Small Business Regulatory Relief Act of 2017

To enhance the ability of the Office of the National Ombudsman to assist small businesses in meeting regulatory requirements and develop outreach initiatives to promote awareness of the services the Office of the National Ombudsman provides, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Small Business Regulatory Relief Act of 2017 2. Definitions In this Act— (1) the term Ombudsman 15 U.S.C. 657(a) (2) the term small business concern 15 U.S.C. 632 3. SBA Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman (a) In general Section 30(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657(b)(2) (1) in paragraph (2)— (A) in subparagraph (A)— (i) by striking with each agency with regulatory authority (i) each Federal agency with regulatory authority ; (ii) by inserting and (iii) by adding at the end the following: (ii) each Federal agency with regulatory authority over small business concerns or that makes grants or enters into contracts or cooperative agreements with small business concerns to develop best practices to assist the Federal agency in— (I) establishing a program to assist small entities, as defined in section 601 of title 5, United States Code, in meeting regulatory requirements imposed by that Federal agency, including by responding to inquiries under section 213 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 ( 5 U.S.C. 601 (II) educating small entities about the regulations of that Federal agency that are applicable to small entities; (III) training small entities to comply with the regulations of that Federal agency; (IV) assisting small entities in completing forms required by the regulations of that Federal agency; (V) addressing any specific question or concern of small entities; (VI) evaluating compliance guides described under section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 ( 5 U.S.C. 601 (VII) ensuring that the compliance guides described in subclause (VI) are available to small business development centers and to other resource partners of the Administration; (VIII) developing webinars relating to compliance assistance for— (aa) recently finalized rules of the Federal agency; and (bb) rules relating to which the Federal agency or Ombudsman receives a significant number of compliance inquiries from small business concerns; and (IX) conducting customer service surveys on an ongoing basis of small business concerns that interact with the Federal agency to assess the timeliness and quality of the activities of the Federal agency, which shall be conducted in a manner that allows the results of the surveys to be incorporated into the rating of the responsiveness of the Federal agency under subparagraph (C); ; (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking and (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and (D) by adding at the end the following: (F) in collaboration with the employee of a Federal agency designated by the head of the Federal agency as the primary point of contact with the Ombudsman, establish a procedure relating to how the Federal agency will provide information— (i) to small business concerns regarding the Ombudsman; and (ii) to the Ombudsman regarding the nature, scope, and resolution of requests to the Federal agency from small business concerns about proposed, final, or existing rules; (G) work with each Federal agency with regulatory authority over small business concerns and with programs of the Administration (including the Service Corps of Retired Executives authorized under section 8(b)(1)(B), women's business centers operating under section 29, and small business development centers) to conduct a robust outreach initiative, including through the use of the Internet, to increase the visibility of the Ombudsman and promote awareness of the services available from the Ombudsman; and (H) make information regarding the education, training, and compliance assistance services of the Ombudsman readily available on the website of the Ombudsman. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (3) (A) The head of each Federal agency with regulatory authority over small business concerns or that makes grants or enters into contracts or cooperative agreements with small business concerns shall designate an employee of the Federal agency as the primary point of contact with the Ombudsman. (B) The employee designated under subparagraph (A) shall have the authority to make changes necessary to address compliance issues raised by small business concerns. . (b) Resources The Ombudsman shall appoint additional individuals to positions in which they will provide education, training, and compliance assistance to small business concerns. 4. Authorization of Appropriations Section 30 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657 (e) Authorization of Appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as are necessary. .

Summary: Small Business Regulatory Relief Act of 2017 This bill amends the Small Business Act to revise the duties of the Office of the National Ombudsman (ONO) to include working with federal agencies that have regulatory authority over small businesses or that provide support to small businesses to develop best practices for helping small businesses comply with agency rules through training, webinars, and compliance guides. The ONO must collaborate with each federal agency to establish a procedure relating to how the agency will provide information to: (1) small businesses regarding the ONO; and (2) the ONO regarding the nature, scope, and resolution of requests to the agency from small businesses about proposed, final, or existing rules. The ONO must: conduct a robust outreach initiative to increase its visibility and promote awareness of its available services; and appoint additional individuals to provide education, training, and compliance assistance to small businesses.