Relates to the provision of regulatory information to small businesses through the establishment of a small business regulatory nexus by certain agencies.
Summary
This bill would amend the State Administrative Procedure Act to require certain state agencies with a substantial regulatory impact on small businesses to create and maintain a website section called a “small business regulatory nexus.” The nexus would serve as a centralized online hub for regulatory information, guidance, and assistance relevant to small businesses. Agencies that meet the bill’s criteria would have to post or link to their rules, regulation guides, applicable guidance documents, proposed and emergency rulemakings with regulatory flexibility analyses, regulatory agendas, adjudicatory summaries, and descriptions of compliance assistance programs.
The bill also requires the nexus to include interactive features so small businesses and local governments can ask questions, provide feedback, obtain additional information, and contact knowledgeable agency staff. For agencies whose regulatory flexibility analyses relate only to local governments, the website section would be labeled a “local government regulatory nexus” instead. The act would take effect immediately, and covered agencies would have 120 days to establish the required website section.
Impact
The bill would add a new section 102-c to the State Administrative Procedure Act and create a new administrative obligation for qualifying agencies. It does not change substantive regulatory standards, but it would require agencies to organize and publish regulatory information in a more accessible format and to provide direct assistance pathways for small businesses and, in some cases, local governments. It also references existing compliance assistance programs in environmental and economic development law, reinforcing their visibility through agency websites.
Sentiment
No committee transcript or vote record is available, so there is no documented debate or recorded legislative sentiment in the provided materials. Based on the bill’s structure and purpose, it appears to be framed as a pro-small-business transparency and assistance measure rather than a controversial regulatory overhaul. The bill’s emphasis on centralized information, plain-language summaries, and staff contact points suggests a generally supportive policy posture toward reducing compliance burdens.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided record. Potential areas of concern, if raised in future debate, could include the administrative burden on agencies required to build and maintain the nexus, the scope of agencies deemed to have a “substantial regulatory impact,” and the resources needed to keep the information current and interactive. Another possible issue is whether the bill’s requirements overlap with or duplicate existing agency website, guidance, and regulatory flexibility obligations.
Same As
Relates to the provision of regulatory information to small businesses through the establishment of a small business regulatory nexus by certain agencies.
Relates to the provision of regulatory information to small businesses through the establishment of a small business regulatory nexus by certain agencies.
Creating the regulatory relief division within the office of the attorney general and establishing the general regulatory sandbox program to waive or suspend rules and regulations for program participants.