Civil Enforcement

The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) was signed into law on March 29, 1996, as part of legislation to extend the U.S. debt ceiling limit (Title III of H.R. 3136, the "Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996"). The Act amended the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980 to strengthen the FRA's analytical and procedural requirements. The law was the result of a 1995 White House Conference on Small Business regarding the development and enforcement of federal regulations.

The Act adopts the Small Business Act's definition of "small entity"as defined in 5 U.S.C. Section 601, 15 U.S.C. Section 632 and Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations. This includes small businesses, small governmental jurisdictions (population of less than 50,000), and small organizations (e.g., not-for-profit organizations) that are not dominant in their field. The definition of a "small business" is determined by a business' SIC/NAICS code and annual receipts or number of employees.