(a) When an agency promulgates a final rule under section 553 of this
title, after being required by that section or any other law to publish a
general notice of proposed rulemaking, or promulgates a final interpretive
rule involving the internal revenue laws of the United States as described in
section 603(a), the agency shall prepare a final regulatory flexibility
analysis. Each final regulatory flexibility analysis shall
contain—
(1) a statement of the need for, and the objectives of, the
rule;
(2) a statement of the significant issues raised by the public comments in
response to the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, a statement of the
assessment of the agency of such issues, and a statement of any changes made
in the proposed rule as a result of such comments;
(3) the response of the agency to any comments filed by the Chief Counsel
for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration in response to the proposed
rule, and a detailed statement of any change made to the proposed rule in the
final rule as a result of the comments;
(4) a description of and an estimate of the number of small entities to
which the rule will apply or an explanation of why no such estimate is
available;
(5) a description of the projected reporting, recordkeeping and other
compliance requirements of the rule, including an estimate of the classes of
small entities which will be subject to the requirement and the type of
professional skills necessary for preparation of the report or record;
and
(6) a description of the steps the agency has taken to minimize the
significant economic impact on small entities consistent with the stated
objectives of applicable statutes, including a statement of the factual,
policy, and legal reasons for selecting the alternative adopted in the final
rule and why each one of the other significant alternatives to the rule
considered by the agency which affect the impact on small entities was
rejected.
(b) The agency shall make copies of the final regulatory flexibility
analysis available to members of the public and shall publish in the Federal
Register such analysis or a summary thereof.
[5 USC 604. As amended by acts of March 24, 1996 (110 Stat. 864)
and Sept. 27, 2010 (124 Stat. 2551).]
