Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2017
Latest action · Mar 29, 2017 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-21.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 3, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2017
This bill modifies the rulemaking requirements and procedures of federal agencies (excluding Congress, U.S. courts, U.S. territories and possessions, and the District of Columbia) under the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA). The definition of "rule" under the RFA is expanded to include all agency rules, except for: (1) rules that pertain to the protection of the rights of and benefits for veterans or that impose limitations on the cost and terms of consumer credit extended to service members and their dependents, or (2) rules of particular (and not general) applicability relating to rates, wages, and other financial indicators. Under a new definition of "economic impact," agencies are required to consider any direct economic effect of a proposed rule on small entities and any indirect economic effect on small entities that is reasonably foreseeable and that results from such rule.
Under the bill, agencies are required to modify their rulemaking procedures to:
- include within initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses a detailed statement of information relating to a proposed rule;
- include in the agency regulatory flexibility agenda a description of the sector of the North American Industrial Classification System that is affected by a proposed agency rule that is likely to have a significant economic impact of a substantial number of small entities;
- require each initial regulatory flexibility analysis to contain detailed information about a proposed rule, including why agency action is being considered, the objectives and legal basis for the proposed rule, and an estimate of the number and types of small entities to which the proposed rule will apply;
- eliminate waivers or delays of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis;
- modify the procedures for participation of small entities in the promulgation of a proposed rule and the review panel advocacy process; and
- publish a plan for the periodic review of existing rules and new rules that have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities to determine whether such rules should be continued, changed, or rescinded.
Judicial review of an agency final rule for compliance with RFA requirements is allowed after the publication of such rule, instead of after completion of the rulemaking process.
The Small Business Act is amended to authorize the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to make small business size-standard determinations for all purposes other than for the purposes of such Act or the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.
SBREFA is amended to require agencies, in preparing small entity compliance guides, to solicit input from affected small entities or associations of small entities.
The Government Accountability Office must complete and publish a study that examines whether the SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy has the capacity and resources to carry out duties under this bill.
Cosponsors 16
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 3, 2017 to Jul 28, 2017, with 13 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AS | Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-MO | Blaine Luetkemeyer | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-VA | Bob Goodlatte | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-FL | Carlos Curbelo | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| D-TX | Henry Cuellar | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-TX | Pete Sessions | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-IL | Randy Hultgren | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-MO | Sam Graves | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-CO | Scott R. Tipton | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-CA | Stephen Knight | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-IA | Steve King | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-PA | Tom Marino | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-MS | Trent Kelly | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-UT | Mia B. Love | Jan 4, 2017 | |
| R-OH | Steve Stivers | Feb 27, 2017 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 29, 2017Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-21.
- Jan 12, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial And Antitrust Law.
- Jan 3, 2017Introduced in House
- Jan 3, 2017Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 5 | Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 | Related bill | Mar 29, 2017 |
| S 584 | Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act | Related bill | Dec 14, 2017 |
| HR 6330 | Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 | Related bill | Dec 17, 2018 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Business records
- Civil actions and liability
- Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
- Congressional oversight
- Economic performance and conditions
- Federal appellate courts
- Federal-Indian relations
- Forests, forestry, trees
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government studies and investigations
- Industrial policy and productivity
- Judicial review and appeals
- Jurisdiction and venue
- Land use and conservation
- Small business
- Small Business Administration
- Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 3, 2017Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.
