HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	296
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URGING THE GOVERNOR TO PROPERLY FUND THE SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY REVIEW BOARD UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM TO SUPPORT HAWAII'S SMALL BUSINESSES.

     WHEREAS, the Small Business Regulatory Review Board ("the Board") acts as the watchdog for small businesses within state government; and

     WHEREAS, the Board's role is to review state administrative rules or county ordinances that may adversely affect small businesses and recommend to the Legislature or the county council or mayor, as the case may be, that the state or county agencies should review and modify overly burdensome rules or ordinances and evaluate state or county agencies' responsiveness to small business; and

     WHEREAS, the Board is dedicated to the success of the State's small businesses, as well as improving relationships with state and county departments, and has been an instrumental voice within the small business community; and

     WHEREAS, the Board has done an effective and efficient job for the State in generating revenue, advertising, and cutting regulatory red tape for small businesses; and

     WHEREAS, many small business owners volunteer their time and are dependent upon the Board and the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism's staff for support and assistance with fulfilling their responsibilities; and

     WHEREAS, in order to continue to support Hawaii's many small businesses, the Board needs to have a stable home, staff, and budget for its efforts, which are vital for the small business community; and

     WHEREAS, the position of Small Business Advocate was a crucial liaison between the Board and its many members; and

     WHEREAS, the Board is currently housed within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; and

     WHEREAS, the shortage of staffing in the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and budget cuts have resulted in the elimination of the full-time Small Business Advocate; and

WHEREAS, the duties of the Small Business Advocate have since been assumed by an already lean staff in an attempt to continue the work of the Board in assisting Hawaii's small business community; and

     WHEREAS, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism's reductions of the Board's staffing and resources and its threatened reductions in funding the relatively small costs of transportation to meetings and the printing and distribution of mandated reports severely undermine the Board's mission to assist Hawaii small business owners in doing business in the State; and

     WHEREAS, shifting resources away from the Board and elimination of the Small Business Advocate position have crippled the only viable mechanism to assist Hawaii's small business community; and

     WHEREAS, Governor Linda Lingle has proclaimed that our State is "open for business"; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature strongly urges the Governor to reconsider her position on whether the Small Business Regulatory Review Board is or is not a core function of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and to provide an adequate level of funding sufficient to allow the Board to operate, function, and address the needs of Hawaii's small businesses; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, and the Chairperson of the Small Business Regulatory Review Board.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Small Business Regulatory Review Board