NFIB cheers on Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act

The House Judiciary Committee is expected to take another look at the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act this week.

Cheering for the legislation is the National Federation of Independent Business, which said the bill would give small businesses a greater voice in the rulemaking process.

The legislation is expected to be reintroduced in the House by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) today. If passed, government regulators will be required to include  the indirect impact in their assessment of a regulation’s overall impact on small businesses.

“Small business owners want government agencies to fully understand how the regulations they implement impact businesses on Main Street,” NFIB Manager of Regulatory Policy Dan Bosch said in a statement. “NFIB appreciates Chairman Chabot’s effort to introduce legislation that would and thereby produce better regulations.”

The House Judiciary Committee will meet on Tuesday to debate and make changes to the proposed legislation.  

But pro-regulation advocates say this bill is a small business bill in name only.

“The proof is that the bill will end up delaying or blocking rules that don’t have any direct impact on small businesses, such as Wall Street reforms that affect only the mega banks,” said Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate for Public Citizen.