FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for December 2019 is the Small Business Prosperity Act of 2019, H.R. 4947, introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.). The Small Business Prosperity Act would amend the tax code to make permanent the tax benefits pass-through businesses under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

On Thursday, November 2, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) unveiled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1. On Friday, Chairman Brady released an amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS) that made some changes to the original text. The bill is the first real attempt to overhaul and simplify the tax code since the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The release of the text and the amendment are also only the first steps in the process.

This month, a coalition of 21 states suing the federal government asked for an emergency injunction to delay the implementation of the Obama administration’s new overtime regulations while the states fight the rules in court. These new regulations are an attack on small employers and job flexibility and need to be stopped. Many small businesses, which will be most harmed by these new regulations, are not even aware of the new compliance costs facing them starting December 1.

The Department of Labor recently finalized new standards to determine when salaried workers are eligible for overtime pay. While there is minimal evidence that these unilateral rule changes will achieve the aims claimed by the Obama administration, there will be clear harm to the liberty of employees who desire flexible work schedules, while imposing significant compliance costs on many employers. These costs fall especially hard on small employers, as highlighted in today’s House Small Business Committee hearing.

In August 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in a departure from decades of precedent, unilaterally redefined what it means to be an employer. In the administrative decision, Browning-Ferris v NLRB, the unelected NLRB decreed that some employers were responsible for the employees of others. This action threatens to destroy the franchise model of business, harming job creation and putting 40,000 small businesses at risk. The difficulties for small business created by this decision are highlighted today in a Senate Small Business Committee hearing.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced revisions to the proposed rules interpreting the Fair Labor Standard Act’s regulations on the overtime compensation pay of white-collar, salaried workers. Currently, salaried employees making more than $23,660 annually are exempt from the DOL requirement that employers pay time-and-a-half for each hour over 40 hours weekly. The final rule, with several key changes to the proposed rule, will extend overtime pay protections to over 40 million American workers.

As the "drop dead date" for Obama administration regulations draws near, we are expecting a flood of "midnight regulations." Regulatory agencies, in an eleventh-hour attempt to pass new rules before the start of the next administration, will make a huge push in ushering in new proposals. In preparation for this regulatory outburst, we have provided a brief guide explaining how proposed rules become regulations.