The r3 Top 10 Selection Process
Q. The Office of Advocacy received 38 nominations for review/reform of rules in 2008. How did Advocacy choose the 2009 Top 10 from these nominations?
A. First, submissions that did not meet Advocacy’s nomination
criteria were rejected, , such as nominations that didn’t offer any viable alternative to the current rule, or ones that asked for a solution that requires Congressional action.
Q. What criteria did Advocacy use to evaluate the remaining nominations?
A. The 2009 Top 10 were chosen on the basis of several factors: (1) whether the rule could reasonably be tailored to accomplish its intended objectives while reducing the impact on small business or small communities; (2) whether the rule being nominated has ever been reviewed for its impact on small entities; (3) whether technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed since the rule was originally written; (4) whether the rule imposes any duplicative requirements; and (5) the overall importance of the rule to small businesses and small communities.
Q. What about the nominations that fit the criteria but weren’t chosen this year?
A. Nominations that were not chosen as 2009 Top 10 rules have given Advocacy valuable insight into the regulatory issues of concern to small business, which will help Advocacy prioritize its workload. Advocacy will continue to address these concerns as time and resources allow.
Q. How can stakeholders track the progress of rules being reviewed/reformed?
A. The Office of Advocacy will be working closely with the agencies whose rules were selected for review/reform. In order to monitor agency progress, the recommended reforms will be tracked and posted on Advocacy’s website, www.sba.gov/advo/r3, and an update on the status of the rules will be published twice a year. Advocacy encourages small businesses and their representatives to follow the progress of the reviews/reforms and comment to the agencies on that progress.
If you have any questions concerning recommendations for reform, please send
your question to
advocacy@sba.gov or 202-205-6533.
