Chamber Desk Letter on Regulatory Flexibility for Small Businesses
Monday, March 17, 2008

MEMORANDUM

TO: Members of the New Jersey General Assembly

FROM: Christina M. Genovese, Manager, Government Relations

RE: A-832 (Chivukula / Schaer / Fisher / Love)

DATE: March 13, 2008

The Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey strongly supports A-832 (Chivukula / Schaer / Fisher / Love), which would expand the scope of the New Jersey Regulatory Flexibility Act dealing with the impact of rules on small businesses.

Simplifying compliance and regulation of small businesses is an important step toward making operating a small business easier and less costly in our State. As you may know, in the 2007 Small Business Survival Index New Jersey was ranked second to last in the policy environment for small business and entrepreneurship across the country.

Navigating the regulatory maze is costly for small business. It takes precious time away from operating the business, and it costs to file permits and to meet regulatory requirements. Providing small businesses access to simplified rules that have been consolidated and reviewed thoroughly for impact can make a real difference in the ability to operate profitably.

Every quarter, our organization, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, conducts a survey of our members, which helps identify the problems facing the South Jersey business community. The most recent survey results prove that the issue of complex government regulation is still of major concern to South Jersey businesses. 33 percent of respondents cited governmental regulations in the top 3 most important issues facing businesses, with “general business conditions” and “labor benefit costs” coming in first and second, respectively.

It is clear that regulations and their impact on small businesses are an issue of major importance to those who do business in our state. With small business accounting for a large percentage of the growth in our economy, State agencies must recognize the need to explore alternative regulatory approaches to minimize the economic impact of rules on small businesses, while still satisfying the regulatory objective.

Therefore, we urge you to vote yes on A-832 (Chivukula / Schaer / Fisher / Love).