Freedom from Restrictive Excessive Executive Demands and Onerous Mandates Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1030
Sponsor: Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2011-05-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business records
Congressional oversight
Economic performance and conditions
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Government information and archives
Judicial review and appeals
Small Business Administration
Small business
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-19
text: 
Freedom from Restrictive Excessive Executive Demands and Onerous Mandates Act of 2011 - Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) to revise the regulatory process (rulemaking) with respect to small entities (e.g., small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions). 
 
Defines &quot;economic impact&quot; with respect to a proposed or final rule to mean: (1) the economic effects on small entities directly regulated by the rule, and (2) the reasonably foreseeable economic effects of the rule on small entities resulting from their transactions with other businesses and entities directly regulated by the rule.
 
Expands judicial review of agency rulemaking to permit small entities to seek judicial review of initial regulatory flexibility analyses and to obtain an injunction of a proposed rule that is noncompliant with RFA requirements. 
 
Requires each agency to establish a plan for the periodic review (every nine years) of: (1) its rules that have a significant adverse economic impact on small entities, and (2) any small entity compliance guide required to be published by an agency. Sets forth criteria for review of a rule, including the continued need for the rule, the complexity of the rule, and the impact of the rule on small entities. 
 
Expands to all agencies the procedures for gathering comments on rules that will have a significant economic impact on small entities.
 
Extends RFA requirements to informal agency guidance documents.
 
Amends the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 to require each agency to review on a periodic basis the civil penalties it imposes on small entities for violations of statutory or regulatory requirements. 
 
Imposes certain additional requirements on agencies prior to the issuance of a final rule, including requirements for: (1) publication of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis, (2) a determination of the average cost of a rule for affected small entities and the number of small entities affected or reasonably presumed to be affected, and (3) consultation with the Chief Counsel for Advocacy for the Small Business Administration (SBA) with respect to the accuracy of information relating to the cost and impact of a final rule.
 
Authorizes appropriations to the Small Business Administration for FY2012-FY2014 to carry out this Act. Repeals certain provisions of the Small Business Act and the Energy Security and Efficiency Act of 2007 to offset the costs of carrying out this Act and to reduce the federal deficit.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-07-20
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-220.
action_date: 2011-06-23
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-220.
action_date: 2011-05-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2011-05-19
text: Introduced in Senate