§201M-2  Determination of small business
impact; small business impact statement.  (a)  Prior to submitting proposed
rules for adoption, amendment, or repeal under section 91-3, the agency shall
determine whether the proposed rules affect small business, and if so, the
availability and practicability of less restrictive alternatives that could be
implemented.  This section shall not apply to emergency rulemaking.



(b)  If the proposed rules affect small
business, the agency shall consider creative, innovative, or flexible methods
of compliance for small businesses and prepare a small business impact
statement to be submitted with the proposed rules to the departmental advisory
committee on small business and the board when the rules are essentially complete
and before the rules are submitted to the governor for approval for public
hearing.  The statement shall provide a reasonable determination of the
following:



(1)  The businesses that will be directly affected by,
bear the costs of, or directly benefit from the proposed rules;



(2)  Description of the small businesses that will be
required to comply with the proposed rules and how they may be adversely
affected;



(3)  In dollar amounts, the increase in the level of
direct costs such as fees or fines, and indirect costs such as reporting,
recordkeeping, equipment, construction, labor, professional services, revenue
loss, or other costs associated with compliance;



(4)  The probable monetary costs and benefits to the
implementing agency and other agencies directly affected, including the
estimated total amount the agency expects to collect from any additionally
imposed fees and the manner in which the moneys will be used;



(5)  The methods the agency considered or used to
reduce the impact on small business such as consolidation, simplification,
differing compliance or reporting requirements, less stringent deadlines,
modification of the fines schedule, performance rather than design standards,
exemption, or any other mitigating techniques;



(6)  How the agency involved small business in the
development of the proposed rules; and



(7)  Whether the proposed rules include provisions
that are more stringent than those mandated by any comparable or related
federal, state, or county standards, with an explanation of the reason for
imposing the more stringent standard.



(c)  When a proposed rule includes provisions
that are more stringent than those mandated by any comparable or related
federal, state, or county standards, the agency shall, in addition to the
information required by subsection (b), include in the small business impact
statement information comparing the costs and benefits of the standard set by
the proposed rule to the costs and benefits of the standard under the
comparable or related federal, state, or county law.  The agency shall also
include an explanation of its decision to impose the higher standard.  The
agency's comparison and justification shall include:



(1)  A description of the public purposes to be served
by  imposing the standard under the proposed rule;



(2)  The text of the related federal, state, or county
law, including information about the purposes and applicability of the law;



(3)  A comparison between the proposed rule and the
related federal, state, or county law, including a comparison of their purposes
and of the standards and their application and administration;



(4)  A comparison of the monetary costs and benefits
to the implementing agency and other agencies directly affected, of imposing
the proposed standard, with the costs and benefits of imposing or deferring to
the related federal, state, or county standard, as well as a description of the
manner in which any additional fees derived from imposition of the proposed
standard are to be used; and



(5)  A
comparison of the adverse effects on small businesses of the standard imposed
by the proposed rule, with the adverse effects on small business of the related
federal, state, or county standard.



(d)  This chapter shall not apply to proposed
rules adopted by an agency to implement a statute or ordinance that does not
require an agency to interpret or describe the requirements of the statute or
ordinance, such as federally-mandated regulations that afford the agency no
discretion to consider less restrictive alternatives. [L 1998, c 168, pt of §2,
§5; am L 2002, c 202, §5; am L 2007, c 217, §3; am L 2008, c 230, §3]