Go Back to
www.IndependentRetailer.com NEWS Fairness for Indies
IN A recent bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed both the Regulatory Accountability Act and the Regulatory Flexibility Im- provements Act, a crucial fi rst step toward returning balance to the feder- al rulemaking process for many small businesses, including independent retailers. “Bringing more accountabil- ity to the federal rulemaking process is a top priority for small businesses,” said National Federation of Indepen- dent Business (NFIB) president and CEO, Dan Danner. A recent Gallup poll found that compliance with gov- ernment regulations is an even bigger concern than consumer confi dence for today’s small business owners. As PR Newswire reports, “According to government research, small busi- nesses spend around 36 percent more
than larger businesses to comply with federal regulations.” Bruce Josten, executive VP for
Government Affairs at the U.S. Cham- ber, agrees that the passage of these bills are to be applauded, saying, “The principles in this legislation make the regulatory process more trans- parent, agencies more accountable, and regulations more cost-effec- tive.” The Regulatory Accountability Act requires all federal agencies to examine more thoroughly proposed rules before they are adopted, limit- ing regulatory burdens placed upon the U.S. economy and individual Americans. The Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act is a major priority in the effort to create a more fair and transparent regulatory environment. Below are more specifi c ways these
bills will help in the enhancement of the regulatory process: 1) Increase public participation in
shaping the most costly regulations before they are proposed. 2) Require that agencies must
choose the least costly option, unless they can demonstrate a need to pro- tect public health, safety, or welfare. 3) Give interested parties the
opportunity to hold agencies ac- countable for their compliance with the Information Quality Act. 4) Provide for on-the-record ad-
ministrative hearings for the most costly regulations, to insure that agen- cy data is well tested and reviewed. 5) Provide for a more rigorous
test of legal challenges for those regulations that would have the most impact. ■
10 February 2012
INDEPENDENTRETAILER
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120