II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2045

To provide regulatory relief for small business concerns, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 2, 1996

Mr. HATFIELD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Small Business

A BILL

To provide regulatory relief for small business concerns, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Small Busi5 ness Regulatory Relief Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

7 The purpose of this Act is to establish a system of

8 confidential voluntary compliance with Federal regulations

9 that will—
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1 (1) provide a low cost process to significantly

2 improve compliance by small business concerns with

3 Federal regulations;

4 (2) improve the level of outreach to the small

5 business community and reduce duplication of effort

6 among Federal agencies;

7 (3) be funded without additional appropriations;

8 (4) use the existing federally supported national

9 small business development center service delivery

10 network;

11 (5) provide a mechanism for feedback on the

12 small business regulatory environment; and

13 (6) stimulate the development of partnerships

14 between nonpunitive assistance programs and the

15 small business development center network in order

16 to improve access to and utilization of these pro17 grams by the small business community.

18 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

19 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637 et seq.) is

20 amended—

21 (1) by redesignating section 31 as section 32;

22 and

23 (2) by inserting after section 30 the following

24 new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 31. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY RELIEF.

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

3 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Chairperson’ means the Chair4 person of the Council;

5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Council’ means the Small Busi6 ness Regulatory Relief Council established under

7 subsection (b);

8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘participating agency’ means—

9 ‘‘(A) the Environmental Protection Agen10 cy;

11 ‘‘(B) the Internal Revenue Service of the

12 Department of the Treasury; and

13 ‘‘(C) the Occupational Safety and Health

14 Administration of the Department of Labor;

15 ‘‘(4) the term ‘small business development cen16 ter’ means a small business development center es17 tablished pursuant to section 21; and

18 ‘‘(5) the term ‘system of voluntary compliance’

19 means a system under which small business develop20 ment centers or consortia of small business develop21 ment centers provide confidential assistance to small

22 business concerns in meeting regulatory require23 ments imposed on small business concerns by any

24 participating agency.

25 ‘‘(b) SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY RELIEF COUN26 CIL.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days

2 after the date of enactment of the National Small

3 Business Regulatory Relief Act of 1996, the Admin4 istrator shall establish a Small Business Regulatory

5 Relief Council in accordance with this subsection.

6 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be com7 posed of 13 members, of whom—

8 ‘‘(A) 1 shall be the Associate Adminis9 trator for the Office of Small Business Develop10 ment Centers of the Administration;

11 ‘‘(B) 1 shall be appointed by the head of

12 each participating agency from among the sen13 ior level employees of that participating agency;

14 ‘‘(C) 4 shall be appointed by an association

15 representing the majority of the small business

16 development centers from among representa17 tives of small business development centers;

18 ‘‘(D) 1 shall be a representative of the Na19 tional Small Business Development Center Ad20 visory Council of the Administration; and

21 ‘‘(E) 4 shall be appointed by the Adminis22 trator from among small business owners nomi23 nated by national organizations representing

24 small business concerns.
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1 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—One member of the Coun2 cil shall be elected by the Council to serve as the

3 Chairperson of the Council for a term of 1 year.

4 ‘‘(4) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Each

6 member of the Council shall be appointed for a

7 term of 1 year. No member of the Council may

8 serve more than 3 consecutive terms.

9 ‘‘(B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the

10 Council shall not affect the powers of the Coun11 cil, but shall be filled in the same manner as

12 the original appointment.

13 ‘‘(5) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at

14 the call of the Chairperson, but not less often than

15 quarterly.

16 ‘‘(6) POWERS OF THE COUNCIL.—

17 ‘‘(A) HEARINGS.—The Council may hold

18 such hearings, sit and act at such times and

19 places, take such testimony, and receive such

20 evidence as the Council considers necessary to

21 carry out this section.

22 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGEN23 CIES.—The Council may secure directly from

24 any Federal department or agency, such infor25 mation as the Council considers necessary to
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1 carry out this section. Upon request of the

2 Chairperson, the head of such department or

3 agency shall furnish such information to the

4 Council.

5 ‘‘(C) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council

6 may use the United States mails in the same

7 manner and under the same conditions as other

8 departments and agencies of the Federal Gov9 ernment.

10 ‘‘(D) GIFTS.—The Council may accept,

11 use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv12 ices or property.

13 ‘‘(7) COUNCIL PERSONNEL MATTERS.—

14 ‘‘(A) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each member of

16 the Council who is not an officer or em17 ployee of the Federal Government or of a

18 small business development center shall be

19 compensated at a rate equal to the daily

20 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay

21 prescribed for level IV of the Executive

22 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5,

23 United States Code, for each day (includ24 ing travel time), during which such mem-
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1 ber is engaged in the performance of the

2 duties of the Council.

3 ‘‘(ii) EMPLOYEES OF FEDERAL GOV4 ERNMENT.—All members of the Council

5 who are officers or employees of the Unit6 ed States shall serve without compensation

7 in addition to that received for their serv8 ices as officers or employees of the United

9 States.

10 ‘‘(B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members

11 of the Council shall be allowed travel expenses,

12 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at

13 rates authorized for employees of agencies

14 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5,

15 United States Code, while away from their

16 homes or regular places of business in the per17 formance of services for the Council.

18 ‘‘(C) STAFF.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson

20 may, without regard to the civil service

21 laws and regulations, appoint and termi22 nate an executive director and such other

23 additional personnel as may be necessary

24 to enable the Council to perform its duties.

25 The employment of an executive director
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1 shall be subject to confirmation by the

2 Council.

3 ‘‘(ii) COMPENSATION.—The Chair4 person may fix the compensation of the ex5 ecutive director and other personnel with6 out regard to the provisions of chapter 51

7 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5,

8 United States Code, relating to classifica9 tion of positions and General Schedule pay

10 rates, except that the rate of pay for the

11 executive director and other personnel may

12 not exceed the rate payable for level IV of

13 the Executive Schedule under section 5316

14 of such title.

15 ‘‘(D) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOY16 EES.—Any Federal Government employee may

17 be detailed to the Council without reimburse18 ment, and such detail shall be without interrup19 tion or loss of civil service status or privilege.

20 ‘‘(E) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND

21 INTERMITTENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson

22 may procure temporary and intermittent serv23 ices under section 3109(b) of title 5, United

24 States Code, at rates for individuals which do

25 not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual
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1 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

2 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such

3 title.

4 ‘‘(F) FEDERAL PROCUREMENT.—The

5 Council may contract in its own name, includ6 ing contracting for administrative services and

7 for meeting such national delivery support re8 quirements as it determines necessary and ap9 propriate, under procedures to be determined

10 by the Council, without regard to the provisions

11 of title III of the Federal Property and Admin12 istrative Services Act, or any other law, rule or

13 regulation governing Federal procurement.

14 ‘‘(G) ACCESS TO FEDERAL FACILITIES.—

15 The Council shall have access to any Federal

16 facilities as the Chairperson, in consultation

17 with the General Services Administration or

18 any other agency as appropriate, determines ap19 propriate, to carry out its functions.

20 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.—

21 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than 60

22 days after the date of enactment of the National

23 Small Business Regulatory Relief Act of 1996, each

24 participating agency shall submit to the Council a 5-

25 year plan for the establishment and maintenance of
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1 a system of voluntary compliance in accordance with

2 this Act.

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—Each plan submit4 ted under paragraph (1) shall include—

5 ‘‘(A) the regulatory compliance objectives

6 of the participating agency;

7 ‘‘(B) the regulatory compliance priorities

8 of the participating agency;

9 ‘‘(C) identification of the types of pro10 grams, services, materials, and resources to be

11 developed and deployed by the participating

12 agency;

13 ‘‘(D) participating agency facilities, exper14 tise, and other resources that may be accessed

15 by the Chairperson, a small business develop16 ment center, or a small business concern par17 ticipating in the system of voluntary compliance

18 established under this Act; and

19 ‘‘(E) performance outcome measures and

20 evaluation criteria to be used by the participat21 ing agency in evaluating the effectiveness of the

22 system of voluntary compliance established

23 under this Act.

24 ‘‘(3) DUPLICATION OF EFFORT.—In carrying

25 out this subsection, each participating agency shall,
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1 to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that par2 ticipating agencies are not carrying out duplicative

3 efforts.

4 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF COUNCIL.—

5 ‘‘(1) REVIEW OF PARTICIPATING AGENCY

6 PLAN.—Not later than 30 days after the date on

7 which a participating agency plan is submitted to

8 the Council under subsection (c)(1), the Council

9 shall either—

10 ‘‘(A) approve the plan; or

11 ‘‘(B) make such modifications to the plan

12 as the Council determines to be necessary to

13 carry out the purpose of the National Small

14 Business Regulatory Relief Act of 1996.

15 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF GUIDELINES.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Based on each plan

17 approved or modified under paragraph (2), not

18 later than 180 days after the date of enactment

19 of the National Small Business Regulatory Re20 lief Act of 1996, the Council shall—

21 ‘‘(i) develop a program for the imple22 mentation of each participating agency

23 plan;

24 ‘‘(ii) publish guidelines for the estab25 lishment by small business development
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1 centers or consortia of small business de2 velopment centers of a system of voluntary

3 compliance in accordance with this section;

4 ‘‘(iii) send a written copy of those

5 guidelines to each small business develop6 ment center; and

7 ‘‘(iv) identify national service delivery

8 support requirements including personnel

9 training, resource material development,

10 communication technology, monitoring,

11 and program evaluation.

12 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINE REQUIREMENTS.—The

13 guidelines published under subparagraph (A)

14 shall—

15 ‘‘(i) establish priorities for the types

16 of assistance to be provided to small busi17 ness concerns under the systems of vol18 untary compliance established by small

19 business development centers or consortia

20 under this section; and

21 ‘‘(ii) with respect to that assistance,

22 establish standards relating to educational,

23 technical, and communications tools, re24 sources, and support services to be pro25 vided to small business concerns.
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1 ‘‘(C) PROGRAM DELIVERY.—The guidelines

2 established under subparagraph (A) shall—

3 ‘‘(i) require that the assistance to

4 small business concerns under this Act be

5 carried out by small business development

6 centers or by consortia of small business

7 development centers; and

8 ‘‘(ii) provide that certain national

9 service delivery support requirements may

10 be carried out under contract with an asso11 ciation representing the majority of small

12 business development centers.

13 ‘‘(D) ENFORCEMENT OF GUIDELINES.—

14 For purposes of this paragraph, the provision of

15 small business development center assistance

16 shall not be considered to be an enforcement ac17 tion for any Federal agency.

18 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Council shall, on

19 an annual basis, submit to the President and to the

20 Committees on Small Business of the Senate and

21 the House of Representatives a report, which shall

22 include—

23 ‘‘(A) a description of the types of assist24 ance provided by small business development

25 centers and consortia of small business develop-
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1 ment centers to small business concerns under

2 this section;

3 ‘‘(B) the level of outreach to small business

4 concerns achieved by small business develop5 ment centers and consortia of small business

6 development centers under this section;

7 ‘‘(C) the quality and effectiveness of the

8 assistance provided by small business develop9 ment centers and consortia of small business

10 development centers to small business concerns

11 under this section;

12 ‘‘(D) problems encountered by small busi13 ness development centers and consortia of small

14 business development centers in carrying out

15 this section; and

16 ‘‘(E) recommendations for improvements

17 in the regulation of small business concerns.

18 ‘‘(e) DUTIES OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

19 CENTERS.—

20 ‘‘(1) WORK PLAN.—Beginning not later than

21 60 days after the date on which the guidelines are

22 published by the Council under subsection (d)(2)(A),

23 each small business development center shall, on an

24 annual basis, submit to the Council a work plan

25 under which the small business development center,
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1 either individually or as part of a consortium of

2 small business development centers, will carry out a

3 system of voluntary compliance in accordance with

4 those guidelines.

5 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE PROVIDED.—The assistance

6 to small business concerns under each system of vol7 untary compliance established under paragraph (1)

8 shall include—

9 ‘‘(A) access to information and resources;

10 ‘‘(B) training and educational activities;

11 ‘‘(C) confidential one-on-one in-depth coun12 seling;

13 ‘‘(D) technical assistance; and

14 ‘‘(E) referrals to experts.

15 ‘‘(3) REPORTS; RECOMMENDATIONS.—Each

16 small business development center and consortium of

17 small business development centers shall—

18 ‘‘(A) on a semiannual basis, submit to the

19 Council and to the Administrator a report on

20 the assistance provided by the small business

21 development center or consortium under the

22 system of voluntary compliance established

23 under this section; and

24 ‘‘(B) on an annual basis, submit to the

25 Council and to the Administrator recommenda-
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1 tions for improving the regulation of small busi2 ness concerns.

3 ‘‘(4) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—Nothing

4 in this or any other section shall require a small

5 business development center, any consortium of

6 small business development centers, or any person

7 relied on by any such small business development

8 center to provide services, to disclose the name or

9 address of any small business concern participating

10 in a system of voluntary compliance under this sec11 tion.

12 ‘‘(f) EVALUATIONS.—

13 ‘‘(1) BY THE COUNCIL.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently

15 than annually, the Council shall evaluate each

16 system of voluntary compliance established

17 under subsection (e)(1).

18 ‘‘(B) COMPLIANCE WITH WORK PLANS.—

19 In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Coun20 cil—

21 ‘‘(i) shall determine whether—

22 ‘‘(I) the participating small busi23 ness development center or consor24 tium is performing in accordance with

25 the most recent annual work plan
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1 submitted by the small business devel2 opment center or consortium under

3 subsection (e)(1); and

4 ‘‘(II) the quality of assistance

5 provided by the small business devel6 opment center or consortium to small

7 business concerns under this section is

8 acceptable; and

9 ‘‘(ii) may review any client records

10 maintained by the small business develop11 ment center or consortium, except that in

12 conducting any such review, the Council

13 shall ensure that the identity of clients and

14 all information relating to clients remains

15 confidential, and that no identifying infor16 mation about any client is provided to any

17 Federal agency.

18 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ASSESSMENT.—

19 Upon the expiration of the 3-year period beginning

20 on the date on which all small business development

21 centers and consortia of small business development

22 centers begin implementation of the work plans de23 scribed under subsection (e)(1), the Council shall

24 provide for an evaluation by an independent third
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1 party of each system of voluntary compliance estab2 lished under this section.

3 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.—To assist small business develop4 ment centers and consortia of small business development

5 centers in carrying out the system of voluntary compliance

6 under this section, there are authorized to be appro7 priated—

8 ‘‘(1) to the Occupational Safety and Health Ad9 ministration of the Department of Labor,

10 $1,100,000 for each of fiscal years 1997, 1998,

11 1999, 2000, and 2001;

12 ‘‘(2) to the Environmental Protection Agency—

13 ‘‘(A) $11,750,000 for fiscal year 1997;

14 ‘‘(B) $13,700,000 for fiscal year 1998;

15 ‘‘(C) $16,400,000 for fiscal year 1999;

16 ‘‘(D) $19,700,000 for fiscal year 2000;

17 and

18 ‘‘(E) $19,700,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

19 ‘‘(3) to the Internal Revenue Service of the De20 partment of the Treasury—

21 ‘‘(A) $18,250,000 for fiscal year 1997;

22 ‘‘(B) $22,800,000 for fiscal year 1998;

23 ‘‘(C) $28,500,000 for fiscal year 1999;

24 ‘‘(D) $35,600,000 for fiscal year 2000;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(E) $35,600,000 for fiscal year 2001.’’.

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