After a law is passed, an agency often issues regulations, or rules, to carry out the law. Regulations affect our lives every day, from protecting the water we drink to keeping workers safe on the job.
In designing regulations, it’s important that agencies hear from the people who will be affected by them. There are a number of ways you can participate in the regulatory process. Taking the time to engage in the rulemaking process is important because not all small businesses are the same. Regulated small entities can have different business concerns, different cost pressures, and different perspectives.
When an agency has issued a proposed rule, you can submit a comment on it, and in issuing a final regulation the agency must address relevant and significant public comments.
In addition, some regulations are reviewed by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 12866. Under EO 12866 you may ask for a virtual meeting with OIRA to voice your views about a regulatory action that is under OIRA review. These meetings, known as EO 12866 meetings, serve as listening sessions for OIRA officials and representatives from the agency or agencies taking the regulatory action.
The SBA Office of Advocacy oversees agency compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, a law that requires federal agencies to assess the impact of their regulations on small entities and consider less burdensome alternatives. As the voice for small entities within the federal government, the Office of Advocacy actively participates in the rulemaking process and serves as a resource for small entities impacted by regulatory actions.
The Office of Advocacy and OIRA will be offering a joint training session on how to effectively participate in the regulatory process, including how to provide input to OIRA and write effective public comments on agencies’ proposed regulations.
The training session will be held on October 29, 2024, at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. If you are interested in attending, you may register for the Zoom link via https://pitc.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsc-yvpzwsGuHdlflzfQSkmKN5VsXnn0o.
Advocacy contact: Send an email to Stephanie Fekete at stephanie.fekete@sba.gov