[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 203 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
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 Administrator of the
Small Business Administration to establish a pilot program to provide
regulatory compliance assistance to small business concerns, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Small Business Regulatory
Assistance Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a pilot program to--
(1) provide confidential assistance to small business
concerns;
(2) provide small business concerns with the information
necessary to improve their rate of compliance with Federal and
State regulations;
(3) create a partnership among Federal agencies 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.
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 `Administrator' means the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, acting
through the Associate Administrator for Small Business
Development Centers.
``(2) Association.--The term `Association' means the
association, established pursuant to section 21(a)(3)(A),
representing a majority of Small Business Development Centers.
``(3) Participating small business development center.--The
term `participating Small Business Development Center' means a
Small Business Development Center participating in the pilot
program.
``(4) Pilot program.--The term `pilot program' means the
pilot program established under this section.
``(5) Regulatory compliance assistance.--The term
`regulatory compliance assistance' means assistance provided by
a Small Business Development Center to a small business concern
to enable the concern to comply with Federal regulatory
requirements.
``(6) Small business development center.--The term `Small
Business Development Center' 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 provide regulatory
compliance assistance to small business concerns through participating
Small Business Development Centers, the Association, and Federal
compliance partnership programs.
``(c) Small Business Development Centers.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the pilot program, the
Administrator shall enter into arrangements with participating
Small Business Development Centers under which such centers
will provide--
``(A) access to information and resources,
including current Federal and State nonpunitive
compliance and technical assistance programs 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 operators 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 providers of
compliance assistance who meet such standards for
educational, technical, and professional competency as
are established by the Administrator.
``(2) Reports.--
``(A) In general.--Each participating Small
Business Development Center shall transmit to the
Administrator a quarterly report that includes--
``(i) a summary of the regulatory
compliance assistance provided by the center
under the pilot program; and
``(ii) any data and information obtained 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 referred to in
subparagraph (A) shall be transmitted in electronic
form.
``(C) Interim reports.--During any time period
falling between the transmittal of quarterly reports, a
participating Small Business Development Center may
transmit to the Administrator any interim report
containing data or information considered by the center
to be necessary or useful.
``(D) Limitation on disclosure requirements.--The
Administrator may not require a Small Business
Development Center to disclose the name or address of
any small business concern that received or is
receiving assistance 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 clearinghouse
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
assistance 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 Centers regarding
assistance under the pilot program;
``(iii) data regarding the number of small
business concerns assisted by participating
Small Business Development Centers under the
pilot program;
``(iv) data and information regarding
outreach activities conducted by participating
Small Business Development Centers 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 Development 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 improvements
in the regulation of small business concerns;
and
``(vii) a list of regulations identified by
the Administrator, after consultation with the
Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory
Enforcement Ombudsman, as being most burdensome
to small business concerns, and recommendations
to reduce or eliminate the burdens of such regulations.
``(e) Eligibility.--
``(1) In general.--A Small Business Development 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 Business 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 certification.
``(3) Effective date.--This subsection shall take effect on
October 1, 2001.
``(f) Selection of Participating State Programs.--
``(1) In general.--In consultation with the Association and
giving substantial weight to the Association's recommendations,
the Administrator shall select the Small Business Development
Center programs of 2 States from each of the following groups
of States to participate in the pilot program established 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 Columbia, and
Delaware.
``(D) Group 4: Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Kentucky, and
Tennessee.
``(E) Group 5: Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana,
Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
``(F) Group 6: Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas,
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.
``(J) Group 10: Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and
Oregon.
``(2) Deadline for selection.--The Administrator shall make
selections under this subsection not later than 60 days after
promulgation of regulations 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 assistance made available under the pilot
program.
``(h) Distribution of Grants.--
``(1) In general.--Each State program selected 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.
``(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
Business of the Senate and House of Representatives a report containing
the results of the evaluation along with any recommendations 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 specifically to carry out this section.''.
SEC. 5. PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.
After providing notice and an opportunity for comment 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 regulations 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, technical, 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.
SEC. 6. PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
CENTERS.
Section 21(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(9) Privacy requirements.--
``(A) In general.--No Small Business Development
Center, consortium of Small Business Development
Centers, or contractor or agent of a Small Business
Development Center shall disclose the name or address
of any individual or small business concern receiving
assistance under this section without the consent of
such individual or small business concern, except
that--
``(i) the Administrator shall require such
disclosure if ordered to do so by a court in
any civil or criminal enforcement action
commenced by a Federal or State agency; and
``(ii) if the Administrator considers it
necessary while undertaking a financial audit
of a Small Business Development Center, the
Administrator shall require such disclosure for
the sole purpose of undertaking such audit.
``(B) Regulations.--The Administrator shall issue
regulations to establish standards for requiring
disclosures during a financial audit under subparagraph
(A)(ii).''.
Passed the House of Representatives October 2, 2001.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.