text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Hardship Relief 
  Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. HARDSHIP EXEMPTION TO EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE MANDATE FOR 
                SMALL BUSINESSES.
  
      (a) In General.--Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
  is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
      ``(e) Hardship Exemption for Small Businesses.--
              ``(1) In general.--Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply 
          to any small business for any month if such small business is 
          experiencing a hardship with respect to the calendar year in 
          which such month begins.
              ``(2) Hardship.--A small business shall be treated for 
          purposes of this subsection as experiencing a hardship for any 
          calendar year if such business demonstrates to the satisfaction 
          of the Secretary that such business--
                      ``(A) missed two or more consecutive loan payments 
                  during such year,
                      ``(B) is a debtor in a title 11 case (as defined in 
                  section 108(d)(2)) the pendency of which includes any 
                  portion of such year,
                      ``(C) received a notice from a utility during such 
                  year that such utility is preparing to stop providing 
                  services to such business by reason of nonpayment of 
                  amounts owed for utility service,
                      ``(D) received a notice of eviction of foreclosure 
                  during such year,
                      ``(E) experienced a fire, flood, other natural or 
                  human-caused disaster that resulted in substantial 
                  damage to property of the business during such year, or
                      ``(F) experiences such other hardship during such 
                  year as the Secretary may determine for purposes of 
                  this subsection.
              ``(3) Limitation to 5 years of exemptions.--Paragraph (1) 
          shall not apply to any small business for any calendar year if 
          such paragraph has applied to such small business for any 5 
          previous calendar years.
              ``(4) Small business.--For purposes of this subsection--
                      ``(A) In general.--The term `small business' means, 
                  with respect to any calendar year, an employer who 
                  employed an average of not more than 100 full-time 
                  employees on business days during the preceding 
                  calendar year.
                      ``(B) Application of certain rules for determining 
                  employer size; treatment of full-time equivalents as 
                  full-time employees.--Rules similar to the rules of 
                  subparagraphs (C) and (E) of subsection (c)(2) shall 
                  apply for purposes of this subsection.''.
      (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
  apply to months beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
      (c) Hardship Exemption Not To Be Used as Sole Criteria for Audit.--
  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whether the hardship 
  exemption provided under section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 
  1986 (as added by this section) applies with respect to a taxpayer 
  shall not be taken into account by the Internal Revenue Service as the 
  sole factor in determining whether to audit such taxpayer.
      (d) Treasury Study on Additional Indications of Business 
  Hardship.--
              (1) Study.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall conduct a 
          study regarding the additional hardships which would be 
          appropriate to add to the list of hardships in paragraph (2) of 
          section 4980H(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added 
          by this section), consistent with the purposes of such section.
              (2) Determination of additional hardships.--Not later than 
          6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
          Secretary of the Treasury shall, with respect to any hardship 
          which the Secretary determines should be added to such list of 
          hardships, add such hardship to such list by making the 
          determination described in subparagraph (F) of such section.
              (3) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
          enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
          provide a written report to Congress with respect to the study 
          conducted under paragraph (1). Such report shall include a 
          description of each hardship considered for inclusion in such 
          list of hardships, whether the Secretary made the determination 
          to include such hardship in such list, and the reasons that 
          such hardship was or was not so included, as the case may be.
              (4) References to secretary of the treasury.--Any reference 
          in this subsection to the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
          include a reference to any designee of such Secretary.
target: Small Business Hardship Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the employer mandate to provide minimum essential health care coverage for its employees a small business (i.e., an employer of not more than 100&nbsp;full-time employees)&nbsp;experiencing a hardship. Defines "hardship" to include situations in which a small business has missed two or more consecutive&nbsp;loan payments, is a debtor in a Chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcy proceeding,&nbsp;has received a notice of termination of utility services or a notice of eviction, has experienced a fire, flood, or other disaster, or has&nbsp;experienced another hardships as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study to identify additional hardships appropriate for granting an hardship exemption.  Prohibits the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from&nbsp;taking into account&nbsp;the applicability of a hardship exemption to a small business&nbsp;as the sole factor in determining whether to audit such business. 
feat_title: Small Business Hardship Relief Act