For some business owners, the costs imposed by government regulation surpass the burden of high taxes and cumbersome tax codes. And as their numbers hit historic levels, regulations and mandates have become a greater threat to the growth and survival of some firms. As most small businesses are aware, excessive regulations weigh heavily on their bottom lines. Recent studies have shown that the per-employee cost of federal regulations runs 80 percent higher for small businesses than for large firms.
Relief is welcome and desired by most small businesses.
Now, additional efforts are under way that, if enacted, would further serve to dramatize the cost impact that regulations have on business and workers, and ultimately slow the pace of new mandates coming out of federal agencies. The Mandates Information Act of 1997, sponsored by Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-Mich. Abraham's bill would apply the same principles to the private sector. A point of order bars either the House or Senate from further acting on a proposed measure unless a majority agrees to move forward with the initiative. Abraham's Mandates Information Act of 1997 obviously is meant to change that.