“What Legislation Impacts our Small Businesses”
FEATURED IN THE PA-NJ-DE MSDC CONNECTIONS MARCH/APRIL 2011 E-NEWSLETTER
As the President and the CEO of Maven, Inc. a small, minority owned and women owned business, to successfully compete I must be aware of the every changing environment that impacts the services I provide and the manner in which I conduct business. The environment in which we do business has changed. We have come accustomed to the words recession and the economy in our daily conversations and the change of landscape in the business environment with more “closed” signs than before. However, things are improving as we see the development of new businesses and overall the improvement of how we do business.
Let’s be honest, as a small business everything is about the bottom line. To continue to be successful, we as small business owners must be more aware of the opportunities, as well as, obstacles that could impact how we do business. Changes in legislation for instance, can throw a curve ball into business as usual. Unfortunately, as a small business sometimes the focus is more on daily activities and customer building, as opposed to the agenda in local, state and federal politics. However, the results of such politics do not just target the big businesses and can be targeted directly to how small businesses compete in the market place. As a provider of several services, including government relations, my daily activities include monitoring and discussion of legislation that impact my clients.
With that, I would like to take this opportunity to focus on two pieces of current legislation that will impact small businesses.
First, is the Pennsylvania House Bill 2149, legislation that would benefit small businesses and minority owned, women owned and disadvantaged owned businesses in Pennsylvania. Representative Jake Wheatley will reintroduce this bill this session as the bill was introduced in the 2009-2010 session, however did not make it through the Senate prior to session ending.
A few points that House Bill 2149 would provide are: a change to the definition of “small business” in the Procurement Code (Title 62) which would increase employee limit to 250 and will add a gross revenue limit of up to $45 million, provide for creation of a statewide bonding program, create a Cabinet-level secretary of minority and women business development, establish a mentor/protégé program to allow for small businesses to be more competitive, provide a requirement for state agencies and universities to designate ten percent of procurement dollars for small businesses and shorten the turnaround time for payment from fourteen days to five.
This bill is intended to provide a more level playing field for small businesses to compete and gain new business. A press release detailing all the provisions of the bill can be found at http://www.pahouse.com/PR/019022511.asp
Second, is the City of Philadelphia Bill 080474, entitled “Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces”. Although this bill was introduced in May 2008, it has returned this March before City Council with amendments. This bill is seen as a means to ensure a more “healthier and more productive workforce in the City of Philadelphia” by mandating paid sick time to be provided to employees.
More specifically, under this bill a small business, defined as those with ten of fewer employees, would be required to provide one hour of sick time per thirty hours worked with a limit of forty hours per calendar year. Time would be accumulated upon the first day of employment and would be accessible after ninety days of employment. Employers would be responsible for documenting hours that their employees worked and hours of paid sick time accumulated and would need to have these records accessible for review should a complaint be filed. Additionally, employers would be required to give notice to employees of the paid sick time process, whether through written notice or display of informative poster including their rights to file a complaint if there access to paid sick time is denied. If the employer already provides a paid sick time plan more generous than detailed in this bill there is no additional requirements and it is not intended to effect current, more generous paid sick time plan.
This bill would require small business to incur additional costs per employee and as testimony from the public detailed, would force small businesses to consider staff reductions, relocation and even closing because the costs would be too great. To read the complete bill please follow the City link at http://legislation.phila.gov/detailreport/?key=8561
These are just two examples of legislation guaranteed to change how small businesses, including minority owned and women owned, conduct business and deserve close attention. Small businesses are a critical component of the country’s market place. Concentration must be given to legislation that specifically impacts how we do business because the results of such legislation can be a deciding point on whether we pursue more opportunities or reevaluate our position in the market place. I strongly urge you, my fellow small business owners to reach out to your local legislators and city council members and express your positions on these bills and the impact they will have on the future of your small business and the staff you employee.
By:
Melonease Shaw
President & CEO
Maven, Inc.
