By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee passed legislation to expand the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and provide small businesses with a larger say in how federal government agencies draft regulations. Under the bill, federal agencies would now be required to consider a reasonably foreseeable indirect economic impact on a small business. Agencies would also be required to offer regulatory alternatives to minimize any significant economic impact. The Chief Counsel for Advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) would be required to issue rules on how federal agencies are to comply with the RFA. Rules issued by federal agencies would be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with RFA requirements. The House is expected to consider the bill in February.
The RFA has played an important role in reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens since it was enacted in 1980. The SBA estimates that it reduced small-business compliance costs by $4.8 billion in 2014.
For more information, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.