Here's your chance to comment on proposed regulations that may affect your small business 

The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) encourages small businesses -- such as YOU -- to review and comment on proposed government rules before they are finalized into law.

Office of Advocacy is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. It is the “small business watchdog” of the government and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President.

If a proposed ruling is going to sideline your business or empty your company's pockets to comply, the Office of Advocacy wants to let that be known in time so alternatives less harmful to small business can be considered.

We'll publish Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking from the SBA's Office of Advocacy
These advance notices welcoming your comments have been provided to Business Owners Idea Cafe by Connie Marshall, Regional Advocate with the Office of Advocacy for Region X, which includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho. Connie was appointed as one of the ten Regional Advocates in the nation by President Bush in July, 2004.

In addition to her Advocacy role, Connie Marshall has been mayor of the City of Bellevue since 2002, serving on the Council since 1998.  She was named one of the "100 Most Influential People in the State" by Washington CEO Magazine and “2003-2004 Woman of the Year” by Bellevue Business & Professional Women.  Connie has a BS from Ohio State University and an MBA from Loyola. She likes gardening, quilting and skiing. 

Important Opportunity to Voice Your Concerns About Healthcare:
Upset About Healthcare Options? Voice Your Concerns Where It Can Count

SBA Region X Advocate Connie Marshall wants small business owners to know about scheduled "community meetings" around the country where you can show up in person and suggest recommendations for improving the health care system. Your input will guide the final set of recommendations that will be presented to Congress and the President. Fifteen cities across the country have been selected to host these meetings, which are set for January 24 & 26 and February 11, 18, 25 & 27, 2006. This is an important opportunity: be heard!
For more info visit the Citizens' Health Care Working Group

Status of Proposed Federal Rules that May Affect Small Business:

• Restructuring Small Business Size Standards
• Applying New ADA Accessibility Requirements to Existing Buildings

Applying New ADA Accessibility Requirements to Existing Buildings

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking asking for comments on a rule under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that could impose new requirements on many small businesses to become accessible to individuals with disabilities.

The ADA requires every business that holds itself open to the public to build or remodel its premises to meet the accessibility needs of the individuals with disabilities, and a recent rule by another federal agency established new guidelines on what businesses would have to do to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities.

The new DOJ rule could affect a large number of small businesses with existing facilities by requiring them to remodel their premises to meet the new ADA standards, including restaurants, retail establishments, hotels, and movie theaters, among others. The DOJ has asked for your comments on ways to reduce impacts to small businesses.

For the gist of this proposed rulemaking, read:
Office of Advocacy's Fact Sheet on the ANPRM

Deadline for submitting comments:
The comment period was extended but closed May 31, 2005. Anticipate that public hearings may be scheduled in the future.

To phone or email the Office of Advocacy in Washington DC, contact:
Michael See at 202-205-6533

Rulings With Scheduled Public Hearings:

• Restructuring Small Business Size Standards

Restructuring SBA Small Business Size Standards

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is seeking comments on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) pertaining to issues raised during the public comment period on a prior proposed rule to restructure size standards (69 Fed. Reg. 13130, March 19, 2004) and on whether SBA should provide an exclusion for affiliation with venture capital companies when determining eligibility for participation in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.

In July 2004, SBA withdrew its earlier proposal to base size standards primarily on the number of employees and to limit the number of different size standard levels to 10 (69 Fed. Reg. July 1, 2004). In the ANPRM, SBA seeks input from the public on several issues, including: approaches to simplify size standards, calculation of the number of employees (including how SBA defines an employee for size purposes), use of receipts-based size standards, designation of size standards for federal procurements, establishment of size standards for use solely in federal procurement programs, establishment of tiered size standards, simplification of affiliation regulations, simplification of the small business joint venture eligibility regulations, grandfathering of small business eligibility, and the impact of SBA size standards on the regulations of other federal agencies.

For the gist of this proposed rulemaking, read:
Office of Advocacy's Fact Sheet on the ANPRM

For further details, see the Federal Register's publication:
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Schedule of Public Hearings Around the U.S.

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