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The Office of Advocacy recently announced its 2008 Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform. The list is drawn from more than 80 rules nominated by small-business owners and their representatives as part of the Regulatory Review and Reform Initiative.
“The strongest and most compelling cases made our Top 10 list of rules,” according to Thomas Sullivan, chief counsel for advocacy. “These rules, nominated by small business, need to be reviewed by federal agencies to determine if they are outdated, ineffective, duplicative or overly complex. Streamlining and updating these regulations will help ease the disproportionate federal regulatory burden placed on small business.”
Our office created the r3 initiative as a way to address the cumulative burden of federal regulations that cost our economy $1.1 trillion per year.
According to Office of Advocacy research, these small businesses annually pay 45 percent more per employee to comply with federal regulations than big businesses do.
To track agency action on the Top 10, our office has posted the list at www.sba.gov/advo/r3. An update will be published twice a year.
We encourage small businesses to follow the progress of the reviews and comment on that progress.
The 2008 Top 10 rules were chosen on the basis of several factors:
• Whether the rule could reasonably be tailored to accomplish its intended objectives while reducing the impact on small businesses or small communities.
• Whether the rule being nominated has ever been reviewed for its impact on small entities.
• Whether technology, economic conditions or other factors have changed since the rule originally was written.
• Whether the rule imposes duplicative requirements.
• Overall importance of the rule to small businesses and communities.
Here are this year’s Top 10 Rules Ready for Review and Reform and their affiliated agency:
• Update air-monitoring rules for dry cleaners to reflect current technology, Environmental Protection Agency.
• Flexibility for community drinking water systems, EPA.
• Simplify the rules for recycling solid wastes, EPA.
• Clearly define “oil” in oil spill rules, EPA.
• Update flight rules for the Washington, D.C., regional area, Federal Aviation Administration.
• Eliminate duplicative financial requirements for architect-engineering services firms in government contracting, Federal Acquisition Regulation Council.
• Simplify the home office business deduction, Internal Revenue Service.
• Update rules on the use of explosives in mines to reflect modern industry standards, Mine Safety and Health Administration.
• Medical/laboratory worker rule, Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
• Reverse auction techniques for online procurement, Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
Henderson is regional advocate for the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration
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