NEWSRELEASE
For Release: June 3, 2003
Contact: John McDowell (202) 205-6941
john.mcdowell@sba.gov
SBA Number: 03-37 ADVO
Colorado Acts To Protect Small Business
Governor Owens Signs Bill Promoting Small Business Friendly Regulation
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan traveled to Denver today to thank small business leaders in Colorado for advancing key small business legislation. The legislation, signed today by Governor Bill Owens, is designed to help the state's 135,000 small businesses by giving them a voice in the state's regulatory process.
“Colorado has taken a big step towards protection of its job-generating small businesses,” said Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “Now Colorado small businesses will have a seat at the table where government decisions are made. Small businesses can be thankful that they have strong champions in Governor Owens, and the bill’s sponsors, Senator Andy McElhany, Chair of the Senate Business Affairs and Labor Committee, and Representative Tambor Williams, Chair of the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee,” he said.
Signed by Governor Owens, S.B. 3-121 implements elements of model small business friendly regulatory legislation put forward by the Office of Advocacy of the SBA. The legislation mirrors the federal Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). That act encourages entrepreneurial success by requiring federal agencies to consider their impact on small business before they issue final regulations.
In Denver to meet with the Governor, representatives of the National Federation of Independent Business and the Chamber of Commerce Sullivan said, “By bringing the voice of small business to federal agencies early in the regulatory process the Office of Advocacy saved small business owners over $21 billion in foregone regulatory compliance costs last year. Now that can happen in Colorado.”
By listening to small business, agencies can ensure that funds, which would have been spent on over burdensome new regulations, are instead available for hiring new employees and making new investments. At the same time, agencies still meet their regulatory goals such as higher environmental quality, greater travel safety, better workplace conditions, and increased family financial security.
The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to 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, visit the Office of Advocacy website at
www.sba.gov/advo.###
Created by Congress in 1976, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. Appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy directs the office. The Chief Counsel advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. Economic research, policy analyses, and small business outreach help identify issues of concern. Regional Advocates and an office in Washington, DC, support the Chief Counsel’s efforts. For more information on the Office of Advocacy, visit
www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.