State Rep. Matt Ramsey, R-Peachtree City, is seeking input from small businesses in Fayette County for a special initiative currently underway by the Georgia House of Representatives to review and evaluate Georgia’s current regulatory environment.
The Red Tape Watch program will be carried out by the Special Committee on Small Business Development and Job Creation throughout the 2012 legislative session.
The Special Committee on Small Business Development and Job Creation, chaired by Rep. David Knight (R-Griffin), will meet periodically throughout the session to hear directly from small business owners. These hearings will allow small business owners and operators an opportunity to discuss ways the state can streamline the government bureaucracy that impedes their ability to do business efficiently.
The committee will meet again today (Feb. 15) at 2 p.m. in room 506 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building at the state capitol.
The committee would like to hear from as many industries as possible in order to create a comprehensive list of areas in need of regulation reform. Once this list is compiled, the committee will begin work on reducing burdensome regulations, easing compliance, and ensuring Georgia small businesses are no longer hindered by outdated and oppressive state regulations.
Small business owners who would like to participate in this process, including those who cannot attend a hearing, can voice their concerns at www.house.ga.gov/redtapewatch.
National studies show that small employers consistently rank government requirements and red tape as the second-most significant problem facing their businesses. This is often because the cost of compliance ties up the limited resources most small business have to operate. Because small businesses account for over 70 percent of job growth, the study also shows that over-regulating small businesses is hindering our economic recovery.
The Special Committee on Small Business Development and Job Creation was created by House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) in January 2010 to solely focus on sustaining and growing small businesses in Georgia and thereby creating job opportunities for Georgians.
