Committee Bill No. 711 Summary

• Exempts employers from unemployment insurance benefit charges for COVID-19-related layoffs, effective July 1, 2021, where the Labor Commissioner determines unemployment is attributable to COVID-19 or the public health emergency declared March 10, 2020.

• Establishes sales tax exemption for personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, etc.) purchased by small businesses with 100 or fewer full-time employees, effective July 1, 2021.

• Requires state agencies to prepare a federal regulatory analysis before proposing new regulations, comparing proposed state rules to comparable federal regulations and identifying differences and impacts on small businesses, effective October 1, 2021.

• Mandates agencies prepare regulatory flexibility analyses identifying small business impacts and alternative compliance methods, with agencies required to notify the Department of Economic and Community Development and the Commerce Committee of intent to adopt regulations affecting small businesses.

• Requires submission of both regulatory flexibility analysis and federal regulatory analysis to the legislative regulation review committee before regulations can take effect, with approval required before implementation.