(a) Prior to initiating the rulemaking process as described in §§ 4-5-202(a)(2) and 4-5-203(a), all agencies shall conduct a review as to if a rule affects small businesses.

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 4-5-402

  • Agency: means each state board, commission, committee, department, officer, or any other unit of state government authorized or required by any statute or constitutional provision to make rules or to determine contested cases. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • Rule: includes the establishment of a fee and the amendment or repeal of a prior rule. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • Small business: means a business entity, including its affiliates, that employs fifty (50) or fewer full-time employees. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
(b) Each agency shall, after June 21, 2007, employ a regulatory flexibility analysis utilizing regulatory methods that accomplish the objectives of applicable statutes while minimizing any adverse impact on small business. The agency shall consider, but not be limited to, each of the following methods of reducing the impact the rule being proposed has on small businesses while remaining consistent with health, safety, and well-being:

(1) The extent to which the rule may overlap, duplicate, or conflict with other federal, state, and local governmental rules;
(2) Clarity, conciseness, and lack of ambiguity in the rule;
(3) The establishment of flexible compliance and reporting requirements for small businesses;
(4) The establishment of friendly schedules or deadlines for compliance and reporting requirements for small businesses;
(5) The consolidation or simplification of compliance or reporting requirements for small businesses;
(6) The establishment of performance standards for small businesses as opposed to design or operational standards required in the rule being proposed; and
(7) The unnecessary creation of entry barriers or other effects that stifle entrepreneurial activity, curb innovation, or increase costs.