I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3798

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

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 11, 1996

Mr. SOLOMON (for himself, Mr. ZELIFF, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. MONTGOMERY, Mr.

COBLE, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. WELDON of

Pennsylvania, Mr. POMEROY, Mrs. VUCANOVICH, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr.

FUNDERBURK, Mr. DICKEY, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. BUNN

of Oregon, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. RICHARDSON, Mr. JOHNSON of South

Dakota, Mr. CLINGER, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. WAMP, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. SCHAEFER,

Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. WICKER, Mr.

MASCARA, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. CONDIT, Mr.

THOMAS, Ms. DANNER, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. BREWSTER, Mr. GOODLING,

Mr. RIGGS, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. BLUTE, Mrs. CLAYTON, Ms.

PRYCE, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. BEREUTER, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr.

HERGER, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. CUNNINGHAM,

Mr. FATTAH, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. GILMAN,

Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. SCARBOROUGH, Mr. JONES, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. PETE

GEREN of Texas, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. COMBEST, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. PICKETT, Mr. LINDER, Mr. HAYES, Mr.

DEAL of Georgia, Mr. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr.

FRANKS of Connecticut, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. GEKAS, Mr. MCHALE,

Ms. GREENE of Utah, Mr. GOSS, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr.

MICA, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. QUILLEN, Mr.

DREIER, Mr. STEARNS, and Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of

the committee concerned
2

•HR 3798 IH

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—

10 (1) provide a low cost process to significantly

11 improve voluntary compliance by small business con12 cerns with Federal regulations;

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

14 business community and reduce duplication of effort

15 among Federal agencies;

16 (3) be funded without additional appropriations;

17 (4) use the existing federally supported national

18 small business development center service delivery

19 network;

20 (5) provide a mechanism for unbiased feedback

21 to Federal agencies on the small business regulatory

22 environment; and
3

•HR 3798 IH

1 (6) stimulate the development of partnerships

2 between nonpunitive assistance programs and the

3 small business development center service delivery

4 network in order to improve access to and utilization

5 of these programs by the small business community.

6 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

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

8 amended—

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

10 and

11 (2) by inserting after section 30 the following

12 new section:

13 ‘‘SEC. 31. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY RELIEF.

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

15 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Chairperson’ means the Chair16 person of the Council;

17 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Council’ means the Small Busi18 ness Regulatory Relief Council established under

19 subsection (b);

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

21 ‘‘(A) the Environmental Protection Agen22 cy;

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

24 Department of the Treasury; and
4

•HR 3798 IH

1 ‘‘(C) the Occupational Safety and Health

2 Administration of the Department of Labor;

3 ‘‘(4) the term ‘small business development cen4 ter’ means a small business development center es5 tablished pursuant to section 21; and

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

7 means the system under which small business devel8 opment centers or consortia of small business devel9 opment centers provide confidential assistance to one

10 or more small business concerns in achieving vol11 untary compliance with regulatory requirements im12 posed on small business concerns by a participating

13 agency.

14 ‘‘(b) SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY RELIEF COUN15 CIL.—

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, there shall

18 be established a Small Business Regulatory Relief

19 Council in accordance with this subsection.

20 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be com21 posed of 13 members, as follows:

22 ‘‘(A) The Associate Administrator for the

23 Office of Small Business Development Centers.

24 ‘‘(B) One individual selected by the Ad25 ministrator of the Environmental Protection
5

•HR 3798 IH

1 Agency from among grade V or higher senior

2 executive service employees of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency.

4 ‘‘(C) One individual selected by the Sec5 retary of the Treasury from among grade V or

6 higher senior executive service employees of the

7 Internal Revenue Service of the Department of

8 the Treasury.

9 ‘‘(D) One individual selected by the Sec10 retary of Labor from among grade V or higher

11 senior executive service employees of the Occu12 pational Safety and Health Administration of

13 the Department of Labor.

14 ‘‘(E) Four individuals selected by an asso15 ciation representing the majority of small busi16 ness development centers, authorized in section

17 21(a)(3)(A), from among representatives of

18 small business development centers.

19 ‘‘(F) One individual selected by the Na20 tional Small Business Development Center Ad21 visory Council.

22 ‘‘(G) Four individuals selected by the Ad23 ministrator from among small business owners

24 nominated by national organizations represent25 ing small business concerns.
6

•HR 3798 IH

1 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Council shall elect a

2 Chairperson from among its members to serve for a

3 term of one 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 one year. No member of the Council

8 may serve more than three consecutive terms.

9 ‘‘(B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Coun10 cil shall not affect the powers of the Council,

11 and shall be filled in the same manner as the

12 original appointment was made.

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

14 the call of the Chairperson, but not less quarterly.

15 ‘‘(6) POWERS OF THE COUNCIL.—

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

17 such hearings, sit and act at such times and

18 places, take such testimony, and receive such

19 evidence as the Council considers necessary to

20 carry out this section.

21 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGEN22 CIES.—The Council may secure directly from

23 any Federal department or agency, such infor24 mation as the Council considers necessary to

25 carry out this section. Upon request of the
7

•HR 3798 IH

1 Chairperson, the head of such department or

2 agency shall furnish such information to the

3 Council.

4 ‘‘(C) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council

5 may use the United States mails in the same

6 manner and under the same conditions as other

7 departments and agencies of the Federal Gov8 ernment.

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

10 use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv11 ices or property.

12 ‘‘(7) COUNCIL PERSONNEL MATTERS.—

13 ‘‘(A) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each member of

15 the Council who is not an officer or em16 ployee of the Federal Government or of a

17 small business development center shall be

18 compensated at a rate equal to the daily

19 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay

20 prescribed for level IV of the Executive

21 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5,

22 United States Code, for each day (includ23 ing travel time), during which such mem24 ber is engaged in the performance of the

25 duties of the Council.
8

•HR 3798 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) EMPLOYEES OF FEDERAL GOV2 ERNMENT.—Members of the Council who

3 are officers or employees of the United

4 States may not receive additional pay, al5 lowances, or benefits by reason of their

6 service on the Council.

7 ‘‘(B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the

8 Council shall receive travel expenses, including

9 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance

10 with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United

11 States Code.

12 ‘‘(C) STAFF.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson

14 may, without regard to the civil service

15 laws and regulations, appoint and termi16 nate an Executive Director and such other

17 additional personnel as may be necessary

18 to enable the Council to perform its duties.

19 The employment of an Executive Director

20 shall be subject to confirmation by the

21 Council.

22 ‘‘(ii) COMPENSATION.—The Chair23 person may fix the compensation of the

24 Executive Director and other personnel

25 without regard to the provisions of chapter
9

•HR 3798 IH

1 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of

2 title 5, United States Code, relating to

3 classification of positions and General

4 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of

5 pay for the Executive Director and other

6 personnel may not exceed the rate payable

7 for level IV of the Executive Schedule

8 under section 5316 of such title.

9 ‘‘(D) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOY10 EES.—Any Federal Government employee may

11 be detailed to the Council without reimburse12 ment, and such detail shall be without interrup13 tion or loss of civil service status or privilege.

14 ‘‘(E) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND

15 INTERMITTENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson

16 may procure temporary and intermittent serv17 ices under section 3109(b) of title 5, United

18 States Code, at rates for individuals which do

19 not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

20 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

21 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such

22 title.

23 ‘‘(F) FEDERAL PROCUREMENT.—The

24 Council may contract in its own name, includ25 ing contracting for administrative services and
10

•HR 3798 IH

1 for meeting such national delivery support re2 quirements as it determines necessary and ap3 propriate, under procedures to be determined

4 by the Council, without regard to the provisions

5 of title III of the Federal Property and Admin6 istrative Services Act, or any other law, rule or

7 regulation governing Federal procurement.

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

9 The Council shall have access to any Federal

10 facilities as the Chairperson, in consultation

11 with the General Services Administration or

12 any other agency as appropriate, determines ap13 propriate, to carry out its functions.

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

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

16 days after the date of enactment of this Act, each

17 participating agency shall submit to the Council a

18 five year plan for the establishment and mainte19 nance of the partnership with small business devel20 opment centers for a system of voluntary compli21 ance.

22 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—Each plan submit23 ted under paragraph (1) shall include—

24 ‘‘(A) the regulatory compliance objectives

25 of the participating agency;
11

•HR 3798 IH

1 ‘‘(B) the regulatory compliance priorities

2 of the participating agency;

3 ‘‘(C) identification of the types of services,

4 materials, and resources to be developed or

5 used by the participating agency;

6 ‘‘(D) participating agency facilities, exper7 tise, and other resources that may be accessed

8 by the Chairperson, a small business develop9 ment center, or a small business concern par10 ticipating in the system of voluntary compliance

11 established under this section; and

12 ‘‘(E) performance outcome measures and

13 evaluation criteria to be used by the participat14 ing agency in evaluating the effectiveness of the

15 system of voluntary compliance to be estab16 lished under this section.

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

18 out this subsection, each participating agency shall,

19 to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that par20 ticipating agencies are not carrying out duplicative

21 efforts.

22 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF COUNCIL.—

23 ‘‘(1) REVIEW OF PARTICIPATING AGENCY

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

25 which a participating agency submits a plan to the
12

•HR 3798 IH

1 Council, or the Chairperson authorizes the Council

2 to prepare or have prepared a plan under subsection

3 (c)(1), the Council shall—

4 ‘‘(A) approve the plan; or

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

6 as the Council determines to be necessary to

7 carry out the purpose of this Act.

8 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF GUIDELINES.—

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

10 approved or modified under paragraph (1), not

11 later than 180 days after the date of enactment

12 of this Act, the Council shall—

13 ‘‘(i) develop a program for the imple14 mentation of each participating agency

15 plan;

16 ‘‘(ii) publish guidelines for the estab17 lishment by small business development

18 centers or consortia of small business de19 velopment centers of a system of voluntary

20 compliance in accordance with this section;

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

22 guidelines to each small business develop23 ment center and to each participating

24 agency; and
13

•HR 3798 IH

1 ‘‘(iv) identify national service delivery

2 support requirements including personnel

3 training, resource material development,

4 communication technology, monitoring,

5 and program evaluation.

6 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINE REQUIREMENTS.—The

7 guidelines published under subparagraph (A)

8 shall—

9 ‘‘(i) establish priorities for the types

10 of assistance to be provided to small busi11 ness concerns under the system of vol12 untary compliance established by small

13 business development centers or consortia

14 of small business development centers

15 under this section; and

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

17 establish standards relating to educational,

18 technical, and communications tools, re19 sources, and support services to be pro20 vided to small business concerns participat21 ing in the system of voluntary compliance.

22 ‘‘(C) PROGRAM DELIVERY.—The guidelines

23 established under subparagraph (A) shall—

24 ‘‘(i) require that the assistance to

25 small business concerns participating in
14

•HR 3798 IH

1 the system of voluntary compliance under

2 this section be carried out by small busi3 ness development centers or by consortia of

4 small business development centers; and

5 ‘‘(ii) provide that certain national

6 service delivery support requirements be

7 carried out under contract with an associa8 tion representing the majority of small

9 business development centers.

10 ‘‘(D) ENFORCEMENT OF GUIDELINES.—

11 For purposes of this paragraph, the provision of

12 small business development center assistance

13 shall not be considered to be an enforcement ac14 tion for an Federal agency.

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

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

17 Committees on Small Business of the Senate and

18 the House of Representatives a report, which shall

19 include—

20 ‘‘(A) a description of the types of assist21 ance provided by small business development

22 centers and consortia of small business develop23 ment centers to small business concerns partici24 pating in the system of voluntary compliance;
15

•HR 3798 IH

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

2 concerns achieved by small business develop3 ment centers and consortia of small business

4 development centers under this section;

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

6 assistance provided by small business develop7 ment centers and consortia of small business

8 development centers to small business concerns

9 participating in the system of voluntary compli10 ance;

11 ‘‘(D) problems encountered by small busi12 ness development centers and consortia of small

13 business development centers in carrying out

14 this section; and

15 ‘‘(E) recommendations for improvements

16 in the regulation of small business concerns

17 participating in the system of voluntary compli18 ance.

19 ‘‘(e) DUTIES OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

20 CENTERS.—

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

22 60 days after the date on which the guidelines are

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

24 each small business development center shall, on an

25 annual basis, submit to the Council a work plan
16

•HR 3798 IH

1 under which the small business development center,

2 either individually or as part of a consortium of

3 small business development centers, will carry out

4 the system of voluntary compliance in accordance

5 with such guidelines.

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

7 to small business concerns participating in the sys8 tem of voluntary compliance shall include—

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

10 ‘‘(B) training and educational activities;

11 ‘‘(C) confidential, free-of-charge, one-on12 one in-depth counseling;

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 a report on the assistance provided by

20 the small business development center or con21 sortium under the system of voluntary compli22 ance established under this section; and

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

24 Council recommendations for improving the

25 regulation of small business concerns.
17

•HR 3798 IH

1 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this or any other section

2 shall require a small business development cen3 ter, any consortium of small business develop4 ment centers, or any person relied on by any

5 such small business development center to pro6 vide services, to disclose the name or address of

7 any small business concern participating in a

8 system of voluntary compliance under this sec9 tion.

10 ‘‘(f) EVALUATIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) BY THE COUNCIL.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall

13 evaluate the system of voluntary compliance on

14 an annual basis.

15 ‘‘(B) COMPLIANCE WITH WORK PLANS.—

16 In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Coun17 cil—

18 ‘‘(i) shall determine whether—

19 ‘‘(I) the participating small busi20 ness development center or consor21 tium of small business development

22 centers is performing in accordance

23 with the most recent annual work

24 plan submitted by the small business

25 development center or consortium of
18

•HR 3798 IH

1 small business development centers

2 under subsection (e)(1); and

3 ‘‘(II) the quality of assistance

4 provided by the small business devel5 opment center or consortium of small

6 business development centers 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 of small busi12 ness development centers, except that in

13 conducting any such review, the Council

14 shall ensure that the identity of clients and

15 all information relating to clients remains

16 confidential, and that no identifying infor17 mation about any client is provided to any

18 Federal agency.

19 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ASSESSMENT.—

20 Upon the expiration of the three-year period begin21 ning on the date on which all small business develop22 ment centers and consortia of small business devel23 opment centers begin implementation of the work

24 plans described under subsection (e)(1), the Council

25 shall provide for an evaluation of the system of vol-
19

•HR 3798 IH

1 untary compliance established under this section by

2 an independent third party.

3 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.—

4 ‘‘(1) SET-ASIDE.—To assist small business de5 velopment centers and consortia of small business

6 development centers in carrying out the system of

7 voluntary compliance under this section—

8 ‘‘(A) the Occupational Safety and Health

9 Administration of the Department of Labor

10 shall set aside not less than 0.38 percent of

11 amounts made available to the Occupational

12 Safety and Health Administration in each of

13 fiscal years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001;

14 ‘‘(B) the Environmental Protection Agency

15 shall set aside—

16 ‘‘(i) not less than 0.20 percent of

17 amounts made available to the Environ18 mental Protection Agency in fiscal year

19 1997;

20 ‘‘(ii) not less than 0.24 percent of

21 amounts made available to the Environ22 mental Protection Agency in fiscal year

23 1998;

24 ‘‘(iii) not less than 0.29 percent of

25 amounts made available to the Environ-
20

•HR 3798 IH

1 mental Protection Agency in fiscal year

2 1999; and

3 ‘‘(iv) not less than 0.35 percent of

4 amounts made available to the Environ5 mental Protection Agency in each of the

6 fiscal years 2000 and 2001; and

7 ‘‘(C) the Internal Revenue Service of the

8 Department of the Treasury shall set aside—

9 ‘‘(i) not less than 0.25 percent of

10 amounts made available to the Internal

11 Revenue Service in fiscal year 1997;

12 ‘‘(ii) not less than 0.31 percent of

13 amounts made available to the Internal

14 Revenue Service in fiscal year 1998; and

15 ‘‘(iii) not less than 0.39 percent of

16 amounts made available to the Internal

17 Revenue Service in fiscal year 1999; and

18 ‘‘(iv) not less than 0.49 percent of

19 amounts made available to the Internal

20 Revenue Service in each of the fiscal years

21 2000 and 2001.

22 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL REGULATORY RELIEF FUND.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts set aside

24 under paragraph (1) shall be deposited in a

25 fund, which shall be established and adminis-
21

•HR 3798 IH

1 tered by the Council, to be known as the Na2 tional Regulatory Relief Fund. Subaccounts for

3 each participating agency shall be established

4 within the National Regulatory Relief Fund.

5 ‘‘(B) UNEXPENDED AMOUNTS.—Any

6 amounts in the National Regulatory Relief

7 Fund that are not obligated or expended during

8 the fiscal year in which the amounts are depos9 ited shall remain available for obligation in any

10 succeeding fiscal year.

11 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF ASSISTANCE.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (C), in each fiscal year, amounts depos14 ited in the National Regulatory Relief Fund

15 under paragraph (2) shall be distributed by the

16 Council to the small business development cen17 ter network in each State in accordance with

18 subparagraph (B).

19 ‘‘(B) POPULATION-BASED FUNDING FOR20 MULA.—The small business development center

21 in each State shall receive a distribution under

22 subparagraph (A) in an amount that is equal to

23 the sum of—

24 ‘‘(i) the pro rata share of the State of

25 the total amount distributed by the Council
22

•HR 3798 IH

1 under subparagraph (A), based upon the

2 population of the State as compared to the

3 total population in the United States, as

4 determined by the Council; and

5 ‘‘(ii) $300,000.

6 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of

7 amounts deposited in the National Regulatory

8 Relief Fund under paragraph (2), not more

9 than 5 percent shall be used by the Council for

10 administration, evaluation, and reporting

11 costs.’’.

Æ