Advocacy Introduces Guide for Small Businesses to Participate in the Federal Regulatory Process

By Jason P. Doré, Assistant Chief Counsel for External Affairs/Director of Information

Small business owners often tell the Office of Advocacy they do not know where to begin when it comes to having their voices heard in the federal regulatory process. The regulations themselves are often confusing. They can be more voluminous than Tolstoy’s novel, “War and Peace.”  Small business owners are often stretched for time trying to make their businesses work; how are they supposed to make sense of what a proposed regulation is requiring them to do?  Despite its inherent difficulty, small business participation in the regulatory process is indispensable for an agency to know what the impact of its regulations may be. With that in mind, Advocacy staff created a simple regulatory guide to assist small business owners in navigating the federal regulatory process.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for small business owners to be able to understand and participate in the federal regulatory process,” Acting Chief Counsel Major L. Clark III said. “We recognize that small business owners often do not have the time and resources to decipher the complex federal regulatory process on their own. We are happy to provide this plain English guide as another resource to assist America’s small businesses.”

Advocacy’s staff is always willing and eager to assist small businesses in deciphering regulations. “A Basic Guide to Federal Regulation and Small Business” will help those small business owners and stakeholders better understand the process and provides a guide on how they can participate in the process with or without Advocacy assistance. The guide includes a roadmap, a plain English description of each step of the regulatory process, and a “How-to” tip sheet on writing effective comment letters.

Jason Doré is Advocacy’s Director of Information/Assistant Chief Counsel for External Affairs. He can be reached at Jason.dore@sba.gov.