Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA)

What is SBREFA?

In 1996, Congress passed the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, or SBREFA, in response to concerns expressed by the small business community that Federal regulations were too numerous, too complex and too expensive to implement. SBREFA was designed to give small businesses assistance in understanding and complying with regulations and more of a voice in the development of new regulations. Under SBREFA, the US Department of the Treasury and other Federal agencies must:

  • Consider the impact of their regulatory proposals on small entities, analyze effective alternatives that minimize small entity impacts, and make their analyses available for public comment.
  • Produce Small Entity Compliance Guides for some rules
  • Be responsive to small business inquiries about compliance with the agency's regulations
  • Have a penalty reduction policy for small businesses

In addition, SBREFA established 10 Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards to receive comments from small businesses across the country about Federal compliance and enforcement issues and activities, and report these findings annually to Congress. The legislation also gives small businesses expanded authority to recover attorney's fees and costs when a Federal agency has been found to have acted excessively in enforcing Federal regulations.

SBREFA Provision for Judicial Review

When small businesses believe a rule or regulation will adversely affect them, and that the agency failed to meet its analysis and disclosure obligations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), SBREFA provides those small businesses with the opportunity to seek judicial review of the agency's action. The SBA's Chief Counsel for Advocacy can become directly involved in such appeals by filing amicus (friend of the court) briefs in the court proceedings brought by the small business appealing the rule and claiming a violation of the RFA.

Commenting on the Rulemaking Process

After a proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, anyone can submit comments that must be considered by the proposing agency. This is a good way to participate in Federal rulemaking. To find out what proposed Treasury regulations are available for comment, go to Regulations.gov and select "Treasury" from the government agency list at the top right portion of the opening page. (Note: If no Treasury regulation is open for comment, the agency will not appear on the list).

Commenting on Enforcement Actions

Under a law passed by Congress in 1996, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has established an SBA Ombudsman and SBA Regional Fairness Boards to investigate small business complaints about Federal agency enforcement actions.

If you are a small business and believe that you have been treated unfairly by Treasury, you may file an electronic comment/complaint to the SBA Ombudsman over the Internet. Or you may contact the SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman by:

NOTE: Filing a complaint with the SBA Ombudsman does not affect any obligation that you may have to comply with a Treasury citation or other enforcement action. Nor does it mean that you need not take other available legal steps to protect your interests.