,,ii ,calendar ,no4 #fbh #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #bgeg ,report ,no4 #aaf-cbf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #ca1 #bjai,mr4 ,lankford 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 and ,mr4 ,inhofe7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,december #ae1 #bjbj,reported by ,mr4 ,johnson1 with an amendment,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic ,a ,,bill ,to waive the imposition of a civil fine for certain first-time paperwork violations by small business concerns4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,harmless ,error ,lesser ,penalty for ,small ,businesses ,act or the ,,help for ,small ,businesses ,act4 #b4 ,paperwork violations by small businesses 7a7 ,in general ,section #ceab of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7c7 ,small businesses 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,first-time violation ,the term first-time violation means a violation by a small business concern of a requirement regarding collection of information by an agency1 where the small business concern has not previously violated any similar requirement regarding collection of information by that agency4 7,b7 ,small business concern ,the term small business concern has the meaning given the term in section #c of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb74 7#b7 ,first-time violation 7,a7 ,in general ,except as provided in subparagraph 7,c71 in the case of a first-time violation by a small business concern of a requirement regarding the collection of information by an agency1 the head of the agency shall not impose a civil fine on the small business concern4 7,b7 ,determination ,for purposes of determining whether to impose a civil fine on a small business concern under subparagraph 7,a71 the head of an agency shall not take into account any violation by the small business concern of a requirement regarding collection of information by another agency4 7,c7 ,exception ,the head of an agency may impose a civil fine on a small business concern for a first-time violation if the head of the agency determines that-- 7i7 the violation has the potential to impede or interfere with the detection of criminal activity2 7ii7 the violation is a violation of an internal revenue law or a law concerning the assessment or collection of any tax1 debt1 revenue1 or receipt2 7iii7 the violation was not corrected on or before the date that is #ahj days after the date on which the head of the agency provided the small business concern with actual notice of the violation in writing2 or 7iv7 except as provided in paragraph 7#c71 the violation-- 7,i7 presents a danger to the public health or safety2 or 7,,ii7 has the potential to cause serious harm to the public interest4 7#c7 ,danger to public health or safety or potential harm to public interest 7,a7 ,in general ,in any case in which the head of an agency determines under paragraph 7#b77;,c77iv7 that a violation presents a danger to the public health or safety or has the potential to cause serious harm to the public interest1 the head of the agency may determine not to impose a civil fine on the small business concern if the violation is corrected not later than #bd hours after the head of the agency provides the owner of the small business concern with actual notice of the violation in writing4 7,b7 ,considerations ,in determining whether to impose a civil fine under subparagraph 7,a71 the head of an agency shall take into account the nature and seriousness of the violation1 including-- 7i7 whether the violation is technical or inadvertent or involves willful or criminal conduct2 and 7ii7 whether the small business concern had made a good faith effort to comply with applicable laws and to remedy the violation within the #bd-;hour time period described in that subparagraph4 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,section #ceab7;b7 of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking this section and inserting subsection 7a74 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,harmless ,error ,lesser ,penalty for ,small ,businesses ,act or the ,,help for ,small ,businesses ,act4 #b4 ,paperwork violations by small businesses 7a7 ,in general ,section #ceab of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7c7 ,small businesses 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,first-time violation ,the term first-time violation means a violation by a small business concern of a requirement regarding collection of information by an agency1 where the small business concern has not previously violated any similar requirement regarding collection of information by that agency4 7,b7 ,small business concern ,the term small business concern1 with respect to a calendar year1 means a business concern that employed an average of not more than #ej full-time employees on business days during the preceding calendar year4 7#b7 ,first-time violation 7,a7 ,in general ,except as provided in subparagraph 7,c71 in the case of a first-time violation by a small business concern of a requirement regarding the collection of information by an agency1 the agency shall not impose a civil fine on the small business concern4 7,b7 ,determination ,for purposes of determining whether to impose a civil fine on a small business concern under subparagraph 7,a71 an agency shall not take into account any violation by the small business concern of a requirement regarding collection of information by another agency4 7,c7 ,exception ,an agency may impose a civil fine on a small business concern for a first-time violation if the agency determines that-- 7i7 the violation has the potential to impede or interfere with the detection of criminal activity2 7ii7 the violation is a violation of an internal revenue law or a law concerning the assessment or collection of any tax1 debt1 revenue1 or receipt2 7iii7 the violation was not corrected on or before the date that is #cj days after the date on which the agency provided the small business concern with actual notice of the violation in writing2 7iv7 the violation presents1 or has the potential to present-- 7,i7 a danger to public health2 7,,ii7 a danger to safety2 or 7,,iii7 a danger1 or risk of harm1 to the environment2 or 7v7 the violation has the potential to cause serious harm1 injury1 or death4 7#c7 ,agency tracking of first-time violations 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,director shall promulgate regulations requiring an agency to track each first-time violation of a requirement regarding the collection of information by the agency4 7,b7 ,requirements ,in promulgating regulations under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,director shall ensure that an agency-- 7i7 does not make data compiled under the regulations available to the public2 and 7ii7 maintains the data described in clause 7i7 in a format that is consistent across agencies4 7#d7 ,annual report ,each year1 any agency that waived a civil fine under paragraph 7#b77;,a7 of this subsection during the preceding year and any agency 7as defined in section #bba of the ,small ,business ,regulatory ,enforcement ,fairness ,act of #aiif 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 #fja note2 ,public ,law #ajd-aba77 that waived or reduced a civil penalty under section #bbc of that ,act during the preceding year shall submit a report to ,congress that describes1 for each such waiver or reduction-- 7,a7 the specific requirement that was violated1 including the provision of law that authorizes the agency to impose the civil fine or civil penalty for the violation2 7,b7 the amount of the civil fine or civil penalty that the agency could have imposed2 and 7,c7 the industry in which the small business concern or small entity that committed the violation operates4 7#e7 ,relation to other laws ,in the event of a conflict between section #bbc of the ,small ,business ,regulatory ,enforcement ,fairness ,act of #aiif 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 #fja note2 ,public ,law #ajd-aba7 and this subsection1 this subsection shall control4 7#f7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this subsection shall be construed to relieve a small business concern from the obligation to comply with all legal requirements4 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendments 7#a7 ,section #ceab7;b7 of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking this section and inserting subsection 7a74 7#b7 ,section #bbc7;c7 of the ,small ,business ,regulatory ,enforcement ,fairness ,act of #aiif 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 #fja note2 ,public ,law #ajd-aba7 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking ,agencies shall and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,initial report ,agencies shall 2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#b7 ,annual report ,agencies shall submit annual reports to ,congress in accordance with section #ceab7;c77#d7 of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code4 4 ,december #ae1 #bjbj,reported with an amendment