Snowe Bill To Help Small Businesses

SBA, Oct 13, 2004

Snowe Bill To Help Small Businesses

Requires Agencies To Produce Clear, Timely Regulatory Compliance Guides

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Small businesses will find it easier to comply with complex and confusing federal regulations, if a bill recently introduced by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) becomes law.

The Small Business Compliance Assistance Enhancement Act of 2004 (S. 2834) amends the 1996 Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, a law that bolsters the Office of Advocacy’s ability to reduce regulatory barriers that can stifle entrepreneurial growth. S. 2834 places new emphasis on compliance guides that agencies are required to write so that small businesses can better understand complex rules and regulations.

“Senator Snowe’s bill goes a long way to ensure that federal agencies issue compliance guides that are helpful for the small business community,” said Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “The bill also recognizes that small businesses often need compliance help before new rules go into effect.”

Making compliance easier is crucial to the success of small business. Office of Advocacy statistics show that it annually costs the smallest of businesses almost $7,000 per employee to comply with federal regulations. That cost places a burden on small business that is 60 percent greater than costs incurred by large corporations.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues.