Memorandum From the President on Regulation of Small Businesses and Organizations

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

The Administration has made a firm commitment to strengthen the small business sector of our economy. In furtherance of that commitment, I want you to make sure that Federal regulations will not place unnecessary burdens on small businesses and organizations. Regulatory programs are important to the safety and health of the Nation; their goals, however, can sometimes be achieved in ways that minimize the burden on small businesses and organizations.
I want you to take the following steps: • Ensure that any new rules and regulations issued by your agency will be applied whenever possible in a flexible manner, taking into account the size and nature of the regulated businesses and organizations while fulfilling the social and economic goals of the underlying statutes.

• As you review existing regulatory and reporting requirements, take particular care to determine where, within statutory limits, it is possible to tailor those requirements to fit the size and nature of the businesses and organizations subject to them.

• Identify those rules and regulations in the semiannual agenda required by Executive Order 12044, and in the Regulatory Council's Calendar of Federal Regulations, for which flexible alternatives and plans for implementation are being considered.

• Assign responsibility for overseeing the examination and implementation process to the agency official you designated in accordance with my June 14, 1978 memorandum on the White House Conference on Small Business, and ensure that that official works closely with your agency's representative to the Regulatory Council.

• Report the results of the above examination and plans for implementation by December 15 to the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. The Small Business Administration will work closely with the Regulatory Council and the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that agency-specific actions are consistent with and supportive of the government-wide regulatory reform program.

These measures will continue our progress toward achieving important regulatory goals without unnecessarily burdening the small businesses and organizations that are such a vital force in our Nation's life.

JIMMY CARTER