Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 1.djvu/882

 110 STAT. 858 PUBLIC LAW 104-121 —MAR. 29, 1996 (3) to encourage the effective participation of small businesses in the Federal regulatory process; (4) to simplify the language of Federal regulations affecting small businesses; (5) to develop more accessible sources of information on regulatory and reporting requirements for small businesses; (6) to create a more cooperative regulatory environment among agencies and small businesses that is less punitive and more solution-oriented; and (7) to make Federal regulators more accountable for their enforcement actions by providing small entities with a meaningful opportunity for redress of excessive enforcement activities. 5 USC 601 note. Subtltle A—Regulatory Compliance Simplification SEC. 211. DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this subtitle— (1) the terms "rule" and "small entity" have the same meanings as in section 601 of title 5, United States Code; (2) the term "agency" has the same meaning as in section 551 of title 5, United States Code; and (3) the term "small entity compliance guide" means a document designated as such by an agency. SEC. 212. COMPLIANCE GUIDES. (a) COMPLIANCE GUIDE. —For each rule or group of related rules for which an agency is required to prepare a final regulatory flexibility analysis under section 604 of title 5, United States Code, the agency shall publish one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule, and shall designate such publications as "small entity compliance guides". The guides shall explain the actions a small entity is required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. The agency shall, in its sole discretion, taking into account the subject matter of the rule and the language of relevant statutes, ensure that the guide is written using sufficiently plain language likely to be understood by affected small entities. Agencies may prepare separate guides covering groups or classes of similarly affected small entities, and may cooperate with associations of small entities to develop and distribute such guides. (b) COMPREHENSIVE SOURCE OF INFORMATION.— Agencies shall cooperate to make available to small entities through comprehensive sources of information, the small entity compliance guides and all other available information on statutory and regulatory^requirements affecting small entities. (c) LIMITATION ON JUDICIAL REVIEW. — An agency's small entity compliance guide shall not be subject to judicial review, except that in any civil or administrative action against a small entity for a violation occurring after the effective date of this section, the content of the small entity compliance guide may be considered as evidence of the reasonableness or appropriateness of any proposed fines, penalties or damages. SEC. 213. INFORMAL SMALL ENTITY GUIDANCE. (a) GENERAL.— Whenever appropriate in the interest of administering statutes and regulations within the jurisdiction of an agency

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