[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1271 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1271
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, for the purpose of
facilitating compliance by small business concerns with certain Federal
paperwork requirements, to establish a task force to examine
information collection and dissemination, 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 ``Small Business Paperwork Relief Act
of 2001''.
SEC. 2. FACILITATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Requirements Applicable to the Director of OMB.--Section
3504(c) of title 44, United States Code (commonly referred to as the
``Paperwork Reduction Act''), is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and inserting
a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) publish in the Federal Register and make available on
the Internet (in consultation with the Small Business
Administration) on an annual basis a list of the compliance
assistance resources available to small businesses, with the
first such publication occurring not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of the Small Business Paperwork Relief
Act of 2001.''.
(b) Establishment of Agency Point of Contact.--Section 3506 of
title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(i)(1) In addition to the requirements described in subsection
(c), each agency described under paragraph (2) shall, with respect to
the collection of information and the control of paperwork, establish 1
point of contact in the agency to act as a liaison between the agency
and small business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)). Each such point of contact shall be
established not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the
Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001.
``(2) An agency described under this paragraph is--
``(A) any agency with a head that is listed at a level I
position on the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of title
5; and
``(B) the Federal Communications Commission, the Securities
and Exchange Commission, and the Environmental Protection
Agency.''.
(c) Additional Reduction of Paperwork for Certain Small
Businesses.--Section 3506(c) of title 44, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (3)(J), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) in addition to the requirements of this chapter
regarding the reduction of information collection burdens for
small business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), make efforts to--
``(A) further reduce the information collection
burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25
employees; and
``(B) eliminate any unnecessary paperwork
burdens.''.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE ON INFORMATION COLLECTION AND
DISSEMINATION.
(a) In General.--Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by redesignating section 3520 as section 3521; and
(2) by inserting after section 3519 the following:
``Sec. 3520. Establishment of task force on information collection and
dissemination
``(a) There is established a task force to study the feasibility of
streamlining requirements with respect to small business concerns
regarding collection of information and strengthening dissemination of
information (in this section referred to as the `task force').
``(b) The members of the task force shall be appointed by the head
of each applicable department or agency (and in the case of paragraph
(12) by the Director), and include--
``(1) not less than 2 representatives of the Department of
Labor, including 1 representative of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics and 1 representative of the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration;
``(2) not less than 1 representative of the Environmental
Protection Agency;
``(3) not less than 1 representative of the Department of
Transportation;
``(4) not less than 1 representative of the Office of
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration;
``(5) not less than 1 representative of the Internal
Revenue Service;
``(6) not less than 2 representatives of the Department of
Health and Human Services, including 1 representative of the
Health Care Financing Administration;
``(7) not less than 1 representative of the Department of
Agriculture;
``(8) not less than 1 representative of the Department of
Interior;
``(9) not less than 1 representative of the General
Services Administration;
``(10) not less than 1 representative of each of 2 agencies
not represented by representatives described under paragraphs
(1) through (9) and (11);
``(11) 1 representative of the Director, who shall convene
and chair the task force; and
``(12) not less than 3 representatives of the small
business community.
``(c) The task force shall--
``(1) recommend a plan for the development of an
interactive Government application, available through the
Internet, to allow each small business to better understand
which Federal requirements regarding collection of information
(and, when possible, which other Federal regulatory
requirements) apply to that particular business;
``(2) identify ways to integrate the collection of
information across Federal agencies and programs and examine
the feasibility of requiring each agency to consolidate
requirements regarding collections of information with respect
to small business concerns, within and across agencies without
negatively impacting the effectiveness of underlying laws and
regulations regarding such collections of information, in order
that each small business concern may submit all information
required by the agency--
``(A) to 1 point of contact in the agency; and
``(B) in a single format, such as a single
electronic reporting system, with respect to the
agency;
``(3) examine the feasibility and helpfulness to small
businesses of the Director publishing a list of the collections
of information applicable to small business concerns (as
defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632)), organized--
``(A) by North American Industrial Classification
System code;
``(B) industrial/sector description; or
``(C) in another manner by which small business
concerns can more easily identify requirements with
which those small business concerns are expected to
comply;
``(4) examine the savings, including cost savings, for
implementing a system of electronic paperwork submissions; and
``(5) examine the feasibility of measures to strengthen the
dissemination of information.
``(d) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the
Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001, the task force shall
submit a report of its findings under subsection (c), including any
minority views of the task force, to--
``(1) the Director;
``(2) the chairpersons and ranking minority members of--
``(A) the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the
Senate; and
``(B) the Committee on Government Reform and the
Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives; and
``(3) the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory
Enforcement Ombudsman designated under section 30(b) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657(b)).
``(e) In this section, the term `small business concern' has the
meaning given under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632).''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by striking the
item relating to section 3520 and inserting the following:
``3520. Establishment of task force on information collection and
dissemination.
``3521. Authorization of appropriations.''.
SEC. 4. REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT REFORMS.
Section 223 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 601 note) is amended by striking subsection (c)
and inserting:
``(c) Reports.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2001,
and not later than every 2 years thereafter, each agency shall
submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget and the chairpersons and ranking minority members of the
Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Small
Business of the Senate, and the Committee on the Judiciary and
the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives, that includes information with respect to the
applicable 1-year period or 2-year period covered by the report
on each of the following:
``(A) The number of enforcement actions in which a
civil penalty is assessed.
``(B) The number of enforcement actions in which a
civil penalty is assessed against a small entity.
``(C) The number of enforcement actions described
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) in which the civil
penalty is reduced or waived.
``(D) The total monetary amount of the reductions
or waivers referred to under subparagraph (C).
``(2) Definitions in reports.--Each report under paragraph
(1) shall include definitions of the terms `enforcement
actions', `reduction or waiver', and `small entity' as used in
the report.''.
Passed the Senate December 17, 2001.
Attest:
Secretary.
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1271
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, for the purpose of
facilitating compliance by small business concerns with certain Federal
paperwork requirements, to establish a task force to examine
information collection and dissemination, and for other purposes.