WASHINGTON, D.C. - Twenty-five years after its enactment, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) is successfully working hard for American small business, yet full implementation faces new challenges. That is the consensus of the small business regulatory experts who attended the RFA Symposium, the proceedings of which were released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“The state of small business regulation has come a long way since the enactment of the Regulatory Flexibility Act in 1980,” said Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan. “The voice of small business is being heard and federal agencies are paying attention to their potential impact on small business. Nonetheless, monitoring federal agency compliance with the RFA is an ongoing challenge and new advances like electronic rulemaking are changing the way small business interacts with government.”

Sullivan made the remarks before the Small Business Legislative Council annual meeting in Washington, DC where he released The RFA Symposium Conference Proceedings.

The conference proceedings contains a synopsis of the conference panels, including those on regulatory research, e-rulemaking, judicial review, and reducing existing burdens. It also contains an in-depth analysis of the implementation of the RFA over the past 25 years, an overview of the current small business regulatory environment in the states, and suggestions for improvements to the RFA and monitoring of federal agency compliance with its requirements.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues.