,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gdf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #ae1 #bjac 
,mr4 ,bentivolio 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,hall1 ,mr4 ,roskam1 ,mr4 ,gohmert1 ,mr4
 ,chabot1 ,mr4 ,franks of ,arizona1 ,mr4
 ,walberg1 ,mr4 ,valadao1 ,mr4          
,benishek1 ,mrs4 ,bachmann1 ,mr4 ,broun 
of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,hultgren1 and ,mr4   
,pittenger7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to provide small businesses with a     
grace period for a regulatory violation1
 and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,protect ,small ,business ,jobs ,act of 
#bjac4  #b4 ,in general ,section #eeh of
 title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is    
amended by adding at the end the        
following3  7d7 ,before any enforcement 
action is taken on any sanction on a    
business for any violation of a rule or 
pursuant to an adjudication an agency   
shall--  7#a7 not later than #aj        

business days after the date on which   
the agency determines that a sanction   
may be imposed on the business1 provide 
notice to the business that1 if the     
business is a small business as defined 
in subsection 7k71 the small business   
may be subject to a sanction at the end 
of the grace period described in        
paragraph 7#c72  7#b7 delay any further 
action for a period of #ae calendar     
days2  7#c7 for any small business1     
defer any further action for a period of
 not less than #f months1 less the #ae  
days described in paragraph 7#b71 which 
shall be extended by an additional      
period of #c months on application by   
the small business demonstrating        
reasonable efforts made in good faith to
 remedy the violation or other conduct  
giving rise to the sanction2  7#d7 make 
a further determination after the period
 described in paragraph 7#c7 as to      
whether or not the small business would 
still be subject to the sanction as of  
the end of that period2  7#e7 if the    

determination under paragraph 7#d7 is   
that the small business would not be    
subject to the sanction1 waive the      
sanction2 and  7#f7 if notice is given  
more than #aj business days after the   
date on which the agency determines that
 a sanction may be imposed on the       
business1 and the agency determines that
 the same sanction may have been imposed
 on the business #aj business days prior
 to the date of the notice1 that date of
 notice shall be the effective date     
commencing the grace period described in
 paragraph 7#c74  7e7 ,the grace period 
described by subsection 7d7 shall be    
applicable only once per business per   
rule1 but shall cover subsequent        
violations of the same rule until it    
expires4  7f7 ,the grace period         
described by subsection 7d7 shall not   
apply to a violation that puts anyone in
 imminent danger1 as defined by the     
,occupational ,safety and ,health ,act  
7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ffb et seq474  7g7      
,nothing in subsection 7d7 shall be     

construed to prevent a small business   
from appealing any sanction imposed in  
accordance with the procedures of the   
agency1 or from seeking review under    
chapter #g of this title4  7h7 ,any     
sanction by an agency on a small        
business for any violation of a rule or 
pursuant to an adjudication1 absent     
proof of written notice of the sanction 
and the date on which the agency        
determined that a sanction may be       
imposed1 or in violation of subsection  
7d77#c71 shall be null and void4  7i7   
,federal agencies shall report annually 
to the ,ombudsman on the utilization of 
this directive and disclose the penalty 
mitigation for small businesses4  7j7   
,the ,ombudsman shall include in its    
annual report to ,congress the agency   
reports described by subsection 7i7 and 
a summary of the findings4  7k7 ,for    
purposes of this section--  7#a7 term   
small business is defined as any sole   
proprietorship1 partnership1            
corporation1 limited liability company1 

or other business entity1 that--  7,a7  
had less than #aj1jjj1jjj in gross      
receipts in the preceding calendar year2
  7,b7 is considered a small-business   
concern as such term is defined pursuant
 to ,section #c7;a7 of the ,small       
,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb7;a772
  7,c7 employed fewer than #bjj         
individuals in the preceding calendar   
year2 or  7,d7 had ,,cpi adjusted gross 
receipts of less than #aj1jjj1jjj in the
 preceding year4  7#b7 the term         
,ombudsman has the same meaning given   
such term in section #cj7;a7 of the     
,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4    
#feg7;a772  7#c7 the term consumer price
 index means the consumer price index   
for all urban consumers published by the
 ,department of ,labor2 and  7#d7 the   
term ,,cpi adjusted gross receipts means
 the amount of gross receipts1 divided  
by the consumer price index for calendar
 year #bjab1 and multiplied by the      
consumer price index for the preceding  
calendar year1 rounded to the nearest   

multiple of #ajj1jjj 7or1 if midway     
between multiples of #ajj1jjj1 to the   
next higher multiple of #ajj1jjj74  4