[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7254-7256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02366]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

13 CFR Part 119

RIN 3245-AH11


Regulatory Reform Initiative: Program for Investment in 
Microentrepreneurs (PRIME)

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) is 
proposing to revise one regulation and remove 19 regulations from the 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) related to the Program for Investment 
in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME) that are repetitive and unnecessary 
because they duplicate identical guidance and requirements already 
stipulated in other legal sources and/or provided to grant applicant 
and recipients in the annual PRIME funding opportunity announcement. 
The removal of these regulations will assist the public by simplifying 
SBA's regulations in the CFR and reducing the amount of time grant 
applicants and recipients must spend reviewing programmatic guidance.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 7, 2020.

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ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN: 3245-AH11 by any 
of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail or Hand Delivery/Courier: Daniel Upham, Chief, 
Microenterprise Development Division, Office of Capital Access, U.S. 
Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street SW, Washington, DC 
20416.
    SBA will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. If you 
wish to submit confidential business information (CBI), as defined in 
the User Notice at http://www.regulations.gov, please submit the 
information to Daniel Upham, Chief, Microenterprise Development 
Division, Office of Capital Access, U.S. Small Business Administration, 
409 Third Street SW, Washington, DC 20416, or send an email to 
[email protected]. Highlight the information that you consider to be 
CBI and explain why you believe SBA should hold this information as 
confidential. SBA will review the information and make the final 
determination on whether it will publish the information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Upham, Chief, Microenterprise 
Development Division, Office of Capital Access, at 202-205-7001 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background Information

A. Part 119--Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (``PRIME'' or 
``The Act'')

    Under the PRIME program, SBA is authorized by 15 U.S.C. 6902 to 
make grants to qualified organizations for the purpose of funding: (i) 
Training and technical assistance to disadvantaged microentrepreneurs; 
(ii) training and capacity-building services for microenterprise 
development organizations; (iii) research and development of the best 
practices in the fields of microenterprise development and technical 
assistance for disadvantaged microentrepreneurs; and (iv) other related 
activities as the Agency deems appropriate.
    In this rule, SBA is proposing to modify one regulation and remove 
19 regulations from the CFR related to the Program for Investment in 
Microentrepreneurs (PRIME) that are no longer necessary because they 
duplicate identical guidance and requirements already stipulated in the 
enabling legislation (15 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), the governmentwide grant 
regulations (2 CFR part 200), and/or provided to grant applicant and 
recipients in the PRIME funding opportunity announcements published 
annually by SBA at www.grants.gov. The removal of these regulations 
will assist the public by simplifying SBA's regulations in the CFR and 
reducing the amount of time grant applicants and recipients must spend 
reviewing programmatic guidance.

B. Executive Order 13771

    On January 30, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13771, 
Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs, which, among 
other objectives, is intended to ensure that an agency's regulatory 
costs are prudently managed and controlled so as to minimize the 
compliance burden imposed on the public. For every new regulation an 
agency proposes to implement, unless prohibited by law, this Executive 
Order requires the agency to (i) identify at least two existing 
regulations that the agency can cancel; and (ii) use the cost savings 
from the cancelled regulations to offset the cost of the new 
regulation.

C. Executive Order 13777

    On February 24, 2017, the President issued Executive Order 13777, 
Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda, which further emphasized the 
goal of the Administration to alleviate the regulatory burdens placed 
on the public. Under Executive Order 13777, agencies must evaluate 
their existing regulations to determine which ones should be repealed, 
replaced, or modified. In doing so, agencies should focus on 
identifying regulations that, among other things: Eliminate jobs or 
inhibit job creation; are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective; impose 
costs that exceed benefits; create a serious inconsistency or otherwise 
interfere with regulatory reform initiatives and policies; or are 
associated with Executive Orders or other Presidential directives that 
have been rescinded or substantially modified.

II. Section by Section Analysis

A. Section 119

    This rule currently summarizes the purpose of the PRIME program. 
SBA intends to retain this statement of programmatic purpose and 
proposes to add further subsections addressing how qualified 
organizations may apply for grant awards under the PRIME program.

B. Sections 119.2 Through 119.20

    These rules provide guidance to PRIME program applicants regarding 
the application and selection process, as well as inform grant 
recipients of certain restrictions and requirements related to the 
conduct of PRIME grant projects. They are no longer necessary because 
the guidance, restrictions, and requirements they reiterate are also 
covered in other sources that are more authoritative, informative, and/
or frequently updated. As such, they are duplicative of, and of less 
utility, than these other sources. SBA therefore proposes removing 
these sections and instead relying upon the content contained in other 
Federal guidance, such as the enabling legislation (15 U.S.C. 6901 et 
seq.), the government-wide grant regulations (2 CFR part 200), and the 
PRIME program annual funding opportunity announcements and award terms 
and conditions issued by SBA. Program information will be published 
annually at www.grants.gov.

III. Compliance With Executive Orders 12866, 13771, 12988, and 13132, 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C., Ch. 35), and the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612)

A. Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has determined that this 
rule does not constitute a significant regulatory action for purposes 
of Executive Order 12866 and is not a major rule under the 
Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.

B. Executive Order 13771

    This proposed rule is expected to be an Executive Order 13771 
deregulatory action with an annualized net savings of $10,188 and a net 
present value of $145,543 in savings, both in 2016 dollars. This rule 
will remove redundant information which will save grant applicants from 
reading the same information from multiple sources. The reduced burden 
assumes 130 grant applicants read the regulation per year, which is the 
average number of applicants per year, and that they would save 2 hours 
each from not reading the removed information. This time is valued at 
$40.83 per hour--the wage of a community service manager based on 2018 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data--and adding 30 percent more 
for benefits for a total savings per year of $10,616 in current 
dollars.
    It is assumed that there will be no costs to this rule as it 
removes duplicative information.

C. Executive Order 12988

    This action meets applicable standards set forth in Section 3(a) 
and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize 
litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and reduce

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burden. The action does not have retroactive or preemptive effect.

D. Executive Order 13132

    This rule does not have federalism implications as defined in 
Executive Order 13132. It will not have substantial direct effects on 
the States, on the relationship between the national government and the 
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government, as specified in the Executive Order. As 
such it does not warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

E. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The SBA has determined that this proposed rule does not affect any 
existing collection of information.

F. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    When an agency issues a proposed rule, the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA) requires the agency to prepare an initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis (IRFA), which describes whether the rule will have 
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. However, Section 605 of the RFA allows an agency to certify a 
rule, in lieu of preparing an IRFA, if the rulemaking is not expected 
to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
    There are approximately 130 PRIME grant applications per year. This 
rule would remove regulations that are no longer necessary because they 
contain information that exists in multiple sources which could affect 
all PRIME grant applicants. The total annual savings to applicants is 
estimated at $10,616 in 2018 dollars, or about $82 per PRIME grant 
applicant. More information on this estimate can be found in the 
Executive Order 13771 discussion above.
    Accordingly, the Administrator of the SBA hereby certifies that 
this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. The SBA invites comments from the public on 
this certification.

List of Subjects in 13 CFR Part 119

    Grant programs--business, small businesses.


0
Accordingly, for the reasons stated in the preamble, SBA proposes to 
revise 13 CFR part 119 to read as follows:

PART 119--PROGRAM FOR INVESTMENT IN MICROENTREPRENEURS (``PRIME'' 
or ``The Act'')

Sec
119.1 What is the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs 
(PRIME)?
119.2 through 119.20 [Reserved]

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 634(b)(6), 6901-6910.


Sec.  119.1  What is the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs 
(PRIME)?

    (a) The PRIME program authorizes SBA to award grants to qualified 
organizations to fund training and technical assistance for 
disadvantaged microentrepreneurs; training and capacity-building 
services for microenterprise development organizations; research and 
development of the best practices in the fields of microenterprise 
development and the provision of technical assistance to disadvantaged 
microentrepreneurs; and such other activities as the Agency deems 
appropriate.
    (b) Dependent upon the availability of funds and continuing program 
authority, SBA will issue, via Grants.gov or any successor platform, 
funding announcements specifying the terms, conditions, and evaluation 
criteria for each potential round of PRIME awards. These funding 
announcements will identify who is eligible to apply for PRIME awards; 
summarize the purposes for which the available funds may be used; 
advise potential applicants regarding the process for obtaining, 
completing, and submitting an application packet; and provide 
information regarding application deadlines and any additional 
limitations, special rules, procedures, and restrictions which SBA may 
deem advisable.
    (c) SBA will evaluate applications for PRIME awards in accordance 
with the stated statutory goals of the program and the specific 
criteria described in the relevant funding announcement.
    (d) In administering the PRIME program, SBA will require recipients 
to provide reports in accordance with the subject matter areas and 
schedule identified in the terms and conditions of their awards. In 
addition, SBA may, as it deems appropriate, make site visits to 
recipients' premises and review all applicable documentation and 
records.


Sec. Sec.  119.2 through 119.20  [Reserved]

Jovita Carranza,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-02366 Filed 2-6-20; 8:45 am]
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