Prove It Act of 2025

Summary

Requires federal agencies to identify and publish foreseeable indirect costs on small entities when preparing regulatory analyses, and gives the SBA Office of Advocacy a formal petition and review process to challenge agency certifications that a rule will not significantly affect small entities. Agencies must publish related guidance for rules that do significant harm to small entities, and rules that miss required 10-year reviews can be declared temporarily ineffective until the agency completes the review; no new funding is authorized to implement these changes.

• Agencies must consider reasonably foreseeable indirect costs to small entities when preparing regulatory flexibility analyses.
• Agencies must publish a certification that a rule won’t significantly affect small entities within 10 days of completing it.
• The SBA Office of Advocacy can accept petitions and perform expedited reviews of agency certifications, with short statutory deadlines for action and required meetings including OIRA.
• If the Chief Counsel finds a rule does significantly affect small entities, the agency must prepare full regulatory flexibility analyses.
• Agencies must post and accept public comment on guidance and interpretive documents for rules that significantly affect small entities.
• Failure by an agency to cooperate with the SBA review can prevent a final rule from applying to small entities.
• If an agency misses required 10-year reviews, the rule may be declared temporarily ineffective until the agency completes the review and reinstates the rule.
• The Act forbids any new appropriations to implement these changes, so no additional funding is authorized for the new responsibilities.
• Chief Counsel review decisions are treated as final agency actions, enabling judicial review.