One of the biggest issues that any small business owner may face in the day-to-day operations of running their companies is regulation of their industries at both the state and federal levels. But given how much emphasis has been placed on entrepreneurship – related back to how small business is typically the engine that drives the economy forward – since the end of the recession, it seems that more states are now trying to help businesses navigate a potentially heightened regulatory environment. California is one such state.
To this end, Assemblywoman Young Kim, a Republican representing Fullerton, recently introduced Assembly Bill 419, according to a report from the Orange County Register. This would require that the state’s existing Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development create a website that would serve to educate small business owners about the regulatory process overall, including how rules are created and enforced. In addition, the site would have to spell out what companies can do to deal with specific rules in their industries, and where they can find more information on both current and future regulatory controls.
Why was the bill introduced?
Kim told the newspaper that she came to her current job from the world of small business, and therefore knows that these issues have to be dealt with on a daily basis, the report said. She therefore also knows that putting all the rules in one place online could be a major boon to entrepreneurs who may not know where to turn when they have a question about whether a decision they make could end up being right or wrong. That may be particularly true because, in Kim’s experience, the owners she talks to don’t necessarily know a lot about this arm of their state government in the first place.
“When I go back to the community, most small businesses don’t even know what GO-Biz is,” Kim told the newspaper. “We need to let them know this is available.”
Lawmakers at California’s capitol building are working hard to get this bill passed.
Moving right along
Already, the bill has moved out of the state Assembly, passing unanimously, and is now being reviewed by California’s Senate Rules Committee, the report said. Part of the reason for such broad support is that there’s no cost to the taxpayer; the GO-Biz office would be able to build the regulatory explanation site as part of its own, existing resources for companies. If passed by the Senate – and that seems to be a very likely outcome at this point – then the bill would go to the governor, and his signature would likewise be expected. California has long had a difficult regulatory environment for small businesses to navigate, and efforts to ease these pains for owners are going to be quite welcome.
Owners who want to position their companies for as much success as possible will not only have to keep track of regulatory issues, but also keep their budgets as streamlined as possible. That could include finding more affordable small business insurance coverage, including plans for consultant insurance, to potentially save thousands annually.
