7/19/08,
Louisiana Steps Up Support For Small Business
Governor Jindal and the Louisiana state legislature have stepped up support for Louisiana’s 364,900 small businesses with the recent passage and signing of House Bill 368, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act. Representative Rickey Nowlin (Natchitoches) was the bill’s primary author.  |
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7/19/08,
New Birth, Death, and Employment Firm Size Data
Advocacy funded, U.S. Census Bureau Statistics of U.S. Businesses dynamic data have been updated to 2005. The data contains firm/establishment births, deaths, and related employment creation and destruction data by firm size, industry, and geographic location.  |
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7/19/08,
U.S. Forest Service Locatable Minerals Operation Regulatory Flexibility Act Assessment
On July 14, 2008, the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) filed comments with the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) regarding its Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) Assessment for its proposed Locatable Minerals Operations rule.  |
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7/19/08,
Regulatory Alerts Item - Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006
On May 19, 2008, The Department of Veterans Affairs published an interim final rule with request for comments on the VA Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Guidelines as established in the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006. The law requires the Department of Veteran Affairs to verify ownership and control of veteran-owned small businesses, including service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. If the business is listed and verified in the Vet Biz.gov Vendor Information database, a contracting officer in the Department of Veterans Affairs may restrict competition for a requirement to a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.
The business receives an eligibility term of 1 year from the date of its approval letter and must be recertified for an additional 1 year period. Comments are due on July 18, 2008.  |
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7/19/08,
Regulatory Alerts Item - Department of Justice (DOJ) Releases Proposed ADA Regulations
On June 17, 2008, the DOJ published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register that revises its Americans with Disability Act (ADA) regulations and includes new ADA Standards for Accessible Design. In addition to the new standards, the regulations propose a safe harbor that allows small businesses to claim compliance with the rule’s barrier removal requirements if they spent 1% of gross revenue on barrier removal in the previous year. Comments are due August 18, 2008.  |
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7/19/08,
Analyzing the Impact of Antitrust Laws and Enforcement on Small Business
Federal antitrust enforcement has little impact on small firms, according to a study, Analyzing the Impact of Antitrust Laws and Enforcement on Small Business, released by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.  |
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7/19/08,
Antitrust Activity Has Little Impact On Small Firms
Federal antitrust enforcement has little impact on small firms, according to a study, Analyzing the Impact of Antitrust Laws and Enforcement on Small Business, released by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.  |
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7/19/08,
The July Small Business Advocate
The July 2008 edition of The Small Business Advocate asks small businesses and trades to submit their nominations for federal rules most in need of review and reform, as part of Advocacy’s r3 initiative.  |
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7/19/08,
Regulatory Alerts Item - SEC’s Use of Credit Ratings
On July 1, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) simultaneously issued three proposed rules relating to the use of credit ratings issued by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. The proposed rules would reduce the way the Commission's own rules refer to and rely upon credit ratings. Comments are due September 5, 2008.  |
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7/19/08,
Advocacy Requests Consideration of Additional Costs and Alternatives in HUD’s Proposed Rule on the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)
On June 11, 2008, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy filed comments on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposed regulations on the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA): Proposed Rule to Simplify and Improve the Process of Obtaining Mortgages and Reduce Consumer Settlement Costs.  |
