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The Small Business Administration is seeking comments on the information it collects for the Paycheck Protection Program and if there are ways to enhance the quality of the data collected.
SBA states in its Tuesday Federal Register notice that to make financial assistance available as expeditiously as possible after the PPP was authorized, SBA obtained emergency approval of the information collection necessary to implement the program.
Federal agencies that want to collect information — requiring borrowers to fill out forms, for example — are required to seek public comments first. The emergency approval of the PPP included a waiver of that 60-day comment period.
That approval will expire on Oct. 30. SBA plans to ask the Office of Management and Budget to extend that date. Such a extension would enable the agency to remain in compliance with the paperwork reduction act (PRA) as it continues to collect information from PPP participants, it says.
Leon LaBrecque, chief growth officer at Sequoia Financial Group in Troy, Michigan, said the agency was likely playing "catch-up" on the notice-filing requirement.
Veena Murthy, a principal at Crowe LLP in Washington, wrote in a Tuesday email message that while such requests are required under the Paperwork Reduction Act, "Maybe this [SBA request] is being done separately because they have had a haphazard method of publishing interim final rules. I will make a guess that this is good news in that it means they believe the forms and documents they describe are more or less finalized — given they have waited this long for this" request for comment.
SBA is requesting comments by Sept. 14 on whether:
- The collection of information is necessary for the agency to properly perform its functions;
- The burden estimates are accurate;
- There are ways to minimize the burden, including through the use of automated techniques or other forms of information technology; and
- There are ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information.
LaBrecque wrote in a Tuesday morning email message that "It would seem intuitive to just forgive all small loans (e.g. under $350K)."
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Melanie Waddell
Melanie is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of ThinkAdvisor. Her ThinkAdvisor coverage zeros in on how politics, policy, legislation and regulations affect the investment advisory space. Melanie’s coverage has been cited in various lawmakers’ reports, letters and bills, and in the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule in 2024. In 2019, Melanie received an Honorable Mention, Range of Work by a Single Author award from @Folio. Melanie joined Investment Advisor magazine as New York bureau chief in 2000. She has been a columnist since 2002. She started her career in Washington in 1994, covering financial issues at American Banker. Since 1997, Melanie has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior editorial positions at American Banker publications in both Washington and New York. Briefly, she was content chief for Internet Capital Group’s EFinancialWorld in New York and wrote freelance articles for Institutional Investor. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University. She interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.
