RIEDC Expands Small Business Support Effort
April 21, 2008 | Print this page | Share This | Email this page
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RegFlex program aims to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses
The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) today announced the expansion of the Regulatory Flexibility (RegFlex) program, an effort to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. RegFlex is administered by the agency’s Every Company Counts small business service unit. The program kicked off today at an informational meeting held at RIEDC for rule makers at various agencies.
The expansion of RegFlex will increase RIEDC’s outreach with both small businesses and state agencies to better understand the impact of state regulations and to suggest improvements that will lessen the regulatory burden on small business. Regflex is enabled by state statute and was initially launched by RIEDC in 2005.
Expanding RegFlex is an important element of RIEDC’s 2008 Economic Growth plan, which seeks to increase the percentage of jobs in Rhode Island that pay above the national average wage of $42,000 from 40 to 60 percent. Top priority activities of the plan include new programs to increase the availability of growth capital to businesses, a regional attraction campaign to promote new company relocation and expansion, a partnership to leverage property made available through the I-195 relocation, improvements to the state’s expedited permitting program, programs that strengthen the state’s workforce development platform, an effort to increase the state’s research and development capacity and a renewed emphasis on programs that support the state’s small businesses.
“Entrepreneurs, innovators and small businesses are the heart of Rhode Island’s economy,” says Saul Kaplan, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. “They create new jobs and bring dynamic ideas, innovative services and new products to the marketplace. They are also the most affected by burdensome and over-complicated regulations. The expansion of the RegFlex program is an important part of our overall economic growth plan. Making sure that our small businesses have the tools they need to succeed in a knowledge-based economy is one of the most important things we can do to promote economic growth and improve the quality of life for our citizens.”
Under the RegFlex program, any new regulation that affects small business is evaluated prior to implementation. Regulatory agencies proposing new regulations must submit an analysis of the impact on small business to RIEDC’s Every Company Counts (ECC), the agency’s small business support program. ECC will review the rules and regulations, determine the impact on small businesses and make recommendations to improve the rules and regulations to the regulatory agencies.
“Rhode Island’s small businesses are heavily burdened by the costs of government regulation and excessive paperwork,” says Sherri Carrera, RIEDC Manager of Small Business Services and Rhode Island Small Business Advocate. “Research shows that firms with fewer than 20 employees annually spend 45 percent more per employee than larger firms do to comply with state and federal regulations. Every Company Counts will act as Rhode Island’s small business advocate in this capacity.”
Implementing the RegFlex expansion, Every Company Counts will issue an interagency directive to introduce the program and articulate the process for submitting proposed regulations and impact analyses. An ad-hoc advisory committee for the RegFlex program will be formed to assist the ECC in reviewing proposed regulations. The committee will consist of chambers of commerce, industry experts and business owners.
ECC will also host a series of small business workshops with city and town officials throughout the state to introduce the program.
“RegFlex gives and important voice to small business as it defends us in the regulatory jungle,” says Ernest J. “Gip” Cabral, President of Cabco Engineering Company. “I was impressed with the dedication, responsiveness and follow through of Every Company Counts and its RegFlex program. RegFlex is an important asset for small businesses in this state.”
About Every Company Counts
Every Company Counts, a small business initiative of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, seeks to mobilize Rhode Island’s economic development professionals to promote small business success. ECC serves as the state’s small business advocate through the Regulatory Flexibility program.
More than 150 municipal, state, federal and non-profit organizations are in the ECC network. Since its inception, more than 3,000 small businesses have requested services from ECC and the ECC website averages 60,000 hits per month. More than 3,800 small business owners subscribe to the ECC monthly enewsletter and ECC submits more than 500 referrals per year to partner agencies and organizations
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Melissa Withers
(401) 278-9134
Andy Cutler
(401) 743-7842
