Small-business owners seek fair regulation

The message to lawmakers from small-business owners from Washington and Hancock counties was clear: regulations need to keep small business owners in mind by reducing paperwork, streamlining and making consistent application and permitting processes and keeping language simple so that lawyers do not need to be hired for translation purposes, but not rolling back regulations to the practices enjoyed in the 1950s. Business owners, who spoke at a public hearing in Machias on January 31, told their stories of frustration to 11 representatives on the legislature's Joint Select Committee on Regulatory Fairness and Reform. The committee held five hearings around the state to solicit public input for creating a more efficient and competitive regulatory stream. Senator Kevin Raye of Perry is sponsoring LD 1, An Act to Ensure Regulatory Fairness and Reform, which will be used as a vehicle for Governor Paul LePage's plan to improve the business climate and encourage job creation.
A rollback of regulation was not supported by any of the speakers. Vera Francis, a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, told the committee, "Any kind of regulation that would bring harm to my tribe, I hope you would consider [the implications]. ... I would appreciate that in your deliberations you keep us in mind because we have been here for thousands of years." She said, "Reform, streamlining -- yes. If you are considering terminating, limiting oversight -- I would not consider it even a good business practice."
"I don't think there's a soul in this room that wants to see regulation rolled back to 1950," said Mary Thompson of Addison. "But we do need regulation in plain English. Clarity and uniformity are needed." Thompson, who works in the real estate business, told the committee and the audience of over 130 that the law governing mandatory shoreland zoning is about 50 pages long. Trying to understand the law is difficult. "Those of us trying to do something on a small scale need your help -- we don't have teams of lawyers."
Another real estate business owner, Debbie Holmes of Lubec, noted that, when new regulations are imposed, there is often not enough effort made to educate those in the industry affected. She listed the new statewide building code and the lead‑paint regulation as two examples. "I'm really concerned about how this will affect the housing market." She added, "If they're going to put rules into effect, they need to make time for people to be trained." Victor Trafford, who is renovating a former sardine cannery in Lubec, illustrated the difficulties encountered when navigating building codes. He explained that his mixed‑use renovation includes handicapped bathrooms. "I have all the requirements met according to the code book, but the fire marshal doesn't like sliding glass doors [for emergency egress] so wants us to replace them. We have 14 of them. It's going to be very, very expensive."
Tweaking regulation was one recommendation made by Machias businessman Ivan Hanscom. He noted that culvert installation is currently governed by a one‑size‑fits‑all policy that doesn't make sense. While he allowed that culverts over a set size need that policy, he said, "We should be able to install up to three to four feet ourselves." A larger effort of tweaking should involve the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Hanscom said. They "should form a committee to go through statutes one by one; there are many that don't make sense."
Jay Beaudoin of Woodland Pulp in Baileyville said, "We won't be reverting to the 1950s, but we've encountered roadblocks." He explained that the DEP has rules on the book that are holdovers from past commissions. "These should be reviewed to see if they are still relevant." Beaudoin said that regulations about water use are based on findings from three and four decades ago that don't take into account local ecology.
The tension between the need for process consistency and the need for regulation that recognizes localized differences rather than one that takes a cookie‑cutter approach was illustrated a number of times. Julie Keene of Trescott said, "We need to micro‑manage our bays. It's not a one‑size‑fits‑all. If they are mismanaged from Augusta the way they've been..." she paused with her heartfelt plea for the Department of Maine Resources to listen to local knowledge and recognize its value. "Most of us are too poor to drive to Augusta and back. DMR needs to come here."
The DEP was mentioned frequently. "It's not what you'd call people friendly," said Nancy Oden of Jonesboro. But she, along with a speaker from Mount Desert Island, Priscilla Keene, faulted this partly on the department's lack of sufficient staffing. "Get them more enforcement people," Oden said. "DEP has been starved for funds for many years and so doesn't have the people to do the work in a timely manner," said Keene. However, Greg Bridges of Bridges Wild Blueberry Company of Calais, said that the DEP "has hindered more than it has helped."
Eastport Port Director Chris Gardner noted that the "regulatory environment has been slow and deliberate to a fault." The lack of timeliness, he told the committee, means that a business cannot act quickly to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. "It's not about relaxing [regulation]; it's about understanding that time matters."
Additional ideas suggested by business people included: combining the Maine Board of Pesticides Control with the DEP; creating an ombudsman position and clearinghouse to assist small businesses that are starting up or expanding; allowing state agencies to purchase supplies from local businesses, thus enhancing job creation and cutting down on agency red tape; finding a way to offer lower electricity rates to combined pools of businesses so that small businesses can benefit from the same rates as large businesses; considering the economy of scale related to costs enjoyed by big business versus the limited resources of small business when both have to utilize the same process.
"I don't want to see the environment raped and pillaged," said Calais business owner Alan Dwelley, "but we do need regulation reform."