Regardless of whether you think federal government regulation is great, a necessary evil, or downright obnoxious, you must abide by them or subject yourself to potential fines, imprisonment, or both. Governmental regulations are designed to create and uphold a minimum standard for everyone. However, even the most zealous defenders of governmental regulations will admit that regulations can, at times, create an uneven "playing field" amongst competitors, produce side-effects, or even produce the opposite of the intended results.

 This web page sidesteps any debate about the regulations and instead, focuses on what businesses in general and small businesses in particular, can do to 1) protect themselves against unfair or unreasonable governmental regulations and 2) right a wrong when they encounter an unfair or unreasonable federal governmental regulation.

 Recent History of Regulatory Relief :

• 1980 - Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) Passed – The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 requires each federal agency to analyze the affect of its regulations on small businesses.
• 1981 - President Reagan's Executive Order – President Reagan's Executive Order required the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review each new rule being promulgated to analyze the cost/benefit of that regulation.
• 1993 - President Clinton's Executive Order – President Clinton's Executive Order 12866 directed agencies to provide the public with meaningful participation in the regulatory process and laid the foundation for public involvement.
• 1995 - Memorandum of Penalty Waiver – President Clinton's April 1995 Memorandum gives compliance officials more flexibility in dealing with small businesses and the authority to waive penalties and use enforcement discretion to help bring entities into compliance.
• 1996 - Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, PL 104-121 – The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton on March 29, 1996. This law provides small businesses with new and meaningful ways to participate in the federal regulatory process. Specifically, it provides:
• Agencies to develop written guidelines in plain English to help small businesses understand how to comply;
• Congress to review all major new rules;
• Agencies to provide reductions and waivers of penalties imposed on small businesses;
• The creation of government small business Advocacy Panels to review rules proposed by EPA and OSHA and to consult with small businesses, and
• The creation of a National Ombudsman and 10 Regional Fairness Boards to monitor agency enforcement activities.
• This law also provides small businesses with enhanced authority to go to court to challenge agency rules.

• Bills – This is the beginning stage. Bills can die anywhere along this process. If they don’t make it through this process in the same Congressional session they are introduced, they must be reintroduced in the next Congress. Most often, bills are introduced to both the House of Representatives (House) and the Senate and go to one or more committee(s). After committee, House and Senate both vote on their respective bills. Then, the two bills (often different) go to a joint committee to make them a single bill, which then returns to the House and Senate for approval. From there, the bill goes to the President for signature, no action (passed without signature) or veto.
• Acts and Laws – An Act or Law is a bill that made it through the above process.
• Rules – Agencies and departments must develop the details (rules) of implementing the act or law. The federal government publishes the Federal Register weekly to describe notices, proposed changes, and finalized rules. Each rule goes through a set process: Request for Comments, Notice of Proposed Rule (NPR) Interim Final Rule, and Final Rule. At each of these stages, the Agency invites comments and discussions over an approximate one month period. Often, this process includes holding meetings to allow all interested parties an opportunity to recommend changes to the Rule.
• Code of Federal Register (CFR) – Once the Rule is final, it becomes part of the CFR, which describe in detail how the Agency will carry out the Act or Law.

• Small Business Administration (SBA) – http://www.sba.gov – These are the people who are trying to change the system from within. They have a National Ombudsman http://www.sba.gov/regfair/ to investigate "reported complaints, reports findings, and help achieve equitable settlements." They also have a Chief Counsel for Advocacy http://www.sba.gov/ADVO/ to "encourage policies that support the development and growth of American small business. Advocacy represents the nation's small businesses within the federal government; conducts policy studies; and compiles statistics on small business characteristics and contributions. "
• Local Chamber of Commerce – You can find your local chapter by visiting this page: http://clickcity.com/index2.htm.
• Industry and Trade Associations – Associations are unique to your industry and/or location. They provide a unified voice and power through numbers.
• Regulatory Agencies of the Government – http://www.law.vill.edu/Fed-Agency/fedwebloc.html or use your favorite search engine.

• Always address your concerns through the regulating agency’s chain of command. Although regulations may not be changed except at the highest level, your immediate grievance may be fixed at lower levels.
• Always tell why the regulation is unreasonable, unfair, or wrong. Use your situation as an example. Your case is stronger when you stick to the facts and not cloud the issue with personal grievances.
• If the agency wasn’t much help, consider writing to your Congressman. One letter to one Congressman is often enough because they forward constituent letters to the appropriate regulating agency for a response. This allows someone in the agency (often at higher levels) a chance to review the regulation and your specific case.

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/ – to search historical, current and pending legislation, rules and regulations.

http://www.business.gov/Search.html – to search many government resources at once. Includes a "plain English" search tool for health, safety and environmental regulations.

http://ceoexpress.com – My web browser opens this page as my default page. This site has an extensive list of links that are useful on a daily basis.