Capitol Hill

You probably are aware of NRCA's fight to pass association health plan legislation or create an energy plan, but you may not be aware of the enormous influence NRCA has had on regulatory reform, changing the process by which federal agencies write and implement regulations. Since the inception of NRCA's Washington, D.C., office in 1990, the pursuit of regulatory reform has been a top priority, and there have been many victories in the ensuing years. Following are several examples.

Small business

In 1996, Congress passed the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), which strengthened the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, or Reg Flex. The law essentially requires agencies, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), to take into account regulations' effects on small businesses to avoid imposing unnecessary burdens. NRCA led support for SBREFA's passage, which came in time to help thwart OSHA's ergonomics standard. SBREFA also influenced OSHA's decision in December 2002 to withdraw its proposed safety and health program standard, an enormous set of regulations that would have applied to every aspect of roofing work.

On Aug. 13, 2002, President Bush took an important step to bolster SBREFA when he signed Executive Order 13272, which requires federal agencies to protect small businesses when writing rules and regulations. Agencies were ordered to submit their plans about how they account for small business in their rulemaking process to the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy. Agencies now also must submit proposed rules to the Office of Advocacy before publication and are required to consider the Office of Advocacy's comments, which will reflect small-business views, when a rule is finalized. This could be vitally important to NRCA contractor members if OSHA reopens its fall-protection rulemaking.

Data access

Federal agencies often rely on government-funded research conducted by universities and other nongovernmental institutions as the scientific basis for regulations. But in years past, agencies often denied businesses and other interested parties access to such data, claiming it to be proprietary property of the organizations conducting the research. This placed NRCA at a disadvantage when reviewing regulations that potentially could affect the roofing industry.

This problem was fixed in 1998 when Congress passed the Fiscal Year 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Act. Contained within the act was a small provision, commonly known as the Shelby amendment, that requires agencies to release information collected under grant awards to the public. It now is possible for NRCA, through a Freedom of Information Act request, to obtain access to federally funded research conducted by universities and other nonprofit institutions.

In all likelihood, this data-access law would have been helpful to NRCA during negotiations with OSHA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about regulations being written for asbestos-containing roofing materials. And the law also undoubtedly will be a resource for NRCA in future regulatory battles involving the roofing industry.

Data quality

NRCA also was part of the effort spearheaded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to improve the quality of data used by federal agencies when writing regulations. NRCA has a seat on the chamber's Regulatory Affairs Committee and worked for passage of the Data Quality Act (DQA). DQA requires that federal agencies "ensure and maximize" the "quality, objectivity, utility and integrity" of all disseminated information.

Vitally important for the roofing industry is DQA's requirement that affected parties be permitted to seek correction of information that does not meet the law's quality standards. As a practical matter, this means NRCA will have greater legal leverage to challenge an OSHA regulation and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health report stating that asphalt fumes resulting from roofing work are carcinogenic.

NRCA has been involved in the implementation of DQA, which required agencies to have data-quality programs in place by Oct. 1, 2002. As part of a coordinated plan by the chamber to ensure agencies comply, NRCA's Director of Federal Affairs R. Craig Silvertooth submitted comments to OSHA on July 28, 2002. Click here to read NRCA's comments.

Administration procedures used by federal agencies to promulgate their regulations are vitally important to the roofing industry's bottom line. NRCA will continue to work with Congress and the Bush administration for regulatory reform whenever possible.

Craig S. Brightup is NRCA's vice president of government relations.