Senate committee passes small business bill

TRENTON — The Senate Budget Committee has passed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Anthony Bucco, Steven Oroho, and Troy Singleton that would cut red tape for small businesses.
The bill would expand the scope of the existing New Jersey Regulatory Flexibility Act.
“Statewide small business owners face so many unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles. There is no denying that red tape is forcing job creators to leave New Jersey,” Sen. Anthony Bucco said. “This legislation would allow employers to have greater control of their destiny, making government less burdensome, and the economy more competitive.”
The legislators’ bipartisan bill would offer small business owners the right to challenge a rule that appears to violate the terms of the New Jersey Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Under current law, the New Jersey Regulatory Flexibility Act states that any state agency shall minimize adverse economic impacts on small business when proposing new rules and regulations. Additionally, the act states that whenever a state agency develops or proposes rules, the agency should take into consideration the effect that rule will have on small businesses and make accommodations to address such issues.
“The NJ Regulatory Flexibility Act has been in place for years, but it’s often ignored or forgotten. As a result, red tape stays in place and small businesses have nowhere to turn when the government makes it nearly impossible for them to create good jobs,” Sen. Steve Oroho said. “Employers deserve the opportunity to dispute onerous rules and regulations. By empowering entrepreneurs to challenge overbearing regulations, we can stop anti-business policies from constraining our local economy.”
The legislation would also expand the definition of small businesses to any company with less than $6 million in sales.
“Undoubtedly, small businesses are the backbone of the US economy. They serve as job creators and employers, but more importantly, they are a part of our communities,” Senator Singleton said. “However, small businesses cannot and should not be regulated the same as larger corporations. Their needs and resources are vastly different and our current rules make it difficult for them to generate serious economic growth. This bill aims to reverse that.”
The Assembly version of the Regulatory Flexibility Act is sponsored by Assemblymen Hal Wirths and Parker Space and was released from the Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee in October.