(a) When an agency promulgates a final rule under section
553 of this title, after being
required by that section or any other law to publish a
general notice of proposed rulemaking, or promulgates a
final interpretative rule involving the internal revenue
laws of the United States as described in section 603(a),
the agency shall prepare a final regulatory flexibility
analysis. Each final regulatory flexibility analysis
shall contain--
- (1) a succinct statement of the need for, and
objectives of, the rule;
(2) a summary of the significant issues raised by
the public comments in response to the initial
regulatory flexibility analysis, a summary of the
assessment of the agency of such issues, and a
statement of any changes made in the proposed
rule as a result of such comments;
(3) a description of and an estimate of the
number of small entities to which the rule will
apply or an explanation of why no such estimate
is available;
(4) a description of the projected reporting,
recordkeeping and other compliance requirements
of the rule, including an estimate of the classes
of small entities which will be subject to the
requirement and the type of professional skills
necessary for preparation of the report or
record; and
(5) a description of the steps the agency has
taken to minimize the significant economic impact
on small entities consistent with the stated
objectives of applicable statutes, including a
statement of the factual, policy, and legal
reasons for selecting the alternative adopted in
the final rule and why each one of the other
significant alternatives to the rule considered
by the agency which affect the impact on small
entities was rejected.
(b) The agency shall make copies of the final
regulatory flexibility analysis available to members of
the public and shall publish in the Federal Register such
analysis or a summary thereof.