The U.S. House Small Business Committee recently passed legislation that requires federal agencies to regularly review regulations and consider their impact on small businesses when determining if they should remain in place.
Currently, agencies are required to review their rules every 10 years, but they can delay these reviews for up to five years without providing an explanation.
This legislation, called the Regulatory Review Improvement Act (H.R. 9085), aims to limit the delay to just one year and requires a clear justification for any postponement.
Further, the bill would require agencies to conduct both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of their regulations—looking at the actual costs, compliance burdens, and paperwork hours required since the rule was implemented. This is critical to understand the impact these regulations have had on small businesses and communities.
Finally, the bill requires agencies to determine whether regulations should remain on the books.
“We must hold federal agencies accountable for the regulations they impose. Burdensome rules can’t be allowed to accumulate year after year without proper review,” U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA), who sponsored the bill, said. “Excessive regulations hit small businesses the hardest. It’s our responsibility to keep the federal bureaucracy in check and ensure they are not perpetually burdening small businesses with regulations.”
The Regulatory Review Improvement Act of 2024 was approved by the Small Business Committee by a vote of 13-11. The legislation now awaits further consideration by the full House of Representatives.