S. 584 would amend the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) to expand the number of rules covered by that act and to require agencies to perform additional analysis of regulations that affect small businesses. The legislation also would provide new authorities to the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Office of Advocacy to intervene and provide support for agency rulemaking. Finally, S. 584 would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the implementation of the bill.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 584 would cost $65 million over the 2017-2022 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary funds. Enacting the bill could affect direct spending by agencies not funded through annual appropriations and would waive certain fines, which are recorded as revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any changes in direct spending and revenues would not be significant.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 584 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028
S. 584 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
If any federal agencies increase mandatory fees to offset the costs of implementing the additional analysis required by the bill, S. 584 would increase the cost of an existing mandate on private entities to pay those fees. CBO expects that if fees are increased as a result of the bill, the additional cost of the mandate would fall well below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($156 million in 2017, adjusted annually for inflation).
