NEWSRELEASE
For Release: July 13, 2007 Hawaii Strengthens Small Business Role In State’s Regulatory
Process WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hawaii has strengthened the role of its 112,000 small
businesses in the state’s regulatory process with the passage of Senate Bill
188. The bill, recently signed into law by Governor Linda Lingle, requires state
agencies to consider their impact on small business earlier in the regulatory
process and it expands the duties of Hawaii’s Small Business Regulatory Review
Board. It also strengthens the current statute by requiring agencies every other
year to review all existing rules that affect small business to ensure that they
continue to serve their public purpose. “Governor Lingle and the Hawaii legislature have taken an important step
toward creating a regulatory climate in which small businesses can prosper,”
said Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan. “The new law requires state
agencies to listen to the voice of small business earlier in the regulatory
process. That results in less burdensome and more effective regulation. Hawaii
small business owners clearly have friends in Governor Lingle, and the bill
sponsor, Senator Sam Slom (R-8th),” he said. Small businesses are a key part of Hawaii’s economy. In 2005, according to
Office of Advocacy research, 98.6 percent of Hawaii’s employer firms were small
businesses, and they employed 263,673 workers or 57.4 percent of the state’s
private work force. By listening to small business, state agencies can
Contact: John McDowell, (202) 205-6941
SBA Number: 07-26 ADVO
Press Kit
“We’re pleased with the passage and signing of Senate Bill 188,” said Lynne Woods, Chairperson of Hawaii’s Small Business Regulatory Review Board. “By strengthening the role of the Small Business Regulatory Review Board, the new law allows us to continue our work on behalf of Hawaii’s job-creating small businesses.”
The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.
For more information on Advocacy’s state regulatory flexibility model legislation initiative, visit http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/law_modeleg.html
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#The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visit
www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.