5 U.S.C. § 601: Definitions

the term “agency” means an agency as defined in section 551(1) of this title ; the term “rule” means any rule for which the agency publishes a general notice of proposed rulemaking pursuant to section 553(b) of this title , or any other law, including any rule of general applicability governing Federal grants to State and local governments for which the agency provides an opportunity for notice and public comment, except that the term “rule” does not include a rule of particular applicability relating to rates, wages, corporate or financial structures or reorganizations thereof, prices, facilities, appliances, services, or allowances therefor or to valuations, costs or accounting, or practices relating to such rates, wages, structures, prices, appliances, services, or allowances; the term “small business” has the same meaning as the term “small business concern” under section 3 of the Small Business Act, unless an agency, after consultation with the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and after opportunity for public comment, establishes one or more definitions of such term which are appropriate to the activities of the agency and publishes such definition(s) in the Federal Register; the term “small organization” means any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field, unless an agency establishes, after opportunity for public comment, one or more definitions of such term which are appropriate to the activities of the agency and publishes such definition(s) in the Federal Register; the term “small governmental jurisdiction” means governments of cities, counties, towns, townships, villages, school districts, or special districts, with a population of less than fifty thousand, unless an agency establishes, after opportunity for public comment, one or more definitions of such term which are appropriate to the activities of the agency and which are based on such factors as location in rural or sparsely populated areas or limited revenues due to the population of such jurisdiction, and publishes such definition(s) in the Federal Register; the term “small entity” shall have the same meaning as the terms “small business”, “small organization” and “small governmental jurisdiction” defined in paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) of this section; and answers to identical questions posed to, or identical reporting or recordkeeping requirements imposed on, 10 or more persons, other than agencies, instrumentalities, or employees of the United States; or answers to questions posed to agencies, instrumentalities, or employees of the United States which are to be used for general statistical purposes; and shall not include a collection of information described under section 3518(c)(1) of title 44 , United States Code. The term “recordkeeping requirement” means a requirement imposed by an agency on persons to maintain specified records. In this section, the term ‘agency’ has the meaning given that term under section 551 of title 5 , United States Code. the Committee on Governmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs] and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and the Committee on Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives; and the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman designated under section 30(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657(b) ). Not later than December 31, 2004 , each agency shall submit a final report to the members and officer described under paragraph (1) (A) and (B). The number of enforcement actions in which a civil penalty is assessed. The number of enforcement actions in which a civil penalty is assessed against a small entity. The number of enforcement actions described under subparagraphs (A) and (B) in which the civil penalty is reduced or waived. The total monetary amount of the reductions or waivers referred to under subparagraph (C). Each report under this subsection shall include definitions selected at the discretion of the reporting agency of the terms ‘enforcement actions’, ‘reduction or waiver’, and ‘small entity’ as used in the report.” require agencies to assess the impact of proposed agency actions on family well-being; and improve the management of executive branch agencies. the term ‘agency’ has the meaning given the term ‘Executive agency’ by section 105 of title 5 , United States Code, except such term does not include the Government Accountability Office; and a group of individuals related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal custody who live together as a single household; and any individual who is not a member of such group, but who is related by blood, marriage, or adoption to a member of such group, and over half of whose support in a calendar year is received from such group. the action strengthens or erodes the stability or safety of the family and, particularly, the marital commitment; the action strengthens or erodes the authority and rights of parents in the education, nurture, and supervision of their children; the action helps the family perform its functions, or substitutes governmental activity for the function; the action increases or decreases disposable income or poverty of families and children; the proposed benefits of the action justify the financial impact on the family; the action may be carried out by State or local government or by the family; and the action establishes an implicit or explicit policy concerning the relationship between the behavior and personal responsibility of youth, and the norms of society. submit a written certification to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and to Congress that such policy or regulation has been assessed in accordance with this section; and provide an adequate rationale for implementation of each policy or regulation that may negatively affect family well-being. ensure that policies and regulations proposed by agencies are implemented consistent with this section; and compile, index, and submit annually to the Congress the written certifications received pursuant to paragraph (1)(A). assess proposed policies and regulations in accordance with this section; provide evaluations of policies and regulations that may affect family well-being to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; and advise the President on policy and regulatory actions that may be taken to strengthen the institutions of marriage and family in the United States. Upon request by a Member of Congress relating to a proposed policy or regulation, an agency shall conduct an assessment in accordance with subsection (c), and shall provide a certification and rationale in accordance with subsection (d). This section is not intended to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.” “This title [enacting sections 801 to 808 of this title and section 657 of Title 15 , Commerce and Trade, amending this section, sections 504, 603 to 605, 609, 611, and 612 of this title, section 648 of Title 15 , and section 2412 of Title 28 , Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 504, 609, and 801 of this title, and amending provisions set out as a note under section 631 of Title 15 ] may be cited as the ‘Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996’. a vibrant and growing small business sector is critical to creating jobs in a dynamic economy; small businesses bear a disproportionate share of regulatory costs and burdens; fundamental changes that are needed in the regulatory and enforcement culture of Federal agencies to make agencies more responsive to small business can be made without compromising the statutory missions of the agencies; three of the top recommendations of the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business involve reforms to the way government regulations are developed and enforced, and reductions in government paperwork requirements; the requirements of chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, have too often been ignored by government agencies, resulting in greater regulatory burdens on small entities than necessitated by statute; and small entities should be given the opportunity to seek judicial review of agency actions required by chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code. to implement certain recommendations of the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business regarding the development and enforcement of Federal regulations; to provide for judicial review of chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code; to encourage the effective participation of small businesses in the Federal regulatory process; to simplify the language of Federal regulations affecting small businesses; to develop more accessible sources of information on regulatory and reporting requirements for small businesses; to create a more cooperative regulatory environment among agencies and small businesses that is less punitive and more solution-oriented; and to make Federal regulators more accountable for their enforcement actions by providing small entities with a meaningful opportunity for redress of excessive enforcement activities. the terms ‘rule’ and ‘small entity’ have the same meanings as in section 601 of title 5 , United States Code; the term ‘agency’ has the same meaning as in section 551 of title 5 , United States Code; and the term ‘small entity compliance guide’ means a document designated and entitled as such by an agency. For each rule or group of related rules for which an agency is required to prepare a final regulatory flexibility analysis under section 605(b) [probably should be “section 604”] of title 5, United States Code, the agency shall publish 1 or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule and shall entitle such publications ‘small entity compliance guides’. the posting of the guide in an easily identified location on the website of the agency; and distribution of the guide to known industry contacts, such as small entities, associations, or industry leaders affected by the rule. on the same date as the date of publication of the final rule (or as soon as possible after that date); and not later than the date on which the requirements of that rule become effective. Each guide shall explain the actions a small entity is required to take to comply with a rule. shall include a description of actions needed to meet the requirements of a rule, to enable a small entity to know when such requirements are met; and if determined appropriate by the agency, may include a description of possible procedures, such as conducting tests, that may assist a small entity in meeting such requirements, except that, compliance with any procedures described pursuant to this section does not establish compliance with the rule, or establish a presumption or inference of such compliance. shall be suggestions to assist small entities; and shall not be additional requirements, or diminish requirements, relating to the rule. 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. An agency may prepare guides and apply this section with respect to a rule or a group of related rules. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 [ May 25, 2007 ], and annually thereafter, the head of each agency shall submit a report to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives, and any other committee of relevant jurisdiction describing the status of the agency’s compliance with paragraphs (1) through (5). 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. 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. Whenever appropriate in the interest of administering statutes and regulations within the jurisdiction of an agency which regulates small entities, it shall be the practice of the agency to answer inquiries by small entities concerning information on, and advice about, compliance with such statutes and regulations, interpreting and applying the law to specific sets of facts supplied by the small entity. In any civil or administrative action against a small entity, guidance given by an agency applying the law to facts provided by the small entity may be considered as evidence of the reasonableness or appropriateness of any proposed fines, penalties or damages sought against such small entity. Each agency regulating the activities of small entities shall establish a program for responding to such inquiries no later than 1 year after enactment of this section [ Mar. 29, 1996 ], utilizing existing functions and personnel of the agency to the extent practicable. Each agency regulating the activities of small business shall report to the Committee on Small Business [now Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship] and Committee on Governmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs] of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business and Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives no later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this section on the scope of the agency’s program, the number of small entities using the program, and the achievements of the program to assist small entity compliance with agency regulations. Nothing in this Act [see Short Title of 1996 Amendment note, above] in any way affects or limits the ability of other technical assistance or extension programs to perform or continue to perform services related to compliance assistance. “Agencies may, to the extent resources are available and where appropriate, in cooperation with the States, develop guides that fully integrate requirements of both Federal and State regulations where regulations within an agency’s area of interest at the Federal and State levels impact small entities. Where regulations vary among the States, separate guides may be created for separate States in cooperation with State agencies. “This subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle shall take effect on the expiration of 90 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle [ Mar. 29, 1996 ]. the terms ‘rule’ and ‘small entity’ have the same meanings as in section 601 of title 5 , United States Code; the term ‘agency’ has the same meaning as in section 551 of title 5 , United States Code; and the term ‘small entity compliance guide’ means a document designated as such by an agency. Each agency regulating the activities of small entities shall establish a policy or program within 1 year of enactment of this section [ Mar. 29, 1996 ] to provide for the reduction, and under appropriate circumstances for the waiver, of civil penalties for violations of a statutory or regulatory requirement by a small entity. Under appropriate circumstances, an agency may consider ability to pay in determining penalty assessments on small entities. requiring the small entity to correct the violation within a reasonable correction period; limiting the applicability to violations discovered through participation by the small entity in a compliance assistance or audit program operated or supported by the agency or a State; excluding small entities that have been subject to multiple enforcement actions by the agency; excluding violations involving willful or criminal conduct; excluding violations that pose serious health, safety or environmental threats; and requiring a good faith effort to comply with the law. Agencies shall report to the Committee on Small Business [now Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship] and Committee on Governmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs] of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business and Committee on Judiciary of the House of Representatives no later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section [ Mar. 29, 1996 ] on the scope of their program or policy, the number of enforcement actions against small entities that qualified or failed to qualify for the program or policy, and the total amount of penalty reductions and waivers. “This subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle shall take effect on the expiration of 90 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle [ Mar. 29, 1996 ].” the number of loans made by financial institutions to small businesses located in rural areas, a change in the level of security interests required for such loans, and the cost of such loans to rural small businesses for creation and expansion; airline service in cities and towns with populations of 100,000 or less, including airline fare, the number of flights available, number of seats available, scheduling of flights, continuity of service, number of markets being served by large and small airlines, availability of nonstop service, availability of direct service, number of economic cancellations, number of flight delays, the types of airplanes used, and time delays; the availability and costs of bus, rail and trucking transportation for businesses located in rural areas; the availability and costs of state-of-the-art telecommunications services to small businesses located in rural areas, including voice telephone service, private (not multiparty) telephone service, reliable facsimile document and data transmission, competitive long distance carriers, cellular (mobile) telephone service, multifrequency tone signaling services such as touchtone services, custom-calling services (including three-way calling, call forwarding, and call waiting), voicemail services, and 911 emergency services with automatic number identification; the availability and costs to rural schools, hospitals, and other public facilities, of sending and receiving audio and visual signals in cases where such ability will enhance the quality of services provided to rural residents and businesses; and the availability and costs of services enumerated in paragraphs (1) through (5) in urban areas compared to rural areas. Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this title [ Nov. 15, 1990 ], the Office of Technology Assessment shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study conducted under subsection (a) together with its recommendations on how to address the problems facing small businesses in rural areas.” when adopting regulations to protect the health, safety and economic welfare of the Nation, Federal agencies should seek to achieve statutory goals as effectively and efficiently as possible without imposing unnecessary burdens on the public; laws and regulations designed for application to large scale entities have been applied uniformly to small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions even though the problems that gave rise to government action may not have been caused by those smaller entities; uniform Federal regulatory and reporting requirements have in numerous instances imposed unnecessary and disproportionately burdensome demands including legal, accounting and consulting costs upon small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions with limited resources; the failure to recognize differences in the scale and resources of regulated entities has in numerous instances adversely affected competition in the marketplace, discouraged innovation and restricted improvements in productivity; unnecessary regulations create entry barriers in many industries and discourage potential entrepreneurs from introducing beneficial products and processes; the practice of treating all regulated businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions as equivalent may lead to inefficient use of regulatory agency resources, enforcement problems, and, in some cases, to actions inconsistent with the legislative intent of health, safety, environmental and economic welfare legislation; alternative regulatory approaches which do not conflict with the stated objectives of applicable statutes may be available which minimize the significant economic impact of rules on small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions; the process by which Federal regulations are developed and adopted should be reformed to require agencies to solicit the ideas and comments of small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions to examine the impact of proposed and existing rules on such entities, and to review the continued need for existing rules. It is the purpose of this Act [enacting this chapter] to establish as a principle of regulatory issuance that agencies shall endeavor, consistent with the objectives of the rule and of applicable statutes, to fit regulatory and informational requirements to the scale of the businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions subject to regulation. To achieve this principle, agencies are required to solicit and consider flexible regulatory proposals and to explain the rationale for their actions to assure that such proposals are given serious consideration.” The Secretary of Labor may, when the Secretary deems that special circumstances in the national interest so require, exempt a contracting agency from the requirement of including any or all of the provisions of Section 202 of this Order in any specific contract, subcontract, or purchase order. The Secretary of Labor may, by rule or regulation, exempt certain classes of contracts, subcontracts, or purchase orders (1) whenever work is to be or has been performed outside the United States and no recruitment of workers within the limits of the United States is involved; (2) for standard commercial supplies or raw materials; (3) involving less than specified amounts of money or specified numbers of workers; or (4) to the extent that they involve subcontracts below a specified tier. Section 202 of this Order shall not apply to a Government contractor or subcontractor that is a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society, with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its activities. Such contractors and subcontractors are not exempted or excused from complying with the other requirements contained in this Order. The Secretary of Labor may also provide, by rule, regulation, or order, for the exemption of facilities of a contractor that are in all respects separate and distinct from activities of the contractor related to the performance of the contract: provided, that such an exemption will not interfere with or impede the effectuation of the purposes of this Order: and provided further, that in the absence of such an exemption all facilities shall be covered by the provisions of this Order.”