SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (SBA) PROPOSES NEW TABLE OF SIZE STANDARDS BASED ON NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) TO REPLACE TABLE BASED ON STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC) SYSTEM. The Small Business Administration (SBA) proposes to amend its size regulations by establishing small business size standards for industries defined under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on Friday, October 22, 1999 (64 FR 57187-57286). Small business size standards currently exist for most industries under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. NAICS replaced the SIC system effective January 1, 1997. All Federal agencies that collect establishment-based data must use the new system. Although SBA is not required to use NAICS, SBA proposes to establish small business size standards for industries as defined in NAICS. SBA is doing so because it views NAICS as a better description of industries in the U.S. economy than the SIC system. Also, SBA uses industry data from the Census Bureau to develop and revise size standards, which will no longer be available for SIC industries after the 1997 Economic Census. SBA proposes that NAICS-based size standards replace the SIC-based size standards in 13 CFR 121.201, and that the new size standards be effective for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001, which begins October 1, 2000. The proposed rule is available for download on SBA's Website at http://www.sba.gov/library/lawroom.html#121proposed. SBA must receive comments to the proposed rule by December 21, 1999. WEB: Proposed Rule on North American Industry Classification, http://www.sba.gov/library/lawroom.html#121proposed. E-MAIL: SBA's Office of Size Standards, sizestandards@sba.gov. Posted 10/26/99 (W-SN395140).

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