Letter — Committee on Small Business to Bureau of Land Management on Public Lands Rule (May 18, 2023)

Summary

Letter dated May 18, 2023, from Committee on Small Business Chairman Roger Williams to The Honorable Tracy Stone-Manning, Director, Bureau of Land Management, about the recent rule change to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Public Lands Rule, particularly the new Conservation and Landscape Health rule. The letter states it appears that the BLM may not have properly considered small entities during this rulemaking process. It requests information as soon as possible but no later than June 1, 2023, including the statutory requirements to examine the rule's impact on small businesses, how many small businesses will be impacted, and what additional compliance costs are associated with the rule. A cc line lists The Honorable Nydia M. Velasquez, Ranking Member.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

                                                May 18, 2023

The Honorable Tracy Stone-Manning
Director, Bureau of Land Management
U.S. Department of Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Ms. Stone-Manning:

        The House Committee on Small Business (the Committee) writes to inquire about the
recent rule change to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule, particularly
the new Conservation and Landscape Health rule. This rule would apply land-health standards
and designate conservation as a formal use of public lands to all BLM-managed public land.1 It
appears that the BLM may not have properly considered small entities during this rulemaking
process.

       It is important for agencies to properly consider small businesses interests, which make
up 99.9 percent of all businesses in the United States, when passing any new rule. America’s
small businesses deserve to have their voices heard and considered. We therefore request the
following information as soon as possible but no later than June 1, 2023:

      1. What are your statutory requirements to examine this rule’s impact on small businesses?

      2. How many small businesses will be impacted by this rule?

      3. What additional compliance costs on small businesses are associated with this new rule?

      4. Where can small businesses go to examine your analysis on the impacts this rule will
         have on their operations?

      5. What alternatives have been considered to lessen the impacts on small businesses?




       To schedule the delivery of your response or ask any related follow-up questions, please
contact Committee on Small Business Majority Staff at (202) 225-5821. The Committee on
1
    Conservation and Landscape Health, 43 CFR § 1600.6100 (2023).
The Honorable Tracy Stone-Manning
May 18, 2023
Page 2 of 2

Small Business has broad authority to investigate “problems of all types of small business” under
House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.”

                                           Sincerely,




                                     Roger Williams
                                         Chairman
                                 Committee on Small Business




cc:    The Honorable Nydia M. Velasquez, Ranking Member
       Committee on Small Business


File and source

File

405538_2023-05-18_williams-pens-letters-to-government-agencies-on-re_att3.pdf

Size

152,295 bytes

SHA-256

7a898bf2361e7754d47785fcff80e94304a588befa2e21bcbdf867b4d20bdd56

Our copy

405538_2023-05-18_williams-pens-letters-to-government-agencies-on-re_att3.pdf

Original

No public link identified.