Massachusetts small businesses would benefit from administrative and regulatory reforms being considered in the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses, according to testimony presented today in Boston, Massachusetts, by Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan.
The proposed legislation would amend the state administrative procedures in two ways. First, it would clarify the information that should be included in the small business impact statement required by current law. Second, it would require agencies to consider less costly alternatives to proposed regulations that affect small businesses.
Small businesses play an important role in the Massachusetts economy. They represent more than 98 percent of the state's businesses and employ more than half of the non-farm private work force. Because of their size, the overall importance of small businesses to the economy is often overlooked, Sullivan said.
Sullivan noted that Massachusetts law would benefit from the addition of a key component—transparency in the rulemaking process. A transparent process allows small business owners to stay informed of agency actions that may have an adverse effect on their business and to participate in rule development.
"Transparency also helps agencies gather information to formulate a more thorough, well-reasoned, and accurate economic impact analysis," Sullivan said. "I encourage you to include a requirement that agencies make the small business impact and regulatory flexibility analyses available for review by small businesses during the public comment period of a proposed regulation."
Since 2002, 37 state legislatures have considered regulatory flexibility legislation, and 21 states have implemented regulatory flexibility either through executive order or legislation. In addition to its cosponsors, the Massachusetts legislation has the support of key small business groups.
For more information, visit the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo.
Washington - June 20, 2007
Release Number: 07-22 ADVO
Contact: Kathryn Tobias, (202) 205-6935,
kathryn.tobias@sba.gov
Information courtesy of the Small Business Administration.
