Senator Alesi Sponsored Legislation Signed Into Law

Senator Jim Alesi (R,C - Perinton) announced today that Governor Pataki signed into law S.5632, which requires the Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform (GORR) to issue a report to assess whether various state agencies have complied with the requirement to consider the impact of proposed regulations on small businesses.

"Complying with federal and state regulations is a financial and administrative burden for many small businesses," said Senator Alesi. "A small business with 20 or fewer employees has an annual regulatory burden of $7,000 per employee."

Small businesses make up 99% of all businesses in New York State. Thus, the State’s economic engine is dependent on the continued success of small businesses. Although the current state administrative procedure law requires agencies to investigate making regulations more small business friendly, it is not clear that any positive results have come of this law. "With no reporting requirement in place, it is impossible to evaluate an agency’s development or use of alternative regulatory applications for small businesses," said Senator Alesi.

This legislation seeks to improve upon the existing law by requiring GORR to monitor the development and use of alternative approaches for small businesses and issue a quarterly report on the results. By implementing a reporting requirement, this bill would create a greater incentive to establish innovative solutions for small businesses across the spectrum of State agencies.

"Easing this regulatory burden is important to ensuring the growth and success of small businesses and local governments throughout this state," said Senator Alesi.