One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act of 2021
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Summary
House Report 117-255, submitted March 7, 2022 by Ms. Velazquez from the Committee on Small Business to accompany H.R. 4877, the One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act of 2021. The committee reports the bill favorably without amendment. The report states that the bill would amend Section 30 of the Small Business Act to require the Small Business Administration's Office of the National Ombudsman to maintain a centralized website, within 6 months of enactment, with hyperlinks to small entity compliance guides and contact information, and to assess agency compliance with Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 in its annual report. It notes that in Fiscal Year 2020 the Ombudsman advocated for 485 small businesses and conducted 41 outreach events, and that the committee ordered the bill reported by voice vote on February 3, 2022.
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“One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act of 2021.”
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117TH CONGRESS REPORT
" HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES !
2d Session 117–255
ONE STOP SHOP FOR SMALL BUSINESS COMPLIANCE
ACT OF 2021
MARCH 7, 2022.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of
the Union and ordered to be printed
Ms. VELÁZQUEZ, from the Committee on Small Business,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4877]
The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4877) to amend the Small Business Act to require the Small
Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman to
create a centralized website for compliance guides, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Bill Summary ........................................................................ 1
II. Background and Need for Legislation ....................................................... 2
III. Hearings ....................................................................................................... 3
IV. Committee Consideration ........................................................................... 3
V. Committee Votes ......................................................................................... 3
VI. Section-by-Section for H.R. 4877 ............................................................... 3
VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ............................................. 4
VIII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 4
IX. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations ........................... 4
X. Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives ....................... 4
XI. Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................... 4
XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits ..................................................................................................... 4
XIII. Federal Mandates Statement ..................................................................... 4
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement ................................................... 5
XI. Applicability to Legislative Branch ........................................................... 5
XVI. Constitutional Authority Statement .......................................................... 5
XVII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................ 5
I. PURPOSE AND BILL SUMMARY
The purpose of H.R. 4877, the ‘‘One Stop Shop for Small Busi-
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ness Compliance Act of 2021,’’ is to require the Small Business Ad-
29–006
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2
ministration’s (SBA) Office of the National Ombudsman (Ombuds-
man) to maintain a website with hyperlinks to the small business
compliance guides of each federal agency, as well as the relevant
points of contact for the guides. In addition, the bill would require
the Ombudsman to include an assessment of federal agency compli-
ance with Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforce-
ment Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA) 1 in their annual report.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 4877 was introduced by Representatives Antonio Delgado
(D–NY) and Beth Van Duyne (R–TX) on July 30, 2021. Section 212
of SBREFA requires federal agencies to publish a ‘‘small entity
compliance guide’’ for every rule that requires a regulatory flexi-
bility analysis (RFA). The guide must be posted the day the final
rule is published or shortly thereafter, but no later than the day
the rule becomes effective. Agencies are also required to publish
the guides on their websites, distribute the guides to small entities
affected by the rules, and report annually to Congress.
The SBA’s Office of the National Ombudsman was created in
1996 to help small businesses overcome excessive or unfair regu-
latory enforcement actions by federal agencies, such as repetitive
audits, investigations, or excessive fines. The Ombudsman works
directly with federal agencies to ensure that actions taken against
small businesses are fair and not excessive. In Fiscal Year 2020,
the Office of the National Ombudsman advocated on behalf of 485
small businesses, conducted 41 outreach events across the country
to raise the visibility of the Office.
Section 212 of the SBREFA requires federal agencies to publish
a ‘‘small entity compliance guide’’ for every rule that requires a reg-
ulatory flexibility analysis (RFA). The guide must be posted the
day the final rule is published or shortly thereafter, but no later
than the day the rule becomes effective. Agencies are also required
to publish the guides on their websites, distribute the guides to
small entities affected by the rules, and report annually to Con-
gress.
Small businesses rarely have the resources to navigate multiple
agency websites to understand their responsibilities under new
laws. H.R. 4877, would make it easier for small businesses by re-
quiring the SBA’s Office of the National Ombudsman to create a
centralized website, which would provide a ‘‘one stop shop’’ for
small entities compliance guides. Specifically, the legislation would
require the Office of the National Ombudsman to create a central-
ized website with hyperlinks to small entity compliance guides and
the contact person at agencies who could provide small businesses
with assistance. The legislation would also require the Ombudsman
to report on federal agencies’ compliance with the section 212 re-
quirements in its annual report to Congress.
In addition, the bill would provide transparency and ensure fed-
eral agencies are complying with the SBREFA requirements. Fed-
eral agencies’ compliance with the requirements has been varied.
For example, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a long-
standing small business education program and regularly submits
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reports to the Committee each year. In the 2018 annual report, the
1 Pub. L. No. 104–121.
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3
FTC reported that the Commission did not issue any rules that
were subject to Section 212 of SBREFA for the reporting period.
However, it made compliance materials available for several
rulemakings even though they were not required to do so by the
Act. Conversely, the Surface Transportation Board reported in its
2018 annual report that the Board failed to issue a timely compli-
ance guide for a particular rule, but promptly remedied the omis-
sion once it was realized. This bill would require the Ombudsman
to report on federal agencies’ compliance with the SBREFA require-
ments in its annual report to Congress.
III. HEARINGS
While multiple hearings have been held by the Committee over
the past several years exploring regulatory compliance burdens
specific to the small business community, no specific hearings in
the 117th Congress have been held to explore reforms to SBA’s Of-
fice of the National Ombudsman.
IV. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee on Small Business met in open session, with a
quorum being present, on February 3, 2022 and ordered H.R. 4877
favorably reported to the House of Representatives. During the
markup, no amendments were offered.
V. COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representa-
tives requires the Committee to list the recorded votes on the mo-
tion to report legislation and amendments thereto. The Committee
voted by voice vote to favorably report H.R. 4877 to the House at
10:44 a.m.
VI. SECTION-BY-SECTION FOR H.R. 4877
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘One Stop Shop for Small Business
Compliance Act of 2021’’.
Section 2. Centralized Website for Compliance Guides
This section amends Section 30 of the Small Business Act by
adding two new subsections:
Subsection (e)—Centralized Website. This subsection requires
that, no later than 6 months after the date of enactment, the Om-
budsman shall maintain a website that includes hyperlinks to the
small business compliance guides as required by the Small Busi-
ness Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. The website
must also include the contact information for employees that can
offer small businesses assistance with each compliance guide.
Subsection (f)—Report on Agency Compliance. This subsection
requires the Ombudsman to include an assessment of agency com-
pliance with Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforce-
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ment Fairness Act of 1996 in their annual reports.
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VII. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
The Committee has requested but not received a cost estimate
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
VIII. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX
EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, the Committee provides the following opinion and esti-
mate with respect to new budget authority, entitlement authority,
and tax expenditures. While the Committee has not received an es-
timate of new budget authority contained in the cost estimate pre-
pared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant
to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Com-
mittee does not believe that there will be any additional costs at-
tributable to this legislation. H.R. 4877 does not direct new spend-
ing, but instead reallocates funding independently authorized and
appropriated.
IX. COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In accordance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 2(b)(1)
of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the over-
sight findings and recommendations of the Committee on Small
Business with respect to the subject matter contained in the H.R.
4877 are incorporated into the descriptive portions of this report.
X. STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of
the Rules of the House of Representatives, the performance goals
and objectives of H.R. 4877 is to make it easier for small busi-
nesses to comply with federal regulations.
XI. DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, no provision of H.R. 4877 is known to be dupli-
cative of another Federal program, including any program that was
included in a report to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public
Law 111–139 or the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic As-
sistance.
XII. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND
LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee finds that the bill does not con-
tain any congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of
the Rules of the House of Representatives.
XIII. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
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An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the Un-
funded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the Com-
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5
mittee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairwoman of the
Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the Congres-
sional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.
XIV. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation.
XV. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or
accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Con-
gressional Accountability Act.
XVI. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII of the Rules of the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Committee finds the authority for this legislation
in Art. I, § 8, cl. 1 of the Constitution of the United States.
XVII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill,
as reported, as shown as follows: existing law proposed to be omit-
ted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic,
and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in
roman:
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill,
as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italics
and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in
roman):
SMALL BUSINESS ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 30. OVERSIGHT OF REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term—
(1) ‘‘Board’’ means a Regional Small Business Regulatory
Fairness Board established under subsection (c); and
(2) ‘‘Ombudsman’’ means the Small Business and Agriculture
Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman designated under sub-
section (b).
(b) SBA ENFORCEMENT OMBUDSMAN.—
(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this section, the Administrator shall designate a Small Busi-
ness and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman,
who shall report directly to the Administrator, utilizing per-
sonnel of the Small Business Administration to the extent
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practicable. Other agencies shall assist the Ombudsman and
take actions as necessary to ensure compliance with the re-
quirements of this section. Nothing in this section is intended
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6
to replace or diminish the activities of any Ombudsman or
similar office in any other agency.
(2) The Ombudsman shall—
(A) work with each agency with regulatory authority
over small businesses to ensure that small business con-
cerns that receive or are subject to an audit, on-site inspec-
tion, compliance assistance effort, or other enforcement re-
lated communication or contact by agency personnel are
provided with a means to comment on the enforcement ac-
tivity conducted by such personnel;
(B) establish means to receive comments from small
business concerns regarding actions by agency employees
conducting compliance or enforcement activities with re-
spect to the small business concern, means to refer com-
ments to the Inspector General of the affected agency in
the appropriate circumstances, and otherwise seek to
maintain the identity of the person and small business
concern making such comments on a confidential basis to
the same extent as employee identities are protected under
section 7 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.);
(C) based on substantiated comments received from
small business concerns and the Boards, annually report
to Congress and affected agencies evaluating the enforce-
ment activities of agency personnel including a rating of
the responsiveness to small business of the various re-
gional and program offices of each agency;
(D) coordinate and report annually on the activities,
findings and recommendations of the Boards to the Admin-
istrator and to the heads of affected agencies; and
(E) provide the affected agency with an opportunity to
comment on draft reports prepared under subparagraph
(C), and include a section of the final report in which the
affected agency may make such comments as are not ad-
dressed by the Ombudsman in revisions to the draft.
(c) REGIONAL SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY FAIRNESS BOARDS.—
(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this section, the Administrator shall establish a Small Busi-
ness Regulatory Fairness Board in each regional office of the
Small Business Administration.
(2) Each Board established under paragraph (1) shall—
(A) meet at least annually to advise the Ombudsman on
matters of concern to small businesses relating to the en-
forcement activities of agencies;
(B) report to the Ombudsman on substantiated instances
of excessive enforcement actions of agencies against small
business concerns including any findings or recommenda-
tions of the Board as to agency enforcement policy or prac-
tice; and
(C) prior to publication, provide comment on the annual
report of the Ombudsman prepared under subsection (b).
(3) Each Board shall consist of five members, who are own-
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ers, operators, or officers of small business concerns, appointed
by the Administrator, after receiving the recommendations of
the chair and ranking minority member of the Committees on
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Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Sen-
ate. Not more than three of the Board members shall be of the
same political party. No member shall be an officer or em-
ployee of the Federal Government, in either the executive
branch or the Congress.
(4) Members of the Board shall serve at the pleasure of the
Administrator for terms of three years or less.
(5) The Administrator shall select a chair from among the
members of the Board who shall serve at the pleasure of the
Administrator for not more than 1 year as chair.
(6) A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute
a quorum for the conduct of business, but a lesser number may
hold hearings.
(d) POWERS OF THE BOARDS.—
(1) The Board may hold such hearings and collect such infor-
mation as appropriate for carrying out this section.
(2) The Board may use the United States mails in the same
manner and under the same conditions as other departments
and agencies of the Federal Government.
(3) The Board may accept donations of services necessary to
conduct its business, provided that the donations and their
sources are disclosed by the Board.
(4) Members of the Board shall serve without compensation,
provided that, members of the Board shall be allowed travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au-
thorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chap-
ter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their
homes or regular places of business in the performance of serv-
ices for the Board.
(e) CENTRALIZED WEBSITE.—Not later than 6 months after the
date of the enactment of this subsection, the Ombudsman shall
maintain a publicly available website that includes—
(1) hyperlinks to small entity compliance guides described
under section 212(a)(1) of the Small Business Regulatory En-
forcement Fairness Act of 1996; and
(2) with respect to each such small entity compliance guide,
the contact information for an individual who can offer assist-
ance to small entities with respect to the rules that are the sub-
ject of such guide.
(f) REPORT ON AGENCY COMPLIANCE.—The Ombudsman shall in-
clude in the annual report required under subsection (b)(2)(C) an
assessment of agency compliance with the requirements of section
212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of
1996 for the year covered by such annual report.
* * * * * * *
Æ
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