(a)  Prior to the adoption of any proposed regulation that may have an adverse impact on small businesses, with the exception of emergency regulations adopted in accordance with § 42-35-3(b) and excluding those businesses defined in subsection (c) of this section, each agency shall prepare and submit, in conjunction with assistance and oversight from the office of regulatory reform, the proposed regulations to both the governor’s office and the office of regulatory reform at least fifteen (15) days in advance of the commencement of the formal rulemaking process, and in congruence with the analysis required in subsection (b) of this section, an economic impact statement that includes the following:

(1)  An identification and estimate of the number of the small businesses subject to the proposed regulation;

(2)  The projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other administrative costs required for compliance with the proposed regulation, including the type of professional skills necessary for preparation of the report or record;

(3)  A statement of the effect or probable effect on impacted small businesses;

(4)  A description of any less intrusive or less costly alternative methods of achieving the purpose of the proposed regulation.

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(b)  The economic impact statement required herein shall be published in guide form as well as posted on the department of administration and the office of management and budget websites. The guide should be published and/or posted on or around the same date as the regulation change and shall include a description of actions needed by the small business to meet the requirement of the regulation. The office of regulatory reform shall develop criteria for the economic impact statement.

(c)  The following professional and business activities, extensively regulated pursuant to state and federal law and subject to significant capital requirements and other regulatory standards, shall be excluded from this section:

(1)  All public utilities, as defined in § 39-1-2, whose rates are subject to approval by the public utilities commission; and

(2)  All regulated institutions as defined in § 19-1-1(10); broker dealers as defined in § 7-11-101(1); and insurance companies chartered or licensed pursuant to chapters 1 and 2 of title 27.