[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3310 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3310

To amend chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, for the purpose of 
   facilitating compliance by small businesses with certain Federal 
 paperwork requirements, and to establish a task force to examine the 
feasibility of streamlining paperwork requirements applicable to small 
                              businesses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 3, 1998

 Mr. McIntosh (for himself, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Frost, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. 
  Gordon, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Hastert, Mr. Scarborough, Mr. Sununu, Mr. 
 Sessions, Mr. Shays, Mr. McHugh, Mr. Davis of Virginia, Mr. Miller of 
    Florida, Mr. Livingston, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Armey, Mr. Boehner, Mr. 
    Thornberry, Mr. Barr of Georgia, Ms. Dunn, and Mr. Snowbarger) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Government Reform and Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, for the purpose of 
   facilitating compliance by small businesses with certain Federal 
 paperwork requirements, and to establish a task force to examine the 
feasibility of streamlining paperwork requirements applicable to small 
                              businesses.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Paperwork Reduction 
Act Amendments of 1998''.

SEC. 2. FACILITATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Annual Publication of Paperwork Requirements.--Section 3504(c) 
of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly referred to as 
the ``Paperwork Reduction Act''), is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(6) publish in the Federal Register on an annual basis a 
        list of the requirements applicable to small-business concerns 
        (within the meaning of section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 631 et seq.)) with respect to collection of information 
        by agencies.''.
    (b) Establishment of Agency Point of Contact; Suspension of Fines 
for First-Time Paperwork Violations.--Section 3506 of such chapter is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i)(1) In addition to the requirements described in subsection 
(c), each agency shall, with respect to the collection of information 
and the control of paperwork--
            ``(A) establish one point of contact in the agency to act 
        as a liaison between the agency and small-business concerns 
        (within the meaning of section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 631 et seq.)); and
            ``(B) in any case of a first-time violation by a small-
        business concern of a requirement regarding collection of 
        information by the agency in which the head of the agency 
        determines that the violation has not caused actual serious 
        harm to the public health or safety--
                    ``(i) provide that, except as provided in clause 
                (ii), no civil fine shall be imposed by the agency on 
                the small-business concern if the small-business 
                concern corrects the violation on or before the date 
                that is six months after the date of receipt by the 
                small-business concern of notification of the violation 
                in writing from the agency; and
                    ``(ii) if the violation presents an imminent and 
                substantial danger to the public health or safety, 
                provide that, except as provided in paragraph (2), no 
                civil fine shall be imposed by the agency on the small-
                business concern if the small-business concern corrects 
                the violation during the 24-hour period immediately 
                following receipt by the small-business concern of 
                notification of the violation in writing from the 
                agency.
    ``(2) In a case described in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), the head of the 
agency may waive the suspension of imposition of a civil fine provided 
in that paragraph. The head of the agency shall notify Congress of any 
such waiver not later than 60 days after the date that the suspension 
is waived.
    ``(3) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B), the term `agency' does not 
include the Internal Revenue Service.''.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE TO STUDY STREAMLINING OF PAPERWORK 
              REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL-BUSINESS CONCERNS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 3521. Establishment of task force on feasibility of streamlining 
              information collection requirements
    ``(a) There is hereby established a task force to study the 
feasibility of streamlining requirements with respect to small-business 
concerns regarding collection of information (in this section referred 
to as the `task force').
    ``(b) The members of the task force shall be appointed by the 
Director, and shall include the following:
            ``(1) At least two representatives of the Department of 
        Labor, including one representative of the Bureau of Labor 
        Statistics and one representative of the Occupational Safety 
        and Health Administration.
            ``(2) At least one representative of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency.
            ``(3) At least one representative of the Department of 
        Transportation.
            ``(4) At least one representative of the Office of Advocacy 
        of the Small Business Administration.
            ``(5) At least one representative of each of two agencies 
        other than the Department of Labor, the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the 
        Small Business Administration.
    ``(c) The task force shall examine the feasibility of requiring 
each agency to consolidate requirements regarding collections of 
information with respect to small-business concerns, in order that each 
small-business concern may submit all information required by the 
agency--
            ``(1) to one point of contact in the agency;
            ``(2) in a single format, or using a single electronic 
        reporting system, with respect to the agency; and
            ``(3) on the same date.
    ``(d) Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
the Small Business Paperwork Reduction Act Amendments of 1998, the task 
force shall submit a report of its findings under subsection (c) to the 
chairmen and ranking minority members of the Committee on Government 
Reform and Oversight and the Committee on Small Business of the House 
of Representatives, and the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the 
Committee on Small Business of the Senate.
    ``(e) As used in this section, the term `small-business concern' 
has the meaning given that term under section 3 of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning 
of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``3521. Establishment of task force on feasibility of streamlining 
                            information collection requirements.''.
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