99 -- SBA (Small Business Administration) announces public hearings on size standards

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is holding a series of public hearings throughout the country on small business size standards. The hearing will also focus on related issues, such as the possible participation of businesses majority-owned by venture capital companies in the Small Business Innovation Research Program. Testimony presented at these hearings will become part of the administrative record when SBA considers how to simplify and restructure size standards, and make size standards easier to understand and use. Please read the "Notice of Public Hearings" at http://www.sba.gov/size/indexwhatsnew.html#hearings. The notice provides the location, date and format of the 11 hearings. All individuals who wish to address SBA at a hearing and all who wish to attend must register in advance. The notice provides guidance on how to register. On March 19, 2004, SBA had published a proposed rule to simplify and restructure its small business size standards by establishing most size standards based on the number of employees of a business concern. SBA also proposed to reduce the number of different size standard levels significantly (69 FR 13130). Those who commented on the proposed rule also focused on other questions on which SBA had not requested comments in the proposed rule. SBA therefore withdrew it on July 1, 2004. Because SBA considered the additional issues important, SBA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on December 3, 2004, seeking comments specifically on these supplementary issues. SBA requests that testimony focus on the issues discussed in the ANPRM, the general issue of simplifying size standards, other improvements to size standards, or any of the other issues identified in the notice.