IIB
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 203
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
OCTOBER 3, 2001
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship
AN ACT
To amend the Small Business Act to direct the Adminis-
trator of the Small Business Administration to establish
a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assist-
ance to 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,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Small Busi-
ness Regulatory Assistance Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a pilot pro-
gram to—
(1) provide confidential assistance to small
business concerns;
(2) provide small business concerns with the in-
formation necessary to improve their rate of compli-
ance with Federal and State regulations;
(3) create a partnership among Federal agen-
cies to increase outreach efforts to small business
concerns with respect to regulatory compliance;
(4) provide a mechanism for unbiased feedback
to Federal agencies on the regulatory environment
for small business concerns; and
(5) utilize the service delivery network of Small
Business Development Centers to improve access of
small business concerns to programs to assist them
with regulatory compliance.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the definitions set forth in section 36(a)
of the Small Business Act (as added by section 4 of this
Act) shall apply.
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SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE PILOT
PROGRAM.
The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637 et seq.) is
amended—
(1) by redesignating section 36 as section 37;
and
(2) by inserting after section 35 the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 36. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY ASSISTANCE
PILOT PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following
definitions apply:
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis-
trator’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi-
ness Administration, acting through the Associate
Administrator for Small Business Development Cen-
ters.
‘‘(2) ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘Association’
means the association, established pursuant to sec-
tion 21(a)(3)(A), representing a majority of Small
Business Development Centers.
‘‘(3) PARTICIPATING SMALL BUSINESS DEVEL-
OPMENT
CENTER.—The term ‘participating Small
Business Development Center’ means a Small Busi-
ness Development Center participating in the pilot
program.
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‘‘(4) PILOT
PROGRAM.—The term ‘pilot pro-
gram’ means the pilot program established under
this section.
‘‘(5) REGULATORY COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE.—
The term ‘regulatory compliance assistance’ means
assistance provided by a Small Business Develop-
ment Center to a small business concern to enable
the concern to comply with Federal regulatory re-
quirements.
‘‘(6) SMALL
BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT
CEN-
TER.—The term ‘Small Business Development Cen-
ter’ means a Small Business Development Center
described in section 21.
‘‘(7) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of
the several States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,
and Guam.
‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this section,
the Administrator shall establish a pilot program to pro-
vide regulatory compliance assistance to small business
concerns through participating Small Business Develop-
ment Centers, the Association, and Federal compliance
partnership programs.
‘‘(c) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.—
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot
program, the Administrator shall enter into arrange-
ments with participating Small Business Develop-
ment Centers under which such centers will
provide—
‘‘(A) access to information and resources,
including current Federal and State nonpuni-
tive compliance and technical assistance pro-
grams similar to those established under section
507 of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990;
‘‘(B) training and educational activities;
‘‘(C) confidential, free-of-charge, one-on-
one, in-depth counseling to the owners and op-
erators of small business concerns regarding
compliance with Federal and State regulations,
provided that such counseling is not considered
to be the practice of law in a State in which a
Small Business Development Center is located
or in which such counseling is conducted;
‘‘(D) technical assistance; and
‘‘(E) referrals to experts and other pro-
viders of compliance assistance who meet such
standards for educational, technical, and profes-
sional competency as are established by the Ad-
ministrator.
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‘‘(2) REPORTS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Each participating
Small Business Development Center shall trans-
mit to the Administrator a quarterly report that
includes—
‘‘(i) a summary of the regulatory com-
pliance assistance provided by the center
under the pilot program; and
‘‘(ii) any data and information ob-
tained by the center from a Federal agency
regarding regulatory compliance that the
agency intends to be disseminated to small
business concerns.
‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC FORM.—Each report re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A) shall be trans-
mitted in electronic form.
‘‘(C) INTERIM REPORTS.—During any time
period falling between the transmittal of quar-
terly reports, a participating Small Business
Development Center may transmit to the Ad-
ministrator any interim report containing data
or information considered by the center to be
necessary or useful.
‘‘(D) LIMITATION
ON
DISCLOSURE
RE-
QUIREMENTS.—The Administrator may not re-
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quire a Small Business Development Center to
disclose the name or address of any small busi-
ness concern that received or is receiving assist-
ance under the pilot program, except that the
Administrator shall require such a disclosure if
ordered to do so by a court in any civil or
criminal enforcement action commenced by a
Federal or State agency.
‘‘(d) DATA REPOSITORY AND CLEARINGHOUSE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot
program, the Administrator shall—
‘‘(A) act as the repository of and clearing-
house for data and information submitted by
Small Business Development Centers; and
‘‘(B) transmit to the President and to the
Committees on Small Business of the Senate
and House of Representatives an annual report
that includes—
‘‘(i) a description of the types of as-
sistance provided by participating Small
Business Development Centers under the
pilot program;
‘‘(ii) data regarding the number of
small business concerns that contacted
participating Small Business Development
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Centers regarding assistance under the
pilot program;
‘‘(iii) data regarding the number of
small business concerns assisted by partici-
pating Small Business Development Cen-
ters under the pilot program;
‘‘(iv) data and information regarding
outreach activities conducted by partici-
pating Small Business Development Cen-
ters under the pilot program, including any
activities conducted in partnership with
Federal agencies;
‘‘(v) data and information regarding
each case known to the Administrator in
which one or more Small Business Devel-
opment Centers offered conflicting advice
or information regarding compliance with a
Federal or State regulation to one or more
small business concerns;
‘‘(vi) any recommendations for im-
provements in the regulation of small busi-
ness concerns; and
‘‘(vii) a list of regulations identified
by the Administrator, after consultation
with the Small Business and Agriculture
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Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman, as
being most burdensome to small business
concerns, and recommendations to reduce
or eliminate the burdens of such regula-
tions.
‘‘(e) ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Small Business Develop-
ment Center shall be eligible to receive assistance
under the pilot program only if the center is certified
under section 21(k)(2).
‘‘(2) WAIVER.—With respect to a Small Busi-
ness Development Center seeking assistance under
the pilot program, the Administrator may waive the
certification requirement set forth in paragraph (1)
if the Administrator determines that the center is
making a good faith effort to obtain such certifi-
cation.
‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall
take effect on October 1, 2001.
‘‘(f) SELECTION
OF PARTICIPATING STATE PRO-
GRAMS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In consultation with the
Association and giving substantial weight to the As-
sociation’s recommendations, the Administrator shall
select the Small Business Development Center pro-
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grams of 2 States from each of the following groups
of States to participate in the pilot program estab-
lished by this section:
‘‘(A) Group 1: Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode
Island.
‘‘(B) Group 2: New York, New Jersey,
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
‘‘(C) Group 3: Pennsylvania, Maryland,
West Virginia, Virginia, the District of Colum-
bia, and Delaware.
‘‘(D) Group 4: Georgia, Alabama, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida,
Kentucky, and Tennessee.
‘‘(E) Group 5: Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, In-
diana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
‘‘(F) Group 6: Texas, New Mexico, Arkan-
sas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
‘‘(G) Group 7: Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska,
and Kansas.
‘‘(H) Group 8: Colorado, Wyoming, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Utah.
‘‘(I) Group 9: California, Guam, Hawaii,
Nevada, and Arizona.
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‘‘(J) Group 10: Washington, Alaska,
Idaho, and Oregon.
‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR SELECTION.—The Admin-
istrator shall make selections under this subsection
not later than 60 days after promulgation of regula-
tions under section 5 of the National Small Business
Regulatory Assistance Act of 2001.
‘‘(g) MATCHING NOT REQUIRED.—Subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of section 21(a)(4) shall not apply to assist-
ance made available under the pilot program.
‘‘(h) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each State program se-
lected to receive a grant under subsection (f) in a
fiscal year shall be eligible to receive a grant in an
amount not to exceed the product obtained by
multiplying—
‘‘(A) the amount made available for grants
under this section for the fiscal year; and
‘‘(B) the ratio that—
‘‘(i) the population of the State; bears
to
‘‘(ii) the population of all the States
with programs selected to receive grants
under subsection (f) for the fiscal year.
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‘‘(2) 
MINIMUM
AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding
paragraph (1), the minimum amount that a State
program selected to receive a grant under subsection
(f) shall be eligible to receive under this section in
the fiscal year shall be $200,000.
‘‘(i) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 3
years after the establishment of the pilot program, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct
an evaluation of the pilot program and shall transmit to
the Administrator and to the Committees on Small Busi-
ness of the Senate and House of Representatives a report
containing the results of the evaluation along with any rec-
ommendations as to whether the pilot program, with or
without modification, should be extended to include the
participation of all Small Business Development Centers.
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for
fiscal year 2002 and each fiscal year thereafter.
‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER FUNDS.—
The Administrator may carry out the pilot program
only with amounts appropriated in advance specifi-
cally to carry out this section.’’.
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SEC. 5. PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.
After providing notice and an opportunity for com-
ment and after consulting with the Association (but not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act), the Administrator shall promulgate final regula-
tions to carry out this Act, including regulations that
establish—
(1) priorities for the types of assistance to be
provided under the pilot program;
(2) standards relating to educational, technical,
and support services to be provided by participating
Small Business Development Centers;
(3) standards relating to any national service
delivery and support function to be provided by the
Association under the pilot program;
(4) standards relating to any work plan that
the Administrator may require a participating Small
Business Development Center to develop; and
(5) standards relating to the educational, tech-
nical, and professional competency of any expert or
other assistance provider to whom a small business
concern may be referred for compliance assistance
under the pilot program.