What Is the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)?

On March 29, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Act, also known as SBREFA. This new law was a major coup for small businesses as it allows them to participate

SBREFA gives small businesses:

• More influence over the development of regulations
• Additional compliance assistance for federal rules
• New mechanisms for addressing enforcement actions by agencies

There are basically five parts to SBREFA:

1. regulatory compliance simplification
2. regulatory enforcement reforms
3. Equal Access to Justice Act amendments
4. Regulatory Flexibility Act amendments
5. Congressional review

The Small Business Administration (SBA) was directed to establish a Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board in each SBA regional office. Each board, consisting of owners, operators, or officers of small entities, reports to the SBA ombudsman on instances of excessive enforcement actions taken against small businesses.