IB 

Union Calendar No. 121 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 230 

[Report No. 109–208] 

To amend the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of the Small 

Business Administration to establish a program to provide regulatory 

compliance assistance to small business concerns, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005 

Mr. SWEENEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Small Business 

JULY 28, 2005 

Additional sponsors: Mr. LATHAM, Mr. CASE, Mr. SESSIONS, and Ms. ZOE

LOFGREN of California 

JULY 28, 2005 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 4, 2005] 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish 

a program to provide regulatory compliance assistance 

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 ‘‘National Small Business 

5 Regulatory Assistance Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to establish a program to— 

8 (1) provide confidential assistance to small busi9 ness concerns; 

10 (2) provide small business concerns with the in11 formation necessary to improve their rate of compli12 ance with Federal and State regulations; 

13 (3) create a partnership among Federal agencies 

14 to increase outreach efforts to small business concerns 

15 with respect to regulatory compliance; 

16 (4) provide a mechanism for unbiased feedback 

17 to Federal agencies on the regulatory environment for 

18 small business concerns; and 

19 (5) utilize the service delivery network of Small 

20 Business Development Centers to improve access of 

21 small business concerns to programs to assist them 

22 with regulatory compliance. 
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the definitions set forth in section 37(a) 

3 of the Small Business Act (as added by section 4 of this 

4 Act) shall apply. 

5 SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE PRO6 GRAM. 

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

8 amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating section 37 as section 38; 

10 and 

11 (2) by inserting after section 36 the following 

12 new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 37. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE PRO14 GRAM. 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi16 nitions apply: 

17 ‘‘(1) ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘Association’ 

18 means the association recognized by the Adminis19 trator of the Small Business Administration under 

20 section 21(a)(3)(A). 

21 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATING SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOP22 MENT CENTER.—The term ‘participating Small Busi23 ness Development Center’ means a Small Business 

24 Development Center participating in the program. 
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1 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means the 

2 regulatory assistance program established under this 

3 section. 

4 ‘‘(4) REGULATORY COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE.— 

5 The term ‘regulatory compliance assistance’ means 

6 assistance provided by a Small Business Development 

7 Center to a small business concern to enable the con8 cern to comply with Federal regulatory requirements. 

9 ‘‘(5) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER.— 

10 The term ‘Small Business Development Center’ means 

11 a Small Business Development Center described in 

12 section 21. 

13 ‘‘(6) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of the 

14 several States, the District of Columbia, the Common15 wealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and 

16 American Samoa. 

17 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this section, the 

18 Administrator shall establish a program to provide regu19 latory compliance assistance to small business concerns 

20 through selected Small Business Development Centers, the 

21 Association of Small Business Development Centers, and 

22 Federal compliance partnership programs. 

23 ‘‘(c) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro25 gram, the Administrator shall enter into arrange-
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1 ments with selected Small Business Development Cen2 ters under which such Centers shall provide— 

3 ‘‘(A) access to information and resources, 

4 including current Federal and State nonpunitive 

5 compliance and technical assistance programs 

6 similar to those established under section 507 of 

7 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7661f); 

8 ‘‘(B) training and educational activities; 

9 ‘‘(C) confidential, free-of-charge, one-on-one, 

10 in-depth counseling to the owners and operators 

11 of small business concerns regarding compliance 

12 with Federal and State regulations, as long as 

13 such counseling is not considered to be the prac14 tice of law in a State in which a Small Business 

15 Development Center is located or in which such 

16 counseling is conducted; 

17 ‘‘(D) technical assistance; 

18 ‘‘(E) referrals to experts and other providers 

19 of compliance assistance who meet such stand20 ards for educational, technical, and professional 

21 competency as are established by the Adminis22 trator; and 

23 ‘‘(F) access to the Internet and training on 

24 Internet use, including the use of the Internet 
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1 website established by the Administrator under 

2 subsection (d)(1)(C). 

3 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each selected Small 

5 Business Development Center shall transmit to 

6 the Administrator a quarterly report that in7 cludes— 

8 ‘‘(i) a summary of the regulatory com9 pliance assistance provided by the center 

10 under the program; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) any data and information ob12 tained by the center from a Federal agency 

13 regarding regulatory compliance that the 

14 agency intends to be disseminated to small 

15 business concerns. 

16 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC FORM.—Each report re17 quired under subparagraph (A) shall be trans18 mitted in electronic form. 

19 ‘‘(C) INTERIM REPORTS.—A participating 

20 Small Business Development Center may trans21 mit to the Administrator such interim reports as 

22 the Center considers appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE REQUIRE24 MENTS.—The Administrator shall not require a 

25 Small Business Development Center to disclose 
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1 the name or address of any small business con2 cern that received or is receiving assistance 

3 under the program, except that the Adminis4 trator shall require such a disclosure if ordered 

5 to do so by a court in any civil or criminal ac6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(d) DATA REPOSITORY AND CLEARINGHOUSE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro9 gram, the Administrator shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) act as the repository of and clearing11 house for data and information submitted by 

12 Small Business Development Centers; 

13 ‘‘(B) submit to the President, the Committee 

14 on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 

15 Senate, and the Committee on Small Business of 

16 the House of Representatives an annual report 

17 that includes— 

18 ‘‘(i) a description of the types of assist19 ance provided by participating Small Busi20 ness Development Centers under the pro21 gram; 

22 ‘‘(ii) data regarding the number of 

23 small business concerns that contacted par24 ticipating Small Business Development 
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1 Centers regarding assistance under the pro2 gram; 

3 ‘‘(iii) data regarding the number of 

4 small business concerns assisted by partici5 pating Small Business Development Centers 

6 under the program; 

7 ‘‘(iv) data and information regarding 

8 outreach activities conducted by partici9 pating Small Business Development Centers 

10 under the program, including any activities 

11 conducted in partnership with Federal 

12 agencies; 

13 ‘‘(v) data and information regarding 

14 each case known to the Administrator in 

15 which one or more Small Business Develop16 ment Centers offered conflicting advice or 

17 information regarding compliance with a 

18 Federal or State regulation to one or more 

19 small business concerns; 

20 ‘‘(vi) any recommendations for im21 provements in the regulation of small busi22 ness concerns; and 

23 ‘‘(vii) a list of regulations identified by 

24 the Administrator, after consultation with 

25 the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Ad-
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1 ministration, who shall review such list, 

2 and the Small Business and Agriculture 

3 Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman, as 

4 being most burdensome to small business 

5 concerns, and recommendations to reduce or 

6 eliminate the burdens of such regulations; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) establish an Internet website that— 

9 ‘‘(i) provides access to Federal, State, 

10 academic, and industry association Internet 

11 websites containing industry-specific regu12 latory compliance information that the Ad13 ministrator deems potentially useful to 

14 small businesses attempting to comply with 

15 Federal regulations; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) arranges such Internet websites in 

17 industry-specific categories. 

18 ‘‘(e) REVIEW OF BURDENSOME REGULATIONS AND PE19 TITION FOR AGENCY REVIEW.— 

20 ‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF LIST OF REGULATIONS

21 TO CHIEF COUNSEL FOR ADVOCACY.—The Adminis22 trator shall transmit to the Chief Counsel for Advo23 cacy of the Administration a copy of the list of regu24 lations submitted under subsection (d)(1)(B) as part 

25 of the annual report required by that subsection. 
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1 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF LIST OF REGULATIONS.—The 

2 Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall review the list of 

3 regulations transmitted under paragraph (1) and 

4 identify any regulation that— 

5 ‘‘(A) is eligible for review in accordance 

6 with section 610 of title 5, United States Code; 

7 ‘‘(B) has a significant impact on a substan8 tial number of small business concerns that is 

9 substantially different from the impact indicated 

10 in the final regulatory flexibility analysis for 

11 that regulation, as published with the final regu12 lation in the Federal Register; or 

13 ‘‘(C) has a significant impact on a substan14 tial number of small business concerns and for 

15 which no final regulatory flexibility analysis 

16 was ever performed. 

17 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION AND AGENCY REVIEW.—With 

18 respect to any regulation identified under paragraph 

19 (2) the Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) notify the appropriate Federal rule21 making agency and the Office of Information 

22 and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Manage23 ment of the identification of such rule or regula24 tion; and 

25 ‘‘(B) request the review of such regulation— 
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1 ‘‘(i) in accordance with section 610 of 

2 title 5, United States Code; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) for any impact it has on small 

4 business concerns. 

5 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Chief Counsel for 

6 Advocacy shall publish an annual report containing 

7 a list of any regulation identified under paragraph 

8 (2) and the disposition by the appropriate agency. 

9 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBILITY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Small Business Develop11 ment Center shall be eligible to receive assistance 

12 under the program only if the center is certified 

13 under section 21(k)(2). 

14 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.— With respect to a Small Busi15 ness Development Center seeking assistance under the 

16 program, the administrator may waive the certifi17 cation requirement set forth in paragraph (1) if the 

18 Administrator determines that the center is making a 

19 good faith effort to obtain such certification. 

20 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The restriction de21 scribed in paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 

22 Small Business Development Center before October 1, 

23 2005. 

24 ‘‘(g) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING STATE PRO25 GRAMS.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—In con2 sultation with the Association and giving substantial 

3 weight to the Association’s recommendations, the Ad4 ministrator shall select the Small Business Develop5 ment Center programs of 2 States from each of the 

6 following groups of States to participate in the pro7 gram: 

8 ‘‘(A) Group 1: Maine, Massachusetts, New 

9 Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode 

10 Island. 

11 ‘‘(B) Group 2: New York, New Jersey, Puer12 to Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

13 ‘‘(C) Group 3: Pennsylvania, Maryland, 

14 West Virginia, Virginia, the District of Colum15 bia, and Delaware. 

16 ‘‘(D) Group 4: Georgia, Alabama, North 

17 Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, 

18 Kentucky, and Tennessee. 

19 ‘‘(E) Group 5: Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, In20 diana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. 

21 ‘‘(F) Group 6: Texas, New Mexico, Arkan22 sas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. 

23 ‘‘(G) Group 7: Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, 

24 and Kansas. 
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1 ‘‘(H) Group 8: Colorado, Wyoming, North 

2 Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Utah. 

3 ‘‘(I) Group 9: California, Guam, Hawaii, 

4 Nevada, and Arizona. 

5 ‘‘(J) Group 10: Washington, Alaska, Idaho, 

6 and Oregon. 

7 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR INITIAL SELECTIONS.—The 

8 Administrator shall make selections under paragraph 

9 (1) not later than 60 days after promulgation of regu10 lations under section 5 of the National Small Busi11 ness Regulatory Assistance Act of 2005. 

12 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL SELECTIONS.—Not earlier than 

13 the date 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 

14 paragraph, the Administrator may select Small Busi15 ness Development Center programs of States in addi16 tion to those selected under paragraph (1). The Ad17 ministrator shall consider the effect on the programs 

18 selected under paragraph (1) before selecting addi19 tional programs under this paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION TO AVOID DUPLICATION

21 WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.—In selecting programs 

22 under this subsection, the Administrator shall give a 

23 preference to Small Business Development Center pro24 grams that have a plan for consulting with Federal 

25 and State agencies to ensure that any assistance pro-
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1 vided under this section is not duplicated by an exist2 ing Federal or State program. 

3 ‘‘(h) MATCHING NOT REQUIRED.—Subparagraphs (A) 

4 and (B) of section 21(a)(4) shall not apply to assistance 

5 made available under the program. 

6 ‘‘(i) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), each State program selected to receive a 

9 grant under subsection (g) in a fiscal year shall be el10 igible to receive a grant in an amount not to exceed 

11 the product obtained by multiplying— 

12 ‘‘(A) the amount made available for grants 

13 under this section for the fiscal year; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the ratio that the population of the 

15 State bears to the population of all the States 

16 with programs selected to receive grants under 

17 subsection (g) for the fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—The minimum amount 

19 that a State program selected to receive a grant under 

20 subsection (g) shall be eligible to receive under this 

21 section for any fiscal year shall be $200,000. The Ad22 ministrator shall reduce the amount described in 

23 paragraph (1) as appropriate to carry out the pur24 poses of this paragraph and subsection (j)(2). 
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1 ‘‘(j) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 3 

2 years after the establishment of the program, the Comp3 troller General of the United States shall conduct an evalua4 tion of the program and shall transmit to the Adminis5 trator, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre6 neurship of the Senate, and the Committee on Small Busi7 ness of the House of Representatives a report containing 

8 the results of the evaluation along with any recommenda9 tions as to whether the program, with or without modifica10 tion, should be extended to include the participation of all 

11 Small Business Development Centers. 

12 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap14 propriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for fis15 cal year 2006 and each subsequent fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER FUNDS.— 

17 The Administrator shall carry out the program only 

18 with amounts appropriated in advance specifically to 

19 carry out this section.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS. 

21 After providing notice and an opportunity for com22 ment and after consulting with the Association (but not 

23 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act), the Administrator shall promulgate final regulations 

25 to carry out this Act, including regulations that establish— 
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1 (1) priorities for the types of assistance to be 

2 provided under the program; 

3 (2) standards relating to educational, technical, 

4 and support services to be provided by participating 

5 Small Business Development Centers; 

6 (3) standards relating to any national service 

7 delivery and support function to be provided by the 

8 Association under the program; 

9 (4) standards relating to any work plan that the 

10 Administrator may require a participating Small 

11 Business Development Center to develop; and 

12 (5) standards relating to the educational, tech13 nical, and professional competency of any expert or 

14 other assistance provider to whom a small business 

15 concern may be referred for compliance assistance 

16 under the program. 

Union Calendar No. 121 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 230 

[Report No. 109–208] 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to direct the Adand for other purposes. pliance assistance to small business concerns, to establish a program to provide regulatory com- ministrator of the Small Business Administration 

JULY 28, 2005 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,