(including small business concerns owned 
and controlled by women, small business con-
cerns owned and controlled by veterans, and 
small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by socially and economically disadvan-
taged individuals (as such terms are defined 
in the Small Business Act)) for the purposes 
of carrying out this section. The agency shall 
include in this section a plan for how the 
agency will contact small businesses and 
gather their input on existing agency rules. 
‘‘(d) Each agency shall annually submit a 
report regarding the results of its review pur-
suant to such plan to the Congress, the Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration, and, in the case of agencies 
other than independent regulatory agencies 
(as defined in section 3502(5) of title 44) to the 
Administrator of the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Man-
agement and Budget. Such report shall in-
clude the identification of any rule with re-
spect to which the head of the agency made 
a determination described in paragraph (5) or 
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(6) of subsection (e) and a detailed expla-
nation of the reasons for such determination. 
‘‘(e) In reviewing a rule pursuant to sub-
sections (a) through (d), the agency shall 
amend or rescind the rule to minimize any ad-
verse significant economic impact on a sub-
stantial number of small entities or dispropor-
tionate economic impact on a specific class of 
small entities, or maximize any beneficial sig-
nificant economic impact of the rule on a sub-
stantial number of small entities to the great-
est extent possible, consistent with the stated 
objectives of applicable statutes. In amending 
or rescinding the rule, the agency shall con-
sider the following factors: 
‘‘(1) The continued need for the rule. 
‘‘(2) The nature of complaints re-
ceived by the agency from small entities 
concerning the rule. 
‘‘(3) Comments by the Regulatory En-
forcement Ombudsman and the Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Busi-
ness Administration. 
‘‘(4) The complexity of the rule. 
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‘‘(5) The extent to which the rule 
overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts with 
other Federal rules and, unless the head 
of the agency determines it to be infeasi-
ble, State, territorial, and local rules. 
‘‘(6) The contribution of the rule to 
the cumulative economic impact of all 
Federal rules on the class of small enti-
ties affected by the rule, unless the head 
of the agency determines that such cal-
culations cannot be made and reports 
that determination in the annual report 
required under subsection (d). 
‘‘(7) The length of time since the rule 
has been evaluated or the degree to 
which technology, economic conditions, 
or other factors have changed in the area 
affected by the rule. 
‘‘(f) The agency shall publish in the Fed-
eral Register and on its website a list of rules 
to be reviewed pursuant to such plan. The 
agency shall include in the publication a so-
licitation of public comments on any further 
inclusions or exclusions of rules from the list, 
and shall respond to such comments. Such 
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publication shall include a brief description 
of the rule, the reason why the agency deter-
mined that it has a significant economic im-
pact on a substantial number of small entities 
(without regard to whether it had prepared a 
final regulatory flexibility analysis for the 
rule), and request comments from the public, 
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration, and the Regulatory 
Enforcement Ombudsman concerning the en-
forcement of the rule.’’. 
SEC. 8. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE RE-
QUIREMENTS OF THE REGULATORY FLEXI-
BILITY ACT AVAILABLE AFTER PUBLICATION 
OF THE FINAL RULE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 
611(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘final agency action’’ and in-
serting ‘‘such rule’’. 
(b) JURISDICTION.—Paragraph (2) of such 
section is amended by inserting ‘‘(or which 
would have such jurisdiction if publication of 
the final rule constituted final agency action)’’ 
after ‘‘provision of law,’’. 
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(c) TIME
FOR
BRINGING
ACTION.—Para-
graph (3) of such section is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘final agency action’’ 
and inserting ‘‘publication of the final 
rule’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘, in the case of a rule 
for which the date of final agency action 
is the same date as the publication of the 
final rule,’’ after ‘‘except that’’. 
(d) INTERVENTION BY CHIEF COUNSEL FOR 
ADVOCACY.—Subsection (b) of section 612 of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended by in-
serting before the first period ‘‘or agency com-
pliance with section 601, 603, 604, 605(b), 609, 
or 610’’. 
SEC. 9. JURISDICTION OF COURT OF APPEALS OVER RULES 
IMPLEMENTING THE REGULATORY FLEXI-
BILITY ACT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2342 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 
and 
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(3) by inserting after paragraph (7) 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(8) all final rules under section 
608(a) of title 5.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Paragraph 
(3) of section 2341 of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following 
new subparagraph: 
‘‘(F) the Office of Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration, when 
the final rule is under section 608(a) 
of title 5.’’. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION TO INTERVENE AND COM-
MENT ON AGENCY COMPLIANCE WITH ADMINIS-
TRATIVE PROCEDURE.—Subsection (b) of sec-
tion 612 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting ‘‘chapter 5, and chapter 
7,’’ after ‘‘this chapter,’’. 
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SEC. 10. ESTABLISHMENT AND APPROVAL OF SMALL BUSI-
NESS CONCERN SIZE STANDARDS BY CHIEF 
COUNSEL FOR ADVOCACY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of sec-
tion 3(a)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 632(a)(2)(A)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In addition to 
the criteria specified in paragraph 
(1)— 
‘‘(i) the Administrator may 
specify 
detailed 
definitions 
or 
standards by which a business 
concern may be determined to be 
a small business concern for pur-
poses of this Act or the Small 
Business Investment Act of 1958; 
and 
‘‘(ii) the Chief Counsel for Ad-
vocacy may specify such defini-
tions or standards for purposes of 
any other Act.’’. 
(b) APPROVAL BY CHIEF COUNSEL.—Clause 
(iii) of section 3(a)(2)(C) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2)(C)(iii)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
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‘‘(iii) except in the case of a 
size standard prescribed by the 
Administrator, is approved by the 
Chief Counsel for Advocacy.’’. 
(c) INDUSTRY VARIATION.—Paragraph (3) of 
section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 632(a)(3)) is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘or Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy, as appropriate’’ before ‘‘shall 
ensure’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘or Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy’’ before the period at the end. 
(d) JUDICIAL REVIEW
OF SIZE STANDARDS 
APPROVED BY CHIEF COUNSEL.—Section 3(a) of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(9) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF STANDARDS AP-
PROVED BY CHIEF COUNSEL.—In the case of 
an action for judicial review of a rule 
which includes a definition or standard 
approved by the Chief Counsel for Advo-
cacy under this subsection, the party 
seeking such review shall be entitled to 
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join the Chief Counsel as a party in such 
action.’’. 
SEC. 11. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 601 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking the semicolon at 
the end and inserting a period; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘(1) the term’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term’’; 
(2) in paragraph (3)— 
(A) by striking the semicolon at 
the end and inserting a period; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘(3) the term’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(3) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term’’; 
(3) in paragraph (5)— 
(A) by striking the semicolon at 
the end and inserting a period; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘(5) the term’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(5) SMALL
GOVERNMENTAL
JURISDIC-
TION.—The term’’; and 
(4) in paragraph (6)— 
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(A) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and insert-
ing a period; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘(6) the term’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(6) SMALL ENTITY.—The term’’. 
(b) INCORPORATIONS
BY
REFERENCE
AND 
CERTIFICATIONS.—The heading of section 605 
of title 5, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘§ 605. Incorporations by reference and certifi-
cations’’. 
(c) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sec-
tions for chapter 6 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking the item relating to 
section 605 and inserting the following 
new item: 
‘‘605. Incorporations by reference and certifications.’’; 
(2) by striking the item relating to 
section 607 and inserting the following 
new item: 
‘‘607. Quantification requirements.’’; 
and 
(3) by striking the item relating to 
section 608 and inserting the following: 
‘‘608. Additional powers of Chief Counsel for Advocacy.’’. 
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(d) OTHER CLERICAL ADENDMENTS TO CHAP-
TER 6.—Chapter 6 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended as follows: 
(1) In section 603, by striking sub-
section (d). 
(2) In section 604(a) by striking the 
second paragraph (6). 
SEC. 12. AGENCY PREPARATION OF GUIDES. 
Section 212(a)(5) the Small Business Regu-
latory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 
U.S.C. 601 note) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(5) AGENCY PREPARATION OF GUIDES.— 
The agency shall, in its sole discretion, 
taking into account the subject matter of 
the rule and the language of relevant 
statutes, ensure that the guide is written 
using sufficiently plain language likely to 
be understood by affected small entities. 
Agencies may prepare separate guides 
covering groups or classes of similarly af-
fected small entities and may cooperate 
with associations of small entities to dis-
tribute such guides. In developing guides, 
agencies shall solicit input from affected 
small entities or associations of affected 
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