H.R. 1749 – Making the CFPB Accountable to Small Businesses Act of 2023

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 5:10 AM UTC

The Making the CFPB Accountable to Small Businesses Act of 2023 adds new duties for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other covered agencies when they create regulations. It requires agencies to evaluate how proposed rules will affect small businesses and to explain in detail why they might ignore those impacts. The bill applies to any agency that must follow the regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Key Provisions

Amends the Dodd‑Frank rulemaking provision to require agencies to assess the impact of proposed rules on small entities as part of their analysis.
Adds a new requirement to the initial regulatory flexibility analysis that, if an agency does not adopt alternatives benefiting small entities, it must provide a detailed factual, policy, and legal justification for that decision.
Updates the final regulatory flexibility analysis to include a description of steps taken to reduce any extra credit costs for small entities and, when no significant alternatives are adopted, a detailed justification for why small‑entity size and resources were not considered.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Small Business, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Judiciary Committee

March 23, 2023

View full timeline

HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

March 23, 2023

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Small Business, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Judiciary Committee

March 23, 2023

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Introduced in HouseIssued March 23, 2023

I

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1749

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 23, 2023

Mr. Fitzgerald (for himself, Mr. Norman, Mr. Fallon, and Mrs. Miller of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Small Business, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To impose additional requirements for covered agencies in regulatory flexibility analysis.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Making the CFPB Accountable to Small Businesses Act of 2023.

2.

Rulemaking under Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Section 1022(b)(2)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5512(b)(2)(A)) is amended—

(1)

in clause (i), by striking and at the end;

(2)

in clause (ii), by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting ; and; and

(3)

by adding at the end the following:

(iii)

the impact of proposed rules on small entities, in accordance with section 609 of title 5, United States Code;

.

3.

Initial regulatory flexibility analysis

Section 603(d)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

in subparagraph (B), by striking and at the end;

(2)

in subparagraph (C), by striking the period and inserting ; and; and

(3)

by adding at the end the following:

(D)

where the covered agency does not adopt any alternatives described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c), a detailed justification of the covered agency’s determination that the relative size and resources of small entities should have no bearing on the rule, supported by factual, policy and legal reasons.

.

4.

Final regulatory flexibility analysis

Section 604(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended in the second paragraph (6) to read as follows:

(7)

for a covered agency, as defined in section 609(d)(2), a description of the steps the agency has taken to minimize any additional cost of credit for small entities and, where no significant alternatives for small entities was adopted, a detailed justification of the covered agency’s determination that the relative size and resources of small entities should have no bearing on the rule, supported by factual, policy and legal reasons.

.