The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, recently signed into law by President Carter, is being hailed in business circles and by lawmakers who supported its passage. An outgrowth of a long period of hearings, the act is intended to reduce by 25 percent over three years the volume of reports, time required to fill out forms. and costs associated with federally – required regulations. “Actually it’s a law to ,regulate the regulators.” said Sen. Lawton Chiles, DFla., who authored the legislation. The act will have a “very real impact on businesses and local and state governments which now have to answer scores of federal reports on just about everything,” said Chiles, The Florida senator adql: “It costs an estimated 0g)billion each year for ‘governments and businesses to comply with federal information – gathering requirements. You’d better believe those hidden taxes are passed onto every one of us in all walks of life.” Herbert Liebenson. president of the National Small Business Association, said: “Consumers and small business owners everywhere will save money as a result of this bill.” He characterized the paperwork reduction measure as one of the important victories for small business in the 96th Congress. The act creates an office in the White House to check federal information gathering agencies to make sure the data they seek is actually needed and not duplicated elsewhere. it requires every proposed regulation which imposes a reporting A or record – keeping rrgquiw ment on businesses, universities, state and local governments and individuals be reviewed by the director of the office of Management and Budget for unnecessary burden. Unlike many a federal program whose perpetuity is taken for granted. the paperwork bill mandates its own goals be achieved in three years, after which “the sun sets” on its authorization, And if it achieves those aims, it will have earned retirement with the public’s appreciation or maybe a new commission M mr-rv nn