[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54588-54590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-24826]
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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
13 CFR Parts 106, 109, 110, 111, 128, 129, and 144, and 48 CFR Part
2209
Lease Guarantee; Prepayment of Small Business Investment Company
and Certified Development Company Debentures; Small Business Investment
Company Investigations; Pollution Control; Grants for Small Business
Research; Management Assistance; Discounted Prepayment of Disaster Home
Loans; and Contractor Qualifications
AGENCY: Small Business Administration.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: In response to President Clinton's government-wide regulatory
reform initiative, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has
completed a page-by-page, line-by-line review of all of its existing
regulations to determine which might be revised or eliminated. SBA has
determined that eight Parts of its regulations should be entirely
eliminated as obsolete, unnecessary or duplicative. This rule
eliminates those eight Parts. The reasons for eliminating each of these
Parts are set forth below in the Supplementary Information of this
rule.
DATES: This rule is effective on October 25, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to David R. Kohler,
Regulatory Reform Team Leader, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Small
Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20416.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John W. Klein, Chief Counsel for
Special Programs, Office of General Counsel, at (202) 205-6645.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 4, 1995, President Clinton issued a
Memorandum to all federal agencies, directing them to simplify their
regulations. In response to this directive, SBA has completed a page-
by-page, line-by-line review of all of its existing regulations to
determine which might be revised or eliminated. SBA has identified
eight Parts of its regulations which can be completely eliminated
because they are obsolete, unnecessary or duplicative. Those eight
Parts are: 13 CFR Part 106, Lease Guarantee; 13 CFR Part 109,
Prepayment of Small Business Investment Company and Certified
Development Company Debentures; 13 CFR Part 110, Investigations; Small
Business Investment Companies; 13 CFR Part 111, Pollution Control; 13
CFR Part 128, Grants for Small Business Research; 13 CFR Part 129,
Management Assistance; 13 CFR Part 144, Discounted Prepayment of
Disaster Home Loans; and 48 CFR Part 2209, Contractor Qualifications.
Because SBA has determined that each of the Parts to be eliminated by
this rule is obsolete, SBA finds that notice of proposed rulemaking and
public comment thereon are unnecessary within the meaning of 5 U.S.C.
553(b). As such, this rule is published in final form.
Brief descriptions of each of these eight Parts and the reasons for
their elimination are set forth below.
13 CFR Part 106, Lease Guarantee: Part 106 sets forth the Agency's
policy and procedures with respect to the Lease Guarantee Program,
which is authorized by 15 U.S.C. Sec. 692. The program was designed to
assist certain qualified small business concerns to obtain leases of
commercial and industrial property by authorizing SBA to guarantee the
payment of rentals under such leases. Congress has not appropriated
funds for this program since fiscal year 1977, and no application for a
guarantee has been accepted since that time. For this reason, SBA
believes that the regulations pertaining to the program may be
eliminated as unnecessary. Moreover, there are less than a dozen lease
guarantees still in effect.
Sections 106.1 through 106.10 relate to the lease guarantee
application process prior to the granting of SBA's assistance and,
therefore, should be deleted. Although sections 106.11 through 106.18
relate to servicing provisions, SBA notes that to the extent legal
enforceability of certain servicing rights and responsibilities may be
required, the contractual documents which govern the remaining lease
guarantee transactions provide such enforceability. Thus, these
sections are unnecessary and may be eliminated.
13 CFR Part 109, Prepayment of Small Business Investment Company
and Certified Development Company Debentures: As directed by Congress,
SBA promulgated Part 109 to implement legislation allowing certain
debentures to be refinanced. The regulation allowed refinancing of
older debentures sold to the Federal Financing Bank by Small Business
Investment Companies and Certified Development Companies. These older
debentures, because they were sold when interest rates were higher,
developed large prepayment premiums when interest rates fell. These
premiums would be passed along to small business borrowers who
attempted to prepay their loans.
In response to the problem, Congress passed the Small Business
Prepayment Penalty Relief Act of 1994, Public Law 103-403, 108 Stat.
4198, found also in 15 USC 697f. This statutory provision allowed a
one-time window of opportunity for borrowers affected by the older
debenture prepayment premium to request participation in a refinancing
program which would eliminate the large premium. SBA gave notice of the
opportunity to affected borrowers. Many borrowers took advantage of the
opportunity. SBA paid the difference between the new refinanced amount
and the debenture premium, from a special $30 million fund established
by Congress for that purpose.
Because the purpose of the Small Business Prepayment Penalty Relief
Act of 1994 and Part 109 have been accomplished and the one-time window
of opportunity is now closed, SBA believes that Part 109 should be
eliminated.
13 CFR Part 110, Investigations; Small Business Investment
Companies: This Part concerns the investigation procedures for SBA's
Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. These regulations
were promulgated in 1962, and were authorized by Title VI of the Small
Business Investment Act of 1958. The program assists small business
concerns by providing venture capital through SBICs. However, the
regulations contained in Part 110 have not been utilized by the program
for several years. The scope of examinations and investigations has
been amended by statute for the SBIC program and through the Inspector
General Act of 1978, as amended, 5 U.S.C. Appendix. In part, these
regulations are also now redundant because they address the same
information contained in Part 134 regarding proceedings before SBA's
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), a regulation promulgated long
after Part 110. Additionally, Part 101 of these regulations is
currently under revision and will cover Inspector General
investigations pertaining to agency programs.
13 CFR Part 111, Pollution Control: Part 111 sets forth the
Agency's policy and procedures with respect to the Pollution Control
Guarantee Program. Under the program, SBA was authorized to guarantee
fully (100 percent) the periodic payments due by small businesses in
connection with the purchase or lease of pollution control facilities
under a ``qualified contract.'' In 1988, funding for the program was
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eliminated and financing of pollution control projects was transferred
to section 7(a)(12)(B) of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C.
636(a)(12)(B), as a guaranteed financing program.
Sections 111.1 through 111.8 relate to the application process and,
therefore, should be eliminated. Although sections 111.9 and 111.10
incorporate some servicing priorities, SBA believes that the Agency's
interests will be adequately safeguarded by the rights and
responsibilities incorporated into the contractual documents which
govern each individual transaction. As such, these sections may also be
eliminated.
13 CFR Part 128, Grants for Small Business Research: Part 128 was
first promulgated in 1959 (24 FR 7063). It describes a program for SBA-
awarded grants for studies, research and counseling concerning the
managing, financing and operation of small business enterprises, and
technical and statistical information necessary thereto. The program is
no longer in operation. Thus, the regulations describing and regulating
the program may be eliminated as obsolete.
13 CFR Part 129, Management Assistance: Part 129 pertains to the
various management assistance programs of the Agency. Subpart A merely
describes the SBA's management assistance programs. It is, however,
outdated, does not take into account reorganizations that have occurred
within the Agency over the last several years, and does not accurately
describe the management assistance program as currently being provided
by SBA. In addition, this Subpart is descriptive in nature, rather than
regulatory, and can be updated and made a part of an informational
pamphlet instead of regulatory text.
Subpart B deals with the reimbursement of travel expenses for
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and Active Corps of
Executives (ACE) volunteers. SBA believes that this Subpart can be
eliminated as unnecessary. The reference to ACE is obsolete. Years ago,
ACE was a separate entity under the SCORE umbrella, and those
volunteers that were still employed were referred to as ACE members.
ACE no longer exists as a separate entity today. Today, all volunteers,
whether retired or still working, are considered to be members of
SCORE, and are obliged to comply with all the requirements and by-laws
of the SCORE organization. The statutory authority for the
reimbursement of travel expenses remains, but the authority has been
delegated in a formal memorandum of understanding to the SCORE
organization on behalf of its membership.
Subpart C is currently ``(Reserved)'' and can be eliminated as
obsolete and unnecessary.
Subpart D is an informative description of SBA's Office of
International Trade and the export assistance available through the
SBA. It imposes no regulatory requirements or restrictions, and can be
eliminated as unnecessary. SBA believes that Subpart D's provisions
should more appropriately be contained in an informational brochure
regarding the Agency's export assistance.
13 CFR Part 144, Discounted Prepayment of Disaster Home Loans: Part
144 covers a one-time program for fiscal year 1987 authorizing SBA to
provide a discount for the prepayment of disaster home loans. This
entire Part may be deleted as obsolete.
48 CFR Part 2209, Contractor Qualifications: SBA's supplement to
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is contained in Chapter 22 of
Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The only substantive area
of the FAR that SBA has supplemented is that dealing with the policies
and procedures governing the debarment and suspension of contractors by
SBA. Thus, SBA's entire supplement to the FAR is contained in Subpart
2209.4, Debarment, Suspension, and Eligibility, and corresponds to the
general provisions of the FAR on this subject contained in Subpart 9.4.
SBA's FAR supplement largely repeats the debarment and suspension
provisions contained in Subpart 9.4, and is, thus, unnecessary. The
only portions that need to be retained from Subpart 2209.4 in SBA's
regulations are (1) the identification of SBA's debarring and
suspending official, and (2) the identification of SBA's Office of
Hearings and Appeals (OHA) as the forum where debarment and suspension
actions may be appealed. Neither need be retained in Subpart 2209.4.
SBA's debarring and suspending official can be identified elsewhere in
SBA's regulations at 13 CFR Part 101, and OHA's involvement in the
debarment or suspension process can also be provided for elsewhere in
SBA's regulations at 13 CFR Part 134. Pending such changes, the
Administrator can make designations on a case-by-case basis if
necessary.
Subpart 2209.4 also contains SBA's internal procedures pertaining
to a debarment or suspension action. Because these are internal
procedures only, they need not be set forth in regulatory form.
Instead, SBA believes that such procedures would be more appropriate as
part of SBA Standard Operating Procedures.
Compliance With Executive Orders 12612, 12778, and 12866, the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.), and the Paperwork
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Ch. 35)
SBA certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities within the meaning of
Executive Order 12866 or the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601,
et seq. This rule eliminates eight Parts of SBA's regulations that SBA
has determined to be obsolete, unnecessary or duplicative. Contracting
opportunities and financial assistance for small business will not be
affected by this proposed rule. Therefore, it is not likely to have an
annual economic effect of $100 million or more, result in a major
increase in costs or prices, or have a significant adverse effect on
competition or the United States economy.
For purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. Ch. 35, SBA
certifies that this rule contains no new reporting or record keeping
requirements.
For purposes of Executive Order 12612, SBA certifies that this rule
does not have any federalism implications warranting the preparation of
a Federalism Assessment.
For purposes of Executive Order 12778, SBA certifies that this rule
is drafted, to the extent practicable, in accordance with the standards
set forth in Section 2 of that Order.
List of Subjects
13 CFR Part 106
Rent subsidies; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Small
businesses.
13 CFR Part 109
Investment companies; Loan programs--business; Small businesses.
13 CFR Part 110
Investigations; Investment companies; Small businesses.
13 CFR Part 111
Environmental protection; Loan programs--business; Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
13 CFR Part 128
Grant programs--business; Research; Small businesses.
13 CFR Part 129
Active Corps of Executives (ACE); Exports; Service Corps of Retired
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Executives (SCORE); Small businesses; Technical assistance; Volunteers.
13 CFR Part 144
Disaster assistance; Loan programs--business; Small businesses.
48 CFR Part 2209
Administrative practice and procedure; Government procurement.
For the reasons set forth above and the authority of 15 U.S.C.
634(b)(6), SBA hereby amends Title 13 of the Code of Federal
Regulations by removing parts 106, 109, 110, 111, 128, 129 and 144; and
Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations by removing part 2209, and
chapter 22, consisting of subchapter B, part 2209 is vacated.
Dated: September 14, 1995.
Philip Lader,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-24826 Filed 10-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8025-01-P