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

(b)  If the proposed rules affect smallbusiness, the agency shall consider creative, innovative, or flexible methodsof compliance for small businesses and prepare a small business impactstatement to be submitted with the proposed rules to the departmental advisorycommittee on small business and the board when the rules are essentially completeand before the rules are submitted to the governor for approval for publichearing.  The statement shall provide a reasonable determination of thefollowing:

(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 berequired to comply with the proposed rules and how they may be adverselyaffected;

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

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

(5)  The methods the agency considered or used toreduce 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 thedevelopment of the proposed rules; and

(7)  Whether the proposed rules include provisionsthat are more stringent than those mandated by any comparable or relatedfederal, state, or county standards, with an explanation of the reason forimposing the more stringent standard.

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

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

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

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

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

(5)  Acomparison of the adverse effects on small businesses of the standard imposedby the proposed rule, with the adverse effects on small business of the relatedfederal, state, or county standard.

(d)  This chapter shall not apply to proposedrules adopted by an agency to implement a statute or ordinance that does notrequire an agency to interpret or describe the requirements of the statute orordinance, such as federally-mandated regulations that afford the agency nodiscretion 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]