[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 327 Engrossed Amendment Senate (EAS)]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

                  In the Senate of the United States,

                                                          May 22, 2002.
    Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 
327) entitled ``An Act 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.'', do pass with the following

                              AMENDMENTS:

            Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Paperwork Relief Act 
of 2002''.

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

    (a) Requirements Applicable to the Director of OMB.--Section 
3504(c) 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 
        a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) publish in the Federal Register and make available on 
        the Internet (in consultation with the Small Business 
        Administration) on an annual basis a list of the compliance 
        assistance resources available to small businesses, with the 
        first such publication occurring not later than 1 year after 
        the date of enactment of the Small Business Paperwork Relief 
        Act of 2002.''.
    (b) Establishment of Agency Point of Contact.--Section 3506 of 
title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(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, establish 1 point of contact in the 
agency to act as a liaison between the agency and small business 
concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632)).
    ``(2) Each point of contact described under paragraph (1) shall be 
established not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 
Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002.''.
    (c) Additional Reduction of Paperwork for Certain Small 
Businesses.--Section 3506(c) of title 44, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``; and'' and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (3)(J), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) in addition to the requirements of this chapter 
        regarding the reduction of information collection burdens for 
        small business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small 
        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), make efforts to further reduce 
        the information collection burden for small business concerns 
        with fewer than 25 employees.''.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE ON INFORMATION COLLECTION AND 
              DISSEMINATION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 3520 as section 3521; and
            (2) by inserting after section 3519 the following:
``Sec. 3520. Establishment of task force on information collection and 
              dissemination
    ``(a) There is established a task force to study the feasibility of 
streamlining requirements with respect to small business concerns 
regarding collection of information and strengthening dissemination of 
information (in this section referred to as the `task force').
    ``(b)(1) The Director shall determine--
            ``(A) subject to the minimum requirements under paragraph 
        (2), the number of representatives to be designated under each 
        subparagraph of that paragraph; and
            ``(B) the agencies to be represented under paragraph 
        (2)(K).
    ``(2) After all determinations are made under paragraph (1), the 
members of the task force shall be designated by the head of each 
applicable department or agency, and include--
            ``(A) 1 representative of the Director, who shall convene 
        and chair the task force;
            ``(B) not less than 2 representatives of the Department of 
        Labor, including 1 representative of the Bureau of Labor 
        Statistics and 1 representative of the Occupational Safety and 
        Health Administration;
            ``(C) not less than 1 representative of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency;
            ``(D) not less than 1 representative of the Department of 
        Transportation;
            ``(E) not less than 1 representative of the Office of 
        Advocacy of the Small Business Administration;
            ``(F) not less than 1 representative of the Internal 
        Revenue Service;
            ``(G) not less than 2 representatives of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services, including 1 representative of the 
        Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;
            ``(H) not less than 1 representative of the Department of 
        Agriculture;
            ``(I) not less than 1 representative of the Department of 
        the Interior;
            ``(J) not less than 1 representative of the General 
        Services Administration; and
            ``(K) not less than 1 representative of each of 2 agencies 
        not represented by representatives described under 
        subparagraphs (A) through (J).
    ``(c) The task force shall--
            ``(1) identify ways to integrate the collection of 
        information across Federal agencies and programs and examine 
        the feasibility and desirability of requiring each agency to 
        consolidate requirements regarding collections of information 
        with respect to small business concerns within and across 
        agencies, without negatively impacting the effectiveness of 
        underlying laws and regulations regarding such collections of 
        information, in order that each small business concern may 
        submit all information required by the agency--
                    ``(A) to 1 point of contact in the agency;
                    ``(B) in a single format, such as a single 
                electronic reporting system, with respect to the 
                agency; and
                    ``(C) with synchronized reporting for information 
                submissions having the same frequency, such as 
                synchronized quarterly, semiannual, and annual 
                reporting dates;
            ``(2) examine the feasibility and benefits to small 
        businesses of publishing a list by the Director of the 
        collections of information applicable to small business 
        concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 632)), organized--
                    ``(A) by North American Industry Classification 
                System code;
                    ``(B) by industrial sector description; or
                    ``(C) in another manner by which small business 
                concerns can more easily identify requirements with 
                which those small business concerns are expected to 
                comply;
            ``(3) examine the savings, including cost savings, and 
        develop recommendations for implementing--
                    ``(A) systems for electronic submissions of 
                information to the Federal Government; and
                    ``(B) interactive reporting systems, including 
                components that provide immediate feedback to assure 
                that data being submitted--
                            ``(i) meet requirements of format; and
                            ``(ii) are within the range of acceptable 
                        options for each data field;
            ``(4) make recommendations to improve the electronic 
        dissemination of information collected under Federal 
        requirements;
            ``(5) recommend a plan for the development of an 
        interactive Governmentwide system, available through the 
        Internet, to allow each small business to--
                    ``(A) better understand which Federal requirements 
                regarding collection of information (and, when 
                possible, which other Federal regulatory requirements) 
                apply to that particular business; and
                    ``(B) more easily comply with those Federal 
                requirements; and
            ``(6) in carrying out this section, consider opportunities 
        for the coordination--
                    ``(A) of Federal and State reporting requirements; 
                and
                    ``(B) among the points of contact described under 
                section 3506(i), such as to enable agencies to provide 
                small business concerns with contacts for information 
                collection requirements for other agencies.
    ``(d) The task force shall--
            ``(1) by publication in the Federal Register, provide 
        notice and an opportunity for public comment on each report in 
        draft form; and
            ``(2) make provision in each report for the inclusion of--
                    ``(A) any additional or dissenting views of task 
                force members; and
                    ``(B) a summary of significant public comments.
    ``(e) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 
Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the task force shall 
submit a report of its findings under subsection (c) (1), (2), and (3) 
to--
            ``(1) the Director;
            ``(2) the chairpersons and ranking minority members of--
                    ``(A) the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the 
                Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
                Senate; and
                    ``(B) the Committee on Government Reform and the 
                Committee on Small Business of the House of 
                Representatives; and
            ``(3) the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory 
        Enforcement Ombudsman designated under section 30(b) of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657(b)).
    ``(f) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the 
Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the task force shall 
submit a report of its findings under subsection (c) (4) and (5) to--
            ``(1) the Director;
            ``(2) the chairpersons and ranking minority members of--
                    ``(A) the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the 
                Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
                Senate; and
                    ``(B) the Committee on Government Reform and the 
                Committee on Small Business of the House of 
                Representatives; and
            ``(3) the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory 
        Enforcement Ombudsman designated under section 30(b) of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657(b)).
    ``(g) The task force shall terminate after completion of its work.
    ``(h) In this section, the term `small business concern' has the 
meaning given under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632).''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by striking the 
item relating to section 3520 and inserting the following:

``3520. Establishment of task force on information collection and 
                            dissemination.
``3521. Authorization of appropriations.''.

SEC. 4. REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT REPORTS.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``agency'' has the 
meaning given that term under section 551 of title 5, United States 
Code.
    (b) In General.--
            (1) Initial report.--Not later than December 31, 2003, each 
        agency shall submit an initial report to--
                    (A) the chairpersons and ranking minority members 
                of--
                            (i) the Committee on Governmental Affairs 
                        and the Committee on Small Business and 
                        Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
                            (ii) the Committee on Government Reform and 
                        the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
                        Representatives; and
                    (B) the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory 
                Enforcement Ombudsman designated under section 30(b) of 
                the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657(b)).
            (2) Final report.--Not later than December 31, 2004, each 
        agency shall submit a final report to the members and officer 
        described under paragraph (1) (A) and (B).
            (3) Content.--The initial report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include information with respect to the 1-year period beginning 
        on October 1, 2002, and the final report under paragraph (2) 
        shall include information with respect to the 1-year period 
        beginning on October 1, 2003, on each of the following:
                    (A) The number of enforcement actions in which a 
                civil penalty is assessed.
                    (B) The number of enforcement actions in which a 
                civil penalty is assessed against a small entity.
                    (C) The number of enforcement actions described 
                under subparagraphs (A) and (B) in which the civil 
                penalty is reduced or waived.
                    (D) The total monetary amount of the reductions or 
                waivers referred to under subparagraph (C).
            (4) Definitions in reports.--Each report under this 
        subsection shall include definitions selected at the discretion 
        of the reporting agency of the terms ``enforcement actions'', 
        ``reduction or waiver'', and ``small entity'' as used in the 
        report.

            Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to amend chapter 35 
        of title 44, United States Code, for the purpose of 
        facilitating compliance by small business concerns with certain 
        Federal paperwork requirements, to establish a task force to 
        examine information collection and dissemination, and for other 
        purposes.''.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
107th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 327

_______________________________________________________________________

                               AMENDMENTS