Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Small businesses would get more input on new government rules and could avoid fines for first-time paperwork errors.

This bill would make federal agencies look more closely at how their new rules affect small businesses, including indirect costs and benefits. It would also give small businesses a chance to avoid fines for certain first-time paperwork violations. This aims to reduce the burden of government rules on smaller companies and organizations.

What Would Change

Today, federal agencies must consider how new rules affect small businesses, but the requirements are less detailed and don't always cover indirect impacts. After this bill, agencies would need to conduct much more thorough analyses, involve the Small Business Administration's Chief Counsel more directly, and regularly review existing rules to ease burdens on small businesses. Additionally, small businesses could avoid fines for their first paperwork violations, which is not currently guaranteed.

Key Provisions

Requires federal agencies to analyze both direct and indirect economic impacts of new rules on small businesses.
Expands the types of rules requiring small business impact analysis to include land management plans and rules affecting Tribal organizations.
Gives the Small Business Administration's Chief Counsel for Advocacy more power to oversee agency compliance and intervene in rule-making.
Requires agencies to create a plan to review existing rules every 10 years to reduce burdens or maximize benefits for small businesses.
Lets small businesses avoid civil fines for first-time paperwork violations, with some exceptions for serious issues.
Requires agencies to provide more detailed reports on the costs and benefits of proposed rules for small businesses.

View on Congress.gov

S 5178 · 119th Congress · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 8/10

Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity