http://www.sba.gov/advo/ http://www.sba.gov/advo/dec10.pdf The December 2010 edition of The Small Business Advocate features The Small Business Broadband Survey, coverage of regulatory issues and the Small Business Jobs Act, and the appointment of new staff, including Region III Advocate Ngozi Bell. http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/test10_1118.html On November 18, 2010, Chief Counsel for Advocacy Winslow Sargeant, Ph.D., testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship hearing on “Assessing the Regulatory and Administrative Burdens on America’s Small Businesses.” http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/comments/noaa10_1116.html On November 16, 2010 the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) filed public comments with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in response to the 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List Atlantic Bluefin Tuna as Threatened or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs373tot.pdf The Impact of Broadband Speed and Price on Small Business by Columbia Telecommunications Corporation is a congressionally mandated investigation into businesses’ Internet access across the nation. The authors developed a framework to evaluate the options available to small business—rural and urban —and conducted a survey of business Internet usage and costs. One key finding of the survey is the difference in the price and speed of broadband service available in rural and urban America. http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/comments/fasb10_1029.html On October 29, 2010, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) filed a comment letter in response to an Exposure Draft on Revenue Recognition issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which proposed an Accounting Standards Update of Topic 605. http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/comments/osha10_1102.html On November 2, 2010, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) submitted comments to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on OSHA’s proposed Consultation Agreements: Proposed Changes to Consultation Procedures Rule (“On-Site Consultation”) rule. http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/comments/dol10_1027.pdf On October 27, 2010, the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) filed a comment letter with the Department of Labor (DOL) regarding its proposed rule, Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment in the H-2B Program. http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/law_regalerts.html#fin The Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the Department of Agriculture is proposing to amend the Farm Loan Programs loan making regulations to implement four provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. The proposal renames, expands, and makes the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Land Contract Guarantee Program permanent. It will also change the requirements in the regulations for direct Farm Operating Loans and direct Farm Ownership Loans. In addition, it makes some equine farmers and certain equine losses eligible for Emergency Loans. Comments are due on November 22, 2010. http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf An estimated 27.5 million small businesses operated in the United States in 2009 and they created 65 percent of net new jobs. About half of new employers survive for at least five years. These are just a few of the key data points updated in the Advocacy’s newly released Frequently Asked Questions, one of the office’s shortest and most widely used publications. http://www.sba.gov/advo/press/10-12.html Small businesses still face a disproportionate burden when it comes to costs of federal regulations, compared to larger firms according to a study released today by the Office of Advocacy. The report titled The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms, was released and presented by its author W. Mark Crain at the Office of Advocacy’s symposium celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The purpose of the study was to look at the overall cost of federal regulation on small business, not to evaluate the benefits of federal regulations. Today’s findings are consistent with previous studies on this topic conducted by the Office of Advocacy. http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs371tot.pdf Regulations are needed to provide the rules and structures for societies to properly function. This research, The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms (2010), while mindful of this important fact, focuses on the costs of federal regulations and their distribution among industries and business employment size. It finds that the total costs of regulations have increased, as have the costs per employee. It also suggests that while there is still disproportionality borne by small businesses, there is slightly less disproportionality in the underlying distribution. http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/data.html U.S. Census Bureau employment size of firm data (partially funded by Advocacy) has been updated for 2007. The data list the number of firms, establishments, employment, annual payroll and receipts by firm size for regions by industry. The data is now available for a twenty-year period covering a few business cycles, making time series analysis a possibility. Additions to the data for this year include county figures and more industry detail for states (going back to 1998.) Historic county figures are a future priority.