Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2011
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2011 - Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) to: (1) define the "economic impact" of a proposed or final rule to include both direct economic effects on small entities and any indirect economic effects which are reasonably foreseeable and result from such proposed or final rule, and (2) include tribal organizations within the definition of "small governmental jurisdictions" for purposes of such Act.
Requires initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses under RFA to: (1) describe alternatives to a proposed rule that minimize any adverse significant economic impact or maximize the beneficial significant economic impact on small entities, and (2) include revisions or amendments to a land management plan developed by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior under specified Acts.
Requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to comply with RFA requirements when codifying a regulation in the Code of Federal Regulations that imposes a collection-of-information or recordkeeping requirement.
Revises the definition of "small organization" under RFA to include consideration of size standards, net worth, and the number of employees.
(Sec. 3) Requires each federal agency to include in its regulatory flexibility agenda a description of the sector of the North American Industrial Classification System that is affected by a proposed agency rule which is likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
(Sec. 4) Requires an agency to include in its initial regulatory flexibility analysis a detailed statement, including: (1) a description of why action by the agency is being considered and the objectives of, and legal basis for, the proposed rule; (2) an estimate of the number and types of small entities to which the proposed rule will apply; (3) the projected compliance requirements of the proposed rule; (4) an estimate of the additional cumulative economic impact of the proposed rule, or of any other rule stemming from the implementation of the Free Trade Agreements, on small entities; and (5) a description of any disproportionate economic impact on small entities or a specific class of such entities.
The summary continues for 9 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on December 1, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 5, 2011: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
LAMAR SMITH (R-TX) introduced it on February 8, 2011, and 26 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 26 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 8, 2011, 5693 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5393 days ago, on December 5, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers