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According to Joe Shepard, SBA Regulatory Board member, a five member Regulatory Board and National Ombudsman Michael Barrera will receive the comments. The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 created the independent Board and Ombudsman. Through this legislation, the President and the United States Congress have authorized the Board and Ombudsman to oversee Federal regulatory enforcement activities on small businesses.

The Board and Ombudsman are in continuous receipt of comments through meetings, industry roundtables and Board hearings. Shepard is contacted by hundreds of Texas' 400,000 small businesses each year through his firm, Archway Capital, an investment capital provider for businesses having annual sales over $10 million. "Lack of capital and burdensome Federal regulations are problems shared by a majority of American small businesses," Shepard stated. "Federal agencies need to know when the enforcement of their existing Federal regulations burden small businesses. Small businesses can tell them at a Board hearing." Hearing comments may include examples of unfair enforcement, oppressive inspections, excessive fines, unwarranted penalties, retaliatory behavior or redundant audits. Collected hearing comments are sent to the SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman for review. Substantiated comments are directed to the affected Federal agency's Inspector General or other senior official with the expectation of a timely response. When the Office receives a response to the enforcement-related comment, it is forwarded to the comment originator. In some cases, fines have been refunded or lowered and decisions changed in favor of small businesses.

 

Each year, the Ombudsman sends Congress an independent report evaluating the enforcement activities of the various regional and program offices of each Federal agency. The evaluation is based on the corroborated comments received by the Office from small businesses and the Board. The report also assesses a Federal agency's responsiveness after having received a comment from the Office. Federal agencies can provide remarks before the final report is sent to Congress. The Ombudsman's annual report includes the activities, findings and recommendations of the Board and is also delivered to heads of affected Federal agencies and the SBA Administrator, Hector Barreto.

The Office is not authorized to change existing regulations and cannot alter, delay or stop a Federal agency's previous or imminent enforcement action. It does not handle state agency or other non-federal agency regulatory issues. The Office's jurisdiction is restricted to accepting comments related to Federal regulatory enforcement activities from business entities defined by the SBA as a small business.

The SBA requires anyone wishing to attend or provide comments at the hearing to preregister in writing, by email or fax, before April 21, 2003 in order to be put on the agenda. Preregistration reserves a maximum five-minute speaking time and ensures that comments are related to a previous or imminent Federal regulatory enforcement or compliance action associated with an eligible small business. Small business eligibility is determined by an entity's size. For example, a manufacturer having 500 employees or less qualifies as a small business. For additional information on SBA size definitions, visit www.sba.gov/size.

To preregister, contact Glenda Schufford at the U.S. Small Business Administration, Dallas/Fort Worth District Office, 4300 Amon Carter Blvd, # 114, Fort Worth, Texas 76155, email Glenda.Schufford@sba.gov, fax: 817-684-5543, telephone: 817-684-5500, Ext. 5526. This is the only hearing scheduled in Texas during 2003. Verbal or written comments can also be presented by a small business representative or a Regulatory Board member for submission into the public record. Additionally, small businesses can file public or confidential comments online at www.sba.gov/ombudsman. Providing comments is not a substitute for legal action. Small businesses are encouraged to pursue all legal options they believe are in their best interest. For more information about Board hearings or the SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman, please call 888-REG-FAIR