Albany, NY – As Chair of the Assembly Small Business Committee, Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (D-119) is proud to announce the New York State Assembly has voted unanimously to advance Bill A.11046, legislation introduced by Assemblywoman Buttenschon which will require the New York State Division for Small Business to compile and publish, in layman terms, an annual small business compliance guide cataloging the statutory and regulatory changes enacted each year.

The legislation is designed to ease the burden of regulatory compliance on New York’s small business owners by requiring the State Division for Small Business to publish a comprehensive plain-language compliance guide each year by January 31st, cataloging in one single easy-to-read document all statutory and regulatory changes of the prior year. The guide will also be accompanied by a public awareness campaign, ensuring small business owners are aware of the new resource and how/where to access it.

“For our small businesses, who are the lifeblood of our local economies and communities, keeping up with the shifting laws and regulatory changes each year can be an enormous burden,” said Assemblywoman Buttenschon. “As Chair of the Assembly Committee on Small Business, I hear from owners across the Mohawk Valley that are struggling to juggle the arduous task of maintaining changing compliance statutes while running their operations, and as a small business owner myself, I too can attest. This legislation will save our small business owners much needed time and energy by providing them with a single, clear, accessible, plainly worded resource they can use to ensure their annual compliance, allowing them to get back to what they do best: running their business and serving our neighbors.”

Key provisions of the new law include:

• Requiring the Division for Small Business to compile and publish a small business compliance guide by January 31 of each year, in consultation with relevant state agencies, cataloging statutory and regulatory changes from the prior calendar year in plain and commonly understood terms.
• Requiring the guide to include information on permits, licenses, taxes, insurance, workplace safety, workers' compensation, wages, hours, and benefits, along with appropriate contact information for relevant state agencies.
• Directing the Commissioner of Economic Development to conduct an annual public awareness campaign utilizing public forums, social media, and mass media to inform small business owners about the guide and available compliance resources, in coordination with statewide and regional business advocacy organizations.
• Requiring the annual guide to be published in the State Register and posted to the Division for Small Business's website.

Under current law, the State is not statutorily required to create or publish a small business compliance guide informing business owners of relevant statutory and regulatory changes, and as a result, our small business owners are forced to track-down and navigate a complex patchwork of local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations located across numerous publications and online resources, and that are often published in overly technical language. This bill tackles this patchwork head-on by consolidating all relevant state statutory and regulatory changes into a single annual resource designed to be easily understood, and which provides all necessary contact information for the appropriate agencies of regulatory jurisdiction.

“No small business owner should lose sleep wondering if they've missed a new rule buried in the State Register,” Assemblywoman Buttenschon added. “This guide will level the playing field and make compliance simpler for every entrepreneur in New York.”

The legislation received unanimous support in both the Assembly and the Senate, and now awaits delivery to the Governor’s Office for enactment.