08/28/2007
Over the past several months, more states have adopted new or expanded regulatory flexibility laws, bringing relief to small-business owners from unfair and potentially expensive regulations. We have led the fight for regulatory fairness around the country; the following are highlights of the most recent states to adopt new regulatory flexibility legislation.
Alabama
With a vote of 99-0, the Alabama House of Representatives passed NFIB-endorsed H.B. 84 in May. The legislation, which is designed to reduce paperwork on rules and regulations for Alabama business owners, still must be passed by the state Senate.
Hawaii
Hawaii recently revised the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act, with Gov. Linda Lingle signing Hawaii Act 217 into law June 28. Amendments made to the act require a small-business impact statement to be submitted to the Small-Business Regulatory Review Board as early as possible in the review process, and the board must let small businesses know they have the right to an ombudsman if the board decides to uphold an agency's rule.
Maine
In June, Gov. John Baldacci signed L.D. 905 in an attempt reduce the regulatory burden on Maine's small businesses. In addition to requiring state agencies to consider the economic impact proposed regulations would have on small businesses, they also must make the information available for public review before the hearing is held to determine the rule's fairness. If the regulation is not analyzed for its impact on small business, it may not take effect.
Ohio
A bill was recently introduced into the Ohio Legislature that would provide small-business owners a bit of relief from first-time regulatory violation fines. If passed, H.B. 285 would reduce the overall cost of regulatory compliance for Ohio's small businesses, and offer an opportunity to become more familiar with the requirements of Ohio's many regulatory agencies.
Washington
Effective July, Washington's EHB 1525 expanded the Regulatory Fairness Act (originally adopted in 1994), requiring agencies to take additional steps when considering the economic impact of their proposed rule on small business, such as the number of jobs that will be created or lost. Additionally, if an agency cannot reduce the costs the new rule would demand of small business, such agency must provide an explanation.
Wisconsin
We led the effort to pass the Small-Business Regulatory Fairness Act in Wisconsin, which also created the Small-Business Regulatory Review Board. The legislation, signed into law by Gov. Jim Doyle, applies to both proposed regulations as well as existing ones.
If your state has not enacted regulatory flexibility legislation yet, contact your lawmakers and tell them your experiences with spending too much time, money and effort on unbalanced regulatory compliance. For more information about how we're working in your state for regulatory fairness, visit your state page or NFIB.com/regulatoryreform.
