[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 

[[Page 54589]]
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