I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 296
To provide regulatory relief for small business concerns, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. SWEENEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on Govern-
ment Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide regulatory relief for small business concerns, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Small Busi-
ness Regulatory Assistance Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a system of
confidential voluntary compliance with Federal regulations
that will—
(1) provide a low-cost process to significantly
improve voluntary compliance by small business con-
cerns with Federal regulations;
(2) improve the level of outreach to the small
business community and reduce duplication of effort
among Federal agencies;
(3) be funded without additional appropriations;
(4) provide a mechanism for unbiased feedback
to Federal agencies on the small business regulatory
environment; and
(5) partner nonpunitive compliance assistance
programs with the small business development cen-
ter service delivery network in order to improve ac-
cess to and utilization of these programs by the
small business community.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637 et seq.) is
amended—
(1) by redesignating section 32 as section 33;
and
(2) by inserting after section 31 the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 32. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY RELIEF.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘participating agency’ means—
‘‘(A) the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy;
‘‘(B) the Internal Revenue Service of the
Department of the Treasury; and
‘‘(C) the Department of Labor;
‘‘(2) the term ‘small business development cen-
ter’ means a small business development center es-
tablished pursuant to section 21;
‘‘(3) the term ‘system of voluntary compliance’
means the system under which small business devel-
opment centers or consortia of small business devel-
opment centers provide confidential assistance to one
or more small business concerns in achieving vol-
untary compliance with regulatory requirements im-
posed on small business concerns by a participating
agency; and
‘‘(4) the term ‘compliance assistance plan’
means a five year plan jointly developed and annu-
ally revised by each participating agency, the Office
of Small Business Development Centers for the
Small Business Administration, and representatives
of an association representing a majority of small
business development centers for the establishment
and maintenance of a system of voluntary compli-
ance.
‘‘(b) DUTIES OF PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.—
‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE
ASSISTANCE
PLAN.—Not
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act and annually thereafter, each participating
agency, the Office of Small Business Development
Centers of the Small Business Administration, and
representatives of an association representing a ma-
jority of small business development centers shall
agree to a compliance assistance plan.
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE
PLAN.—Each compliance assistance plan agreed to
under paragraph (1) shall include—
‘‘(A) regulatory compliance objectives of
the participating agency;
‘‘(B) regulatory compliance priorities of
the participating agency;
‘‘(C) identification of the types of services,
materials, and resources to be developed or
used by the participating agency;
‘‘(D) identification of participating agency
facilities, expertise, and other resources that
may be accessed by the Office of Small Busi-
ness Development Centers of the Small Busi-
ness Administration, a small business develop-
ment center, or a small business concern par-
ticipating in the system of voluntary compliance
established under this section; and
‘‘(E) performance outcome measures and
evaluation criteria to be used by the participat-
ing agency in evaluating the effectiveness of the
system of voluntary compliance to be estab-
lished under this section.
‘‘(3) DUPLICATION
OF
EFFORT.—In carrying
out this subsection, each participating agency shall,
to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the
participating agencies do not duplicate efforts.
‘‘(4) ENFORCEMENT.—The participating agen-
cy, the Department of Justice, or any other Federal
agency shall consider a small business concern par-
ticipating in the system of voluntary compliance in
full compliance, if the small business concern fulfills
the regulatory compliance objectives and priorities
established in the compliance assistance plans sub-
mitted under subsection (b)(1).
‘‘(c) DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.—
‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTATION
AND
ADMINISTRATION
OF COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE PLANS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Based on each compli-
ance assistance plan agreed to under subsection
(b)(1), not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Office of Small
Business Development Centers, with the agree-
ment of an association representing the major-
ity of small business development centers, shall
develop and publish guidelines for the establish-
ment by small business development centers or
consortia of small business development centers
of a system of voluntary compliance in accord-
ance with this section.
‘‘(B) GUIDELINE
REQUIREMENTS.—The
guidelines published under subparagraph (A)
shall—
‘‘(i) establish priorities for the types
of assistance to be provided to small busi-
ness concerns under the system of vol-
untary compliance established by small
business development centers or consortia
of small business development centers
under this section; and
‘‘(ii) establish standards relating to
educational, technical, and support services
required by small business development
centers or consortia of small business de-
velopment centers to provide a system of
voluntary compliance.
‘‘(C) PROGRAM DELIVERY.—The guidelines
established under subparagraph (A) shall—
‘‘(i) require that the assistance to
small business concerns participating in
the system of voluntary compliance under
this section be carried out by small busi-
ness development centers or by consortia of
small business development centers who
shall, to the maximum extent practicable,
access other existing Federal and State
non-punitive, compliance and technical as-
sistance programs, including, but not lim-
ited to, the technical and environmental
compliance assistance programs established
under section 507 of the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990; and
‘‘(ii) provide that certain national
service delivery support requirements be
carried out under contract with an associa-
tion representing the majority of small
business development centers.
‘‘(D) ISSUANCE
OF
GRANT.—Not later
than 150 days after the submission of work
plans under subsection (d)(1), the Office of
Small Business Development Centers shall issue
a grant to each small business development cen-
ter or each consortium of small business devel-
opment centers to carry out the system of vol-
untary compliance.
‘‘(d) DUTIES OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
CENTERS.—
‘‘(1) WORK PLAN.—Beginning not later than
60 days after the date on which the guidelines are
published by the Office of Small Business Develop-
ment Centers under subsection (c)(1)(A), each small
business development center or consortium of small
business development centers shall, on an annual
basis, submit to the Office of Small Business Devel-
opment Centers a work plan under which the small
business development center will carry out the sys-
tem of voluntary compliance in accordance with such
guidelines.
‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE
PROVIDED.—The assistance
to small business concerns participating in the sys-
tem of voluntary compliance shall include—
‘‘(A) access to information and resources;
‘‘(B) training and educational activities;
‘‘(C) confidential, free-of-charge, one-on-
one in-depth counseling; and
‘‘(D) technical assistance.
‘‘(3) REPORTS; RECOMMENDATIONS.—
‘‘(A) Each small business development cen-
ter and consortium of small business develop-
ment centers shall, on an annual basis, submit
to the Office of Small Business Development
Centers of the Small Business Administration a
report on the assistance provided by the small
business development center or consortia estab-
lished under the system of voluntary compliance
established under this section.
‘‘(B) No small business development cen-
ter, consortium of small business development
centers, or any person relied on by any such
small business development center shall be re-
quired to provide services or to disclose the
name or address of any small business concern
participating in a system of voluntary compli-
ance under this section.
‘‘(C) Subparagraph (B) shall not be con-
strued to prevent the Office of Inspector Gen-
eral of the Administration from auditing a
small business development center, consortium
of small business development centers, or any
person relied on by any such small business de-
velopment center.
‘‘(e) EVALUATIONS.—
‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Office of Small
Business Development Centers of the Small Busi-
ness Administration shall, on an annual basis, sub-
mit to the President and to the Committees on
Small Business of the Senate and the House of Rep-
resentatives a report, which shall include—
‘‘(A) a description of the types of assist-
ance provided by small business development
centers and consortia of small business develop-
ment centers to small business concerns partici-
pating in the system of voluntary compliance;
‘‘(B) the level of outreach to small business
concerns achieved by small business develop-
ment centers and consortia of small business
development centers under this section; and
‘‘(C) recommendations for improvements in
the regulation of small business concerns par-
ticipating in the system of voluntary compli-
ance.
‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ASSESSMENT.—
Upon the expiration of the three-year period begin-
ning on the date on which the majority of small
business development centers and consortia of small
business development centers have received grants to
begin implementation of the work plans described
under subsection (d)(1), the Council shall provide
for an evaluation of the system of voluntary compli-
ance established under this section by an independ-
ent third party which shall be submitted to the
President and to the Committees on Small Business
of the Senate and House of Representatives.
‘‘(f) FUNDING.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—To assist the Office of
Small Business Development Centers of the Small
Business Administration in fostering, promoting, de-
veloping, and carrying out the system of voluntary
compliance under this section—
‘‘(A) of the total amount provided to the
Department of Labor—
‘‘(i) not less than 0.10 percent shall
be made available for obligation and ex-
penditure by the Office of Small Business
Development Centers of the Small Busi-
ness Administration for the implementa-
tion and administration of the worker safe-
ty and health compliance assistance plans
in fiscal year 2000;
‘‘(ii) not less than 0.14 percent shall
be made available for obligation and ex-
penditure by the Office of Small Business
Development Centers of the Small Busi-
ness Administration for the implementa-
tion and administration of the worker safe-
ty and health compliance assistance plans
in fiscal year 2001;
‘‘(iii) not less than 0.18 percent shall
be made available for obligation and ex-
penditure by the Office of Small Business
Development Centers of the Small Busi-
ness Administration for the implementa-
tion and administration of the worker safe-
ty and health compliance assistance plans
in fiscal year 2002; and
‘‘(iv) not less than 0.22 percent shall
be made available for obligation and ex-
penditure by the Office of Small Business
Development Centers of the Small Busi-
ness Administration for the implementa-
tion and administration of the worker safe-
ty and health compliance assistance plans