HB 1445 - DIGEST

(SEE ALSO PROPOSED 1ST SUB)

Finds that: (1) A vibrant and growing small business sector is critical to creating jobs in a dynamic economy;

(2) Small businesses bear a disproportionate share of regulatory costs and burdens;

(3) Fundamental changes that are needed in the regulatory and enforcement culture of state agencies to make them more responsive to small business can be made without compromising the statutory missions of the agencies;

(4) When adopting rules to protect the health, safety, and economic welfare of Washington, state agencies should seek to achieve statutory goals as effectively and efficiently as possible without imposing unnecessary burdens on small employers;

(5) Uniform regulatory and reporting requirements can impose unnecessary and disproportionately burdensome demands including legal, accounting, and consulting costs upon small businesses with limited resources;

(6) The failure to recognize differences in the scale and resources of regulated businesses can adversely affect competition in the marketplace, discourage innovation, and restrict improvements in productivity;

(7) Unnecessary regulations create entry barriers in many industries and discourage potential entrepreneurs from introducing beneficial products and processes;

(8) The practice of treating all regulated businesses the same leads to inefficient use of regulatory agency resources, enforcement problems, and, in some cases, to actions inconsistent with the legislative intent of health, safety, environmental, and economic welfare legislation;

(9) Alternative regulatory approaches which do not conflict with the state objective of applicable statutes may be available to minimize the significant economic impact of rules on small businesses; and

(10) The process by which state rules are developed and adopted should be reformed to require agencies to solicit the ideas and comments of small businesses, to examine the impact of proposed and existing rules on such businesses, and to review the continued need for existing rules.

Provides that, prior to the adoption of any proposed rule that may have an adverse impact on small businesses, each agency shall prepare a small business economic impact statement.

Provides that prior to the adoption of any proposed rule on and after July 1, 2005, each agency shall prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis in which the agency shall, where consistent with health, safety, and environmental and economic welfare, consider utilizing regulatory methods that will accomplish the objectives of applicable statutes while minimizing adverse impact on small businesses.

Provides that, beginning July 1, 2009, each agency shall review all agency rules existing at the time of the enactment to determine whether the rules should continue without change, or should be amended or rescinded, consistent with the stated objectives of this act.

Repeals RCW 19.85.030, 19.85.040, and 19.85.050.