The May 2007 issue of The Small Business Advocate spotlights the conference, “Building a Better Small Business Climate: State Regulatory Flexibility Best Practices,” which took place on March 28 in Kansas City, Missouri. To view the entire newsletter, click the PDF attachment below
Introduction
In 2002, the Office of Advocacy launched the small business regulatory flexibility model legislation initiative. The initiative’s goal is to encourage states to implement laws directing their regulatory agencies to look at the impact of proposed rules on small businesses and to consider less burdensome alternatives that still accomplish the agency goal. This approach, termed “regulatory flexibility,” allows governments to achieve their regulatory goals without imposing unfair economic burdens on small entities, helping to preserve businesses and jobs. Since 2002, 37 state legislatures have considered regulatory flexibility legislation, and 19 states have implemented regulatory flexibility via executive order or legislation.
On March 28, 2007, the Office of Advocacy, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and the Public Forum Institute convened a dynamic conference of state officials and policymakers who are at the forefront of implementing their states’ regulatory flexibility laws. The conference, titled “Building a Better Small Business Climate: State Regulatory Flexibility Best Practices,” considered all aspects of successful state strategies: teaching agencies, reaching out to small businesses, overseeing compliance, periodically reviewing existing rules, and measuring the success of these efforts.
The event took place at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Conference Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Participants included small business owners and representatives of advocacy groups, state economic development officials and government leaders, state policymakers, and representatives of policy research organizations. Each panelist drew from a unique background to give valuable insight into the tools and approaches they have developed. Conference participants shared their experiences and perspectives on their efforts to
bring together the small business community and regulatory agencies to create sensible regulations.
The Office of Advocacy would like to thank the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Public Forum Institute for their support for the conference and their participation. Their generosity allows forums such as these to take place, giving leaders from across the country the opportunity to discuss important policy issues that foster entrepreneurship.
To continue reading about the conference, click the PDF attachment below.
