GROWING MAINE FROM WITHIN: The Small Business Initiative

Lincoln County News

November 03, 2005

Speaker of the Maine House Addresses Local Small Business Owners

Maine Speaker of the House John Richardson, D-Brunswick, appeared before lawmakers and business professionals at the Great Salt Bay School in Damariscotta to discuss the needs of Maine’s small businesses and what the Legislature has done or should do.

Members of the large audience included Senator Dana Dow, R-Waldoboro, John Reny of Renys Department Stores, Gary Stone of Camden National Bank, Representatives David Trahan, R-Waldoboro, Carol Grose, D-Woolwich, and George Bishop, R-Boothbay, Jon McKane, R-Newcastle, Damariscotta Selectman Bill Earle, Tom Finn of Damariscotta Bank & Trust, Steve Gorrill of Sheepscot Valley Brewing, and Jeff Sneddon of the MidCoast Council for Business Development and Planning, along with numerous small business owners and managers.

Speaker Richardson spearheaded a package of 16 bills last year, the Small Business Initiative, which is an attempt to encourage small business growth in Maine. The initiative was started with three main goals:

• Create an environment that fosters small business growth in Maine
• Mobilize state resources on behalf of small businesses
• Contain costs, reduce paperwork, and streamline the regulatory process

Beginning work in February of 2003, Richardson convened with legislators and began working drafting a Small Business Bill of Rights, identifying the needs of small business. The Working Group on Small Business Growth met with more than 200 small business owners and professionals at seven forums around the state to get feedback. The Small Business Initiative legislative package of 16 bills was the result, and so far eight bills have passed or found non-legislative solutions, two were killed and six are still pending before the Legislature.

The recently passed legislation will now make it easier for small businesses to bid on state contracts; do a better job of providing business assistance services to small businesses in Maine; create an Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship dedicated to the needs of small businesses; re-create the Maine Regulatory Fairness Board to hear testimony and suggest changes in laws and regulations to enhance the state’s business climate.

Speaker Richardson is particular-ly excited about the Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “We now will have a Small Business Advocate; that special person who brings small business plight to the ear of the Governor. That person will also be a conduit to the Fair Business Board. The Small Business Advocate will be within the Governor’s office and that person will raise awareness of the plight of small business. We are keenly aware that 90 percent of all business in Maine is small business and that more than 50 percent of the workforce is working in small business.”

Most of the evening, Speaker Richardson fielded questions from the audience. One question concern-ed Maine products being further processed fully outside of the state. Richardson said, “People find it cheaper to take the raw product out of Maine. But there are small businesses that are trying to work here with developing new products. There’s a small business in Biddeford that has created a compressed wood out of wood products.”

Norman Hunt of N.C. Hunt got a round of applause after he spoke passionately and at great length about his tax woes with the state. “Depending on what’s happening, what I’m doing and what I’m using, I’m being sales taxed on different services, and with different amounts. Sometimes the tax is 5 percent on one piece of equipment, or one delivery, and at other times it is ½ percent or 3 percent. It is impossible to keep it straight on what I owe sales tax on. I’m honestly not trying to cheat the state, but I just can’t keep track of all the changes all the time. Make a uniform sales tax and that would provide substantial tax relief to this state, I believe.”

Richardson empathized and greatly agreed; saying that taxation in general was a prime concern to small business.

One question concerned biparti-sanship with an audience member saying, “I don’t care what party someone comes from – let’s just use some common sense. How can we talk about good ideas and just stay away from politics?”

Richardson answered by saying that he partially blames term limits for hurting bipartisanship. “People just aren’t in Augusta long enough to establish relationships and trust. When the tough issues come up, it is the lack of trust and lack of experience that makes people draw back into their party. We should not make small business a partisan issue, and that’s what I’m trying to get to. When failures occur, the entire institution suffers. A failure doesn’t elevate one party over another; everyone suffers. I want to make the Small Business Initiative a constant agenda item; always on the front burner. We do have a bill to extend term limits, but it will only pertain to those coming afterwards, not those elected under the existing law.”

Other small business topics concerned the rising costs of healthcare, energy and workers comp insurance.

Senator Dow said that as a businessman and as a senator he is frustrated. “The State has never had a 10-year plan; they’ve only been working on 2-year plans. I’ve watched as health insurance has skyrocketed, the tax burden gets greater and greater and state regulations are tying everything up. If we start backing off on some of these regulations, maybe some health insurance companies might come back and bring some competi-tion to Maine. We are regulated to death. The state needs to take off the handcuffs and just let us do our work. I’m faced with all the time seeing businesses go to New Hampshire because we are regu-lated to death. I really wish it was a bipartisan situation in Augusta.”

Richardson pointed to the hope for the future in research and development. “We are 32nd in per capita income; 32nd in people having a college degree. I believe there is a correlation between education and per capita income. I’m big in R&D (research and development) but I’m really big in education. North Carolina had a very low per capita income and they invested heavily in R&D and now it is one of the most vibrant economies in the country. We need to invest heavily in R&D with an eye on what we have in this state, fish, wood and medicine. I know we are always hearing what’s wrong with Maine, but we really also need to say what is right about Maine. Our people want to live here and we want our kids to live here.”

For more information about Speaker of the House John Richardson’s Small Business Initiative and to receive updates and learn about pending bills: speaker.maine.gov/business.