Pub.L. 107-199 To amend title 31 of the United States Code to increase the public debt limit. <> ...

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Public Law 107-198
107th Congress

                                 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. <<NOTE: June 28, 
                          2002 -  [H.R. 327]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: Small Business Paperwork 
Relief Act of 2002.>> assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT <<NOTE: 44 USC 101 note.>> 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) <<NOTE: Federal Register, 
        publication. Internet. Deadline.>> 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) <<NOTE: Deadline.>> 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--

[[Page 116 STAT. 730]]

            (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

[[Page 116 STAT. 731]]

            ``(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

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                business concerns with contacts for information 
                collection requirements for other agencies.

    ``(d) The task force shall--
            ``(1) <<NOTE: Federal Register, publication. Notice.>> 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) <<NOTE: Deadline. Reports.>> 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) <<NOTE: Deadline. Reports.>> 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) <<NOTE: Termination date.>> 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 <<NOTE: Deadlines. 5 USC 601 
            note.>> 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.--

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            (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.

    Approved June 28, 2002.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 327 (S. 1271):
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