact of all Federal rules on the 

5 class of small entities affected by the rule, unless the 

6 head of the agency determines that such a calcula7 tion cannot be made; 

8 ‘‘(7) the length of time since the rule has been 

9 evaluated, or the degree to which technology, eco10 nomic conditions, or other factors have changed in 

11 the area affected by the rule; and 

12 ‘‘(8) the economic impact of the rule, includ13 ing— 

14 ‘‘(A) the estimated number of small enti15 ties to which the rule will apply; 

16 ‘‘(B) the estimated number of small entity 

17 jobs that will be lost or created due to the rule; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(C) the projected reporting, record20 keeping, and other compliance requirements of 

21 the proposed rule, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) an estimate of the classes of small 

23 entities that will be subject to the require24 ment; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the type of professional skills 

2 necessary for preparation of the report or 

3 record. 

4 ‘‘(d)(1) Each agency shall submit an annual report 

5 regarding the results of the review required under sub6 section (a) to— 

7 ‘‘(A) Congress; and 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of an agency that is not an 

9 independent regulatory agency (as defined in section 

10 3502(5) of title 44), the Administrator of the Office 

11 of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office 

12 of Management and Budget. 

13 ‘‘(2) Each report required under paragraph (1) shall 

14 include a description of any rule or guide with respect to 

15 which the agency made a determination of infeasibility 

16 under paragraph (5) or (6) of subsection (c), together with 

17 a detailed explanation of the reasons for the determina18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(e) Each agency shall publish in the Federal Reg20 ister and on the Web site of the agency a list of the rules 

21 and small entity compliance guides to be reviewed under 

22 the plan required under subsection (a) that includes— 

23 ‘‘(1) a brief description of each rule or guide; 

24 ‘‘(2) for each rule, the reason why the head of 

25 the agency determined that the rule has a significant 


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1 economic impact on a substantial number of small 

2 entities (without regard to whether the agency had 

3 prepared a final regulatory flexibility analysis for the 

4 rule); and 

5 ‘‘(3) a request for comments from the public, 

6 the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Busi7 ness Administration, and the Regulatory Enforce8 ment Ombudsman concerning the enforcement of the 

9 rules or publication of the guides. 

10 ‘‘(f)(1) Not later than 6 months after each date de11 scribed in subsection (b)(1), the Inspector General for 

12 each agency shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) determine whether the agency has con14 ducted the review required under subsection (b) ap15 propriately; and 

16 ‘‘(B) notify the head of the agency of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the results of the determination under 

18 subparagraph (A); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) any issues preventing the Inspector 

20 General from determining that the agency has 

21 conducted the review under subsection (b) ap22 propriately. 

23 ‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 6 months after the date on 

24 which the head of an agency receives a notice under para25 graph (1)(B) that the agency has not conducted the review 


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1 under subsection (b) appropriately, the agency shall ad2 dress the issues identified in the notice. 

3 ‘‘(B) Not later than 30 days after the last day of the 

4 6-month period described in subparagraph (A), the In5 spector General for an agency that receives a notice de6 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) determine whether the agency has ad8 dressed the issues identified in the notice; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) notify Congress if the Inspector General 

10 determines that the agency has not addressed the 

11 issues identified in the notice; and 

12 ‘‘(C) Not later than 30 days after the date on which 

13 the Inspector General for an agency transmits a notice 

14 under subparagraph (B)(ii), an amount equal to 1 percent 

15 of the amount appropriated for the fiscal year to the ap16 propriations account of the agency that is used to pay sal17 aries shall be rescinded. 

18 ‘‘(D) Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to 

19 prevent Congress from acting to prevent a rescission 

20 under subparagraph (C).’’. 

21 SEC. 206. REQUIRING SMALL BUSINESS REVIEW PANELS 

22 FOR ADDITIONAL AGENCIES. 

23 (a) AGENCIES.—Section 609 of title 5, United States 

24 Code, is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘a covered agency’’ the 

2 first place it appears and inserting ‘‘an agency 

3 designated under subsection (d)’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘a covered agency’’ each 

5 place it appears and inserting ‘‘the agency’’; 

6 (2) by striking subsection (d), as amended by 

7 section 1100G(a) of Public Law 111–203 (124 Stat. 

8 2112), and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(d)(1)(A) On and after the date of enactment of the 

10 Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act of 2013, the En11 vironmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safe12 ty and Health Administration of the Department of Labor 

13 shall be— 

14 ‘‘(i) agencies designated under this subsection; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) subject to the requirements of subsection 

17 (b). 

18 ‘‘(B) On and after the designated transfer date estab19 lished under section 1062 of Public Law 111–203 (12 

20 U.S.C. 5582), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec21 tion shall be— 

22 ‘‘(i) an agency designated under this subsection; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) subject to the requirements of subsection 

25 (b). 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall designate 

2 as agencies that shall be subject to the requirements of 

3 subsection (b) on and after the date of the designation— 

4 ‘‘(A) 3 agencies for the first year after the date 

5 of enactment of the Regulatory Flexibility Improve6 ment Act of 2013; 

7 ‘‘(B) in addition to the agencies designated 

8 under subparagraph (A), 3 agencies for the second 

9 year after the date of enactment of the Regulatory 

10 Flexibility Improvement Act of 2013; and 

11 ‘‘(C) in addition to the agencies designated 

12 under subparagraphs (A) and (B), 3 agencies for the 

13 third year after the date of enactment of the Regu14 latory Flexibility Improvement Act of 2013. 

15 ‘‘(3) The Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall designate 

16 agencies under paragraph (2) based on the economic im17 pact of the rules of the agency on small entities, beginning 

18 with agencies with the largest economic impact on small 

19 entities.’’; and 

20 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘the cov21 ered agency’’ and inserting ‘‘the agency’’. 

22 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) SECTION 603.—Section 603(d) of title 5, 

24 United States Code, as added by section 1100G(b) 


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1 of Public Law 111–203 (124 Stat. 2112), is amend2 ed— 

3 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a cov4 ered agency, as defined in section 609(d)(2)’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘the Bureau of Consumer Finan6 cial Protection’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘A cov8 ered agency, as defined in section 609(d)(2),’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘The Bureau of Consumer Finan10 cial Protection’’. 

11 (2) SECTION 604.—Section 604(a) of title 5, 

12 United States Code, is amended— 

13 (A) by redesignating the second paragraph 

14 designated as paragraph (6) (relating to cov15 ered agencies), as added by section 1100G(c)(3) 

16 of Public Law 111–203 (124 Stat. 2113), as 

17 paragraph (7); and 

18 (B) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘a covered agency, as 

20 defined in section 609(d)(2)’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘the Bureau of Consumer Financial Pro22 tection’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘the agency’’ and in24 serting ‘‘the Bureau’’. 


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1 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of en3 actment of this Act and apply on and after the des4 ignated transfer date established under section 1062 

5 of Public Law 111–203 (12 U.S.C. 5582). 

6 SEC. 207. EXPANDING THE REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ACT 

7 TO AGENCY GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS. 

8 Section 601(2) of title 5, United States Code, is 

9 amended by inserting after ‘‘public comment’’ the fol10 lowing: ‘‘and any significant guidance document, as de11 fined in the Office of Management and Budget Final Bul12 letin for Agency Good Guidance Procedures (72 Fed. Reg. 

13 3432; January 25, 2007)’’. 

14 SEC. 208. REQUIRING THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

15 TO CONSIDER SMALL ENTITY IMPACT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603(a) of title 5, United 

17 States Code, is amended, in the fifth sentence, by striking 

18 ‘‘but only’’ and all that follows through the period at the 

19 end and inserting ‘‘but only to the extent that such inter20 pretative rules, or the statutes upon which such rules are 

21 based, impose on small entities a collection of information 

22 requirement or a recordkeeping requirement.’’. 

23 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 601 of title 5, United 

24 States Code, as amended by section 103 of this title, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; and 

3 (2) by striking paragraphs (7) and (8) and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(7) the term ‘collection of information’ has the 

6 meaning given that term in section 3502(3) of title 

7 44; 

8 ‘‘(8) the term ‘recordkeeping requirement’ has 

9 the meaning given that term in section 3502(13) of 

10 title 44; and’’. 

11 SEC. 209. REPORTING ON ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS RELAT12 ING TO SMALL ENTITIES. 

13 Section 223 of the Small Business Regulatory En14 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 601 note) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘Each agency’’ and insert18 ing the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY OR PRO20 GRAM.—Each agency’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF CIVIL PENALTIES.—Not later 

23 than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Reg24 ulatory Flexibility Improvement Act of 2013, and 

25 every 2 years thereafter, each agency regulating the 


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1 activities of small entities shall review the civil pen2 alties imposed by the agency for violations of a stat3 utory or regulatory requirement by a small entity to 

4 determine whether a reduction or waiver of the civil 

5 penalties is appropriate.’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (c)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘Agencies shall report’’ 

8 and all that follows through ‘‘the scope’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date 

10 of enactment of the Regulatory Flexibility Im11 provement Act of 2013, and every 2 years 

12 thereafter, each agency shall submit to the 

13 Committee on Small Business and Entrepre14 neurship and the Committee on Homeland Se15 curity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 

16 and the Committee on Small Business and the 

17 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

18 Representatives a report discussing the scope’’; 

19 and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘and the total amount of 

21 penalty reductions and waivers’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘the total amount of penalty reductions and 

23 waivers, and the results of the most recent re24 view under subsection (a)(2)’’. 


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1 SEC. 210. REQUIRING MORE DETAILED SMALL ENTITY 

2 ANALYSES. 

3 (a) INITIAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS.— 

4 Section 603 of title 5, United States Code, as amended 

5 by section 1100G(b) of Public Law 111–203 (124 Stat. 

6 2112), is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(b) Each initial regulatory flexibility analysis re10 quired under this section shall contain a detailed state11 ment— 

12 ‘‘(1) describing the reasons why action by the 

13 agency is being considered; 

14 ‘‘(2) describing the objectives of, and legal basis 

15 for, the proposed rule; 

16 ‘‘(3) estimating the number and type of small 

17 entities to which the proposed rule will apply; 

18 ‘‘(4) describing the projected reporting, record19 keeping, and other compliance requirements of the 

20 proposed rule, including an estimate of the classes of 

21 small entities which will be subject to the require22 ment and the type of professional skills necessary 

23 for preparation of the report and record; 

24 ‘‘(5) describing all relevant Federal rules which 

25 may duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the proposed 


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1 rule, or the reasons why such a description could not 

2 be provided; and 

3 ‘‘(6) estimating the additional cumulative eco4 nomic impact of the proposed rule on small entities, 

5 including job loss by small entities, beyond that al6 ready imposed on the class of small entities by the 

7 agency, or the reasons why such an estimate is not 

8 available.’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(e) An agency shall notify the Chief Counsel for Ad11 vocacy of the Small Business Administration of any draft 

12 rules that may have a significant economic impact on a 

13 substantial number of small entities— 

14 ‘‘(1) when the agency submits a draft rule to 

15 the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of 

16 the Office of Management and Budget under Execu17 tive Order 12866, if that order requires the submis18 sion; or 

19 ‘‘(2) if no submission to the Office of Informa20 tion and Regulatory Affairs is required— 

21 ‘‘(A) a reasonable period before publication 

22 of the rule by the agency; and 

23 ‘‘(B) in any event, not later than 3 months 

24 before the date on which the agency publishes 

25 the rule.’’. 


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1 (b) FINAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 604(a) of title 5, 

3 United States Code, is amended— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘detailed’’ before ‘‘de5 scription’’ each place it appears; 

6 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (i) by inserting ‘‘detailed’’ before 

8 ‘‘statement’’ each place it appears; and 

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(or certification of 

10 the proposed rule under section 605(b))’’ 

11 after ‘‘initial regulatory flexibility anal12 ysis’’; 

13 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘an ex14 planation’’ and inserting ‘‘a detailed expla15 nation’’; and 

16 (D) in paragraph (6) (relating to a de17 scription of steps taken to minimize significant 

18 economic impact), as added by section 1601 of 

19 the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Public 

20 Law 111–240; 124 Stat. 2251), by inserting 

21 ‘‘detailed’’ before ‘‘statement’’. 

22 (2) PUBLICATION OF ANALYSIS ON WEB SITE, 

23 ETC.—Section 604(b) of title 5, United States Code, 

24 is amended to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(b) The agency shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) make copies of the final regulatory flexi2 bility analysis available to the public, including by 

3 publishing the entire final regulatory flexibility anal4 ysis on the Web site of the agency; and 

5 ‘‘(2) publish in the Federal Register the final 

6 regulatory flexibility analysis, or a summary of the 

7 analysis that includes the telephone number, mailing 

8 address, and address of the Web site where the com9 plete final regulatory flexibility analysis may be ob10 tained.’’. 

11 (c) CROSS-REFERENCES TO OTHER ANALYSES.— 

12 Section 605(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

13 to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(a) A Federal agency shall be deemed to have satis15 fied a requirement regarding the content of a regulatory 

16 flexibility agenda or regulatory flexibility analysis under 

17 section 602, 603, or 604, if the Federal agency provides 

18 in the agenda or regulatory flexibility analysis a cross-ref19 erence to the specific portion of an agenda or analysis that 

20 is required by another law and that satisfies the require21 ment under section 602, 603, or 604.’’. 

22 (d) CERTIFICATIONS.—Section 605(b) of title 5, 

23 United States Code, is amended, in the second sentence, 

24 by striking ‘‘statement providing the factual’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘detailed statement providing the factual and legal’’. 


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1 (e) QUANTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 607 

2 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as fol3 lows: 

4 ‘‘§ 607. Quantification requirements 

5 ‘‘In complying with sections 603 and 604, an agency 

6 shall provide— 

7 ‘‘(1) a quantifiable or numerical description of 

8 the effects of the proposed or final rule, including an 

9 estimate of the potential for job loss, and alter10 natives to the proposed or final rule; or 

11 ‘‘(2) a more general descriptive statement re12 garding the potential for job loss and a detailed 

13 statement explaining why quantification under para14 graph (1) is not practicable or reliable.’’. 

15 SEC. 211. ENSURING THAT AGENCIES CONSIDER SMALL EN16 TITY IMPACT DURING THE RULEMAKING 

17 PROCESS. 

18 Section 605(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(2) If, after publication of the certification required 

23 under paragraph (1), the head of the agency determines 

24 that there will be a significant economic impact on a sub25 stantial number of small entities, the agency shall comply 


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1 with the requirements of section 603 before the publica2 tion of the final rule, by— 

3 ‘‘(A) publishing an initial regulatory flexibility 

4 analysis for public comment; or 

5 ‘‘(B) re-proposing the rule with an initial regu6 latory flexibility analysis. 

7 ‘‘(3) The head of an agency may not make a certifi8 cation relating to a rule under this subsection, unless the 

9 head of the agency has determined— 

10 ‘‘(A) the average cost of the rule for small enti11 ties affected or reasonably presumed to be affected 

12 by the rule; 

13 ‘‘(B) the number of small entities affected or 

14 reasonably presumed to be affected by the rule; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the number of affected small entities for 

16 which that cost will be significant. 

17 ‘‘(4) Before publishing a certification and a state18 ment providing the factual basis for the certification under 

19 paragraph (1), the head of an agency shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) transmit a copy of the certification and 

21 statement to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

22 Small Business Administration; and 

23 ‘‘(B) consult with the Chief Counsel for Advo24 cacy of the Small Business Administration on the 

25 accuracy of the certification and statement.’’. 


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1 SEC. 212. ADDITIONAL POWERS OF THE OFFICE OF ADVO2 CACY. 

3 Section 203 of Public Law 94–305 (15 U.S.C. 634c) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(7) at the discretion of the Chief Counsel for 

12 Advocacy, comment on regulatory action by an agen13 cy that affects small businesses, without regard to 

14 whether the agency is required to file a notice of 

15 proposed rulemaking under section 553 of title 5, 

16 United States Code, with respect to the action.’’. 

17 SEC. 213. FUNDING AND OFFSETS. 

18 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap19 propriated to the Small Business Administration, for any 

20 costs of carrying out this title and the amendments made 

21 by this title (including the costs of hiring additional em22 ployees)— 

23 (1) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

24 (2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

25 (3) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2015. 


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1 (b) REPEALS.—In order to offset the costs of car2 rying out this title and the amendments made by this title 

3 and to reduce the Federal deficit, the following provisions 

4 of law are repealed, effective on the date of enactment of 

5 this Act: 

6 (1) Section 21(n) of the Small Business Act (15 

7 U.S.C. 648). 

8 (2) Section 27 of the Small Business Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 654). 

10 (3) Section 1203(c) of the Energy Security and 

11 Efficiency Act of 2007 (15 U.S.C. 657h(c)). 

12 SEC. 214. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

13 (a) HEADING.—Section 605 of title 5, United States 

14 Code, is amended in the section heading by striking 

15 ‘‘Avoidance’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol16 lowing: ‘‘Incorporations by reference and cer17 tification.’’. 

18 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

19 chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) by striking the item relating to section 605 

21 and inserting the following: 

‘‘605. Incorporations by reference and certifications.’’; 

22 and 


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1 (2) by striking the item relating to section 607 

2 and inserting the following: 

‘‘607. Quantification requirements.’’. 

Æ 


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