PUBLIC LAW 104-121—MAR. 29, 1996 110 STAT. 867 SEC. 244. SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCACY REVIEW PANELS. (a) SMALL BUSINESS OUTREACH AND INTERAGENCY COORDINA- TION.— Section 609 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— (1) before "techniques," by inserting "the reasonable use of; (2) in paragraph (4), after "entities" by inserting "including soliciting and receiving comments over computer networks"; (3) by designating the current text as subsection (a); and (4) by adding the following: "(b) Prior to publication of an initial regulatory flexibility analy- sis which a covered agency is required to conduct by this chapter— "(1) a covered agency shall notify the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and provide the Chief Counsel with information on the potential impacts of the proposed rule on small entities and the type of small entities that might be affected; "(2) not later than 15 days after the date of receipt of the materials described in paragraph (1), the Chief Counsel shall identify individuals representative of affected small entities for the purpose of obtaining advice and recommendations from those individuals about the potential impacts of the proposed rule; "(3) the agency shall convene a review panel for such rule consisting wholly of full time Federal employees of the office within the agency responsible for carrying out the proposed rule, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget, and the Chief Counsel; "(4) the panel shall review any material the agency has prepared in connection with this chapter, including any draft proposed rule, collect advice and recommendations of each individual small entity representative identified by the agency after consultation with the Chief Counsel, on issues related to subsections 603(b), paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) and 603(c); "(5) not later than 60 days after the date a covered agency convenes a review panel pursuant to paragraph (3), the review panel shall report on the comments of the small entity representatives and its findings as to issues related to subsections 603(b), paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) and 603(c), provided that such report shall be made public as part of the rulemaking record; and "(6) where appropriate, the agency shall modify the proposed rule, the initial regulatory flexibility analysis or the decision on whether an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is required. "(c) An agency may in its discretion apply subsection (b) to rules that the agency intends to certify under subsection 605(b), but the agency believes may have a greater than de minimis impact on a substantial number of small entities. "(d) For purposes of this section, the term 'covered agency' means the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Ssifety and Health Administration of the Department of Labor. "(e) The Chief Counsel for Advocacy, in consultation with the individuals identified in subsection (b)(2), and with the Administrator of the OfRce of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget, may waive the requirements of subsections (b)(3), (b)(4), and (b)(5) by including in the rulemaking
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