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Union Calendar No. 125

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 203

[Report No. 107–210]

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

Business Administration to establish a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small business concerns, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 3, 2001

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

Committee on Small Business

SEPTEMBER 21, 2001

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 3, 2001]

A BILL

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

a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Small Business

3 Regulatory Assistance Act of 2001’’.

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

5 The purpose of this Act is to establish a pilot program

6 to—

7 (1) provide confidential assistance to small busi8 ness concerns;

9 (2) provide small business concerns with the in10 formation necessary to improve their rate of compli11 ance with Federal and State regulations;

12 (3) create a partnership among Federal agencies

13 to increase outreach efforts to small business concerns

14 with respect to regulatory compliance;

15 (4) provide a mechanism for unbiased feedback

16 to Federal agencies on the regulatory environment for

17 small business concerns; and

18 (5) utilize the service delivery network of Small

19 Business Development Centers to improve access of

20 small business concerns to programs to assist them

21 with regulatory compliance.

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

23 In this Act, the definitions set forth in section 36(a)

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

25 Act) shall apply.
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1 SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE PILOT

2 PROGRAM.

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

4 amended—

5 (1) by redesignating section 36 as section 37;

6 and

7 (2) by inserting after section 35 the following

8 new section:

9 ‘‘SEC. 36. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE

10 PILOT PROGRAM.

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi12 nitions apply:

13 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis14 trator’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi15 ness Administration, acting through the Associate Ad16 ministrator for Small Business Development Centers.

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

18 means the association, established pursuant to section

19 21(a)(3)(A), representing a majority of Small Busi20 ness Development Centers.

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

24 Development Center participating in the pilot pro25 gram.
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1 ‘‘(4) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘pilot program’

2 means the pilot program established under this sec3 tion.

4 ‘‘(5) 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 ‘‘(6) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER.—

10 The term ‘Small Business Development Center’ means

11 a Small Business Development Center described in

12 section 21.

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

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

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

17 Administrator shall establish a pilot program to provide

18 regulatory compliance assistance to small business concerns

19 through participating Small Business Development Centers,

20 the Association, and Federal compliance partnership pro21 grams.

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

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot

24 program, the Administrator shall enter into arrange-
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1 ments with participating Small Business Develop2 ment Centers under which such centers will 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 Amendments of 1990;

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, provided

13 that such counseling is not considered to be the

14 practice of law in a State in which a Small

15 Business Development Center is located or in

16 which such counseling is conducted;

17 ‘‘(D) technical assistance; and

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.

23 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each participating

25 Small Business Development Center shall trans-
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1 mit to the Administrator a quarterly report that

2 includes—

3 ‘‘(i) a summary of the regulatory com4 pliance assistance provided by the center

5 under the pilot program; and

6 ‘‘(ii) any data and information ob7 tained by the center from a Federal agency

8 regarding regulatory compliance that the

9 agency intends to be disseminated to small

10 business concerns.

11 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC FORM.—Each report re12 ferred to in subparagraph (A) shall be trans13 mitted in electronic form.

14 ‘‘(C) INTERIM REPORTS.—During any time

15 period falling between the transmittal of quar16 terly reports, a participating Small Business

17 Development Center may transmit to the Admin18 istrator any interim report containing data or

19 information considered by the center to be nec20 essary or useful.

21 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE REQUIRE22 MENTS.—The Administrator may not require a

23 Small Business Development Center to disclose

24 the name or address of any small business con25 cern that received or is receiving assistance
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1 under the pilot program, except that the Admin2 istrator shall require such a disclosure if ordered

3 to do so by a court in any civil or criminal en4 forcement action commenced by a Federal or

5 State agency.

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

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot

8 program, the Administrator shall—

9 ‘‘(A) act as the repository of and clearing10 house for data and information submitted by

11 Small Business Development Centers; and

12 ‘‘(B) transmit to the President and to the

13 Committees on Small Business of the Senate and

14 House of Representatives an annual report that

15 includes—

16 ‘‘(i) a description of the types of assist17 ance provided by participating Small Busi18 ness Development Centers under the pilot

19 program;

20 ‘‘(ii) data regarding the number of

21 small business concerns that contacted par22 ticipating Small Business Development

23 Centers regarding assistance under the pilot

24 program;
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1 ‘‘(iii) data regarding the number of

2 small business concerns assisted by partici3 pating Small Business Development Centers

4 under the pilot program;

5 ‘‘(iv) data and information regarding

6 outreach activities conducted by partici7 pating Small Business Development Centers

8 under the pilot program, including any ac9 tivities conducted in partnership with Fed10 eral agencies;

11 ‘‘(v) data and information regarding

12 each case known to the Administrator in

13 which one or more Small Business Develop14 ment Centers offered conflicting advice or

15 information regarding compliance with a

16 Federal or State regulation to one or more

17 small business concerns;

18 ‘‘(vi) any recommendations for im19 provements in the regulation of small busi20 ness concerns; and

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

22 the Administrator, after consultation with

23 the Small Business and Agriculture Regu24 latory Enforcement Ombudsman, as being

25 most burdensome to small business concerns,
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1 and recommendations to reduce or elimi2 nate the burdens of such regulations.

3 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBILITY.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Small Business Develop5 ment Center shall be eligible to receive assistance

6 under the pilot program only if the center is certified

7 under section 21(k)(2).

8 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—With respect to a Small Business

9 Development Center seeking assistance under the pilot

10 program, the Administrator may waive the certifi11 cation requirement set forth in paragraph (1) if the

12 Administrator determines that the center is making

13 a good faith effort to obtain such certification.

14 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall

15 take effect on October 1, 2001.

16 ‘‘(f) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING STATE PRO17 GRAMS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with the As19 sociation and giving substantial weight to the Asso20 ciation’s recommendations, the Administrator shall

21 select the Small Business Development Center pro22 grams of 2 States from each of the following groups

23 of States to participate in the pilot program estab24 lished by this section:
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1 ‘‘(A) Group 1: Maine, Massachusetts, New

2 Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode

3 Island.

4 ‘‘(B) Group 2: New York, New Jersey, Puer5 to Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

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

7 West Virginia, Virginia, the District of Colum8 bia, and Delaware.

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

10 Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida,

11 Kentucky, and Tennessee.

12 ‘‘(E) Group 5: Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, In13 diana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

14 ‘‘(F) Group 6: Texas, New Mexico, Arkan15 sas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

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

17 and Kansas.

18 ‘‘(H) Group 8: Colorado, Wyoming, North

19 Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Utah.

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

21 Nevada, and Arizona.

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

23 and Oregon.

24 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR SELECTION.—The Adminis25 trator shall make selections under this subsection not
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1 later than 60 days after promulgation of regulations

2 under section 5 of the National Small Business Regu3 latory Assistance Act of 2001.

4 ‘‘(g) MATCHING NOT REQUIRED.—Subparagraphs (A)

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

6 made available under the pilot program.

7 ‘‘(h) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State program selected

9 to receive a grant under subsection (f) in a fiscal year

10 shall be eligible to receive a grant in an amount not

11 to exceed 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—

15 ‘‘(i) the population of the State; bears

16 to

17 ‘‘(ii) the population of all the States

18 with programs selected to receive grants

19 under subsection (f) for the fiscal year.

20 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding para21 graph (1), the minimum amount that a State pro22 gram selected to receive a grant under subsection (f)

23 shall be eligible to receive under this section in the fis24 cal year shall be $200,000.
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1 ‘‘(i) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 3

2 years after the establishment of the pilot program, the

3 Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an

4 evaluation of the pilot program and shall transmit to the

5 Administrator and to the Committees on Small Business

6 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report con7 taining the results of the evaluation along with any rec8 ommendations as to whether the pilot program, with or

9 without modification, should be extended to include the par10 ticipation of all Small Business Development Centers.

11 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

13 appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for

14 fiscal year 2002 and each fiscal year thereafter.

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

16 The Administrator may carry out the pilot program

17 only with amounts appropriated in advance specifi18 cally to carry out this section.’’.

19 SEC. 5. PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.

20 After providing notice and an opportunity for com21 ment and after consulting with the Association (but not

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

23 Act), the Administrator shall promulgate final regulations

24 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 pilot 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 pilot 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 pilot program.

17 SEC. 6. PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO SMALL

18 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.

19 Section 21(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

20 648(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(9) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No Small Business De23 velopment Center, consortium of Small Business

24 Development Centers, or contractor or agent of a

25 Small Business Development Center shall dis-
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1 close the name or address of any individual or

2 small business concern receiving assistance under

3 this section without the consent of such indi4 vidual or small business concern, except that—

5 ‘‘(i) the Administrator shall require

6 such disclosure if ordered to do so by a

7 court in any civil or criminal enforcement

8 action commenced by a Federal or State

9 agency; and

10 ‘‘(ii) if the Administrator considers it

11 necessary while undertaking a financial

12 audit of a Small Business Development

13 Center, the Administrator shall require such

14 disclosure for the sole purpose of under15 taking such audit.

16 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator

17 shall issue regulations to establish standards for

18 requiring disclosures during a financial audit

19 under subparagraph (A)(ii).’’.

Union Calendar No. 125

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 203

[Report No. 107–210]

A BILL

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

to establish a pilot program to provide regulatorycompliance assistance to small business concerns,and for other purposes.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2001

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union

and ordered to be printed