Current Legislative Action that May Affect Your Business

Hello Again,

We are in the midst of our Utah’s legislative session. While yesterday’s presidential primaries are all over the news, it is truly the actions of our local legislature that will affect us first as business owners and professionals.

This week we’re taking a mid-session glance at the key issues concerning business in Utah. Today, there are more than 50 bills in the House and Senate covering a broad spectrum of business issues. Here are just a few general bills you might want to learn about.

• HB0053/HB0053S01--Impact of Administrative Rules on Small Business
• HB0060--Legislative Review of Health Insurance Mandates
• HB0064--Disclosure of Information by the Department of Workforce Services
• HB0099--Business Registration – Optional Inclusion of Ownership Data
• HB0114--Minimum Wage Provisions
• SB0079--Small Business Access Amendments
• SB0131--Wage Withholding for Employee Contributions

Horse Trading

Tea Leaf Report from Economist Jeff Thredgold

Utah economist Jeff Thredgold’s latest Tea Leaf economic update breaks down the economic stimulus plan being put forth in Congress: "The proposed plan calls for roughly $150 billion (that’s $150,000,000,000) in economic stimulus, driven by the idea that the government needs to do what it can to minimize the chance of, or lessen the severity of, a possible recession."
Read more here.
 

Tip of the Week

SCORE's 60-Second Guide: Employee Recruiting

A small business owner was looking for a few good employees for his alarm company. In the past, he advertised in the classifieds. Then, it dawned on him that the kind of employee he wanted probably wasn’t sitting at home reading the “help wanted” ads. His best workers had always come to him with personal recommendations. That’s when the first brainstorm hit. He chose a select group of customers and sent them a letter asking their help with his recruitment drive. He got his referrals and the unexpected benefit of engendering goodwill with his customers, who were flattered to learn he thought so highly of their opinion. Read more here...

Speaking on Business

Fred Ball's latest business reports:
High Point Coffee 2/8
Rocky Mountain Collision Repair 2/7
Closed Sunday 2/6
Monet Medical 2/5
Bedrock Quartz Surfaces 2/4
Riverside Thai Express 2/1

Small Biz  Partners & Resources

- SCORE -- Provides counseling to small businesses

- Ogden SCORE - E-mail
ogdenscore158@aol.com

- Salt Lake SCORE - Chapter 0049
310 South Main St., N. Mezzanine, Salt Lake City. Phone: (801) 746-2269; Fax: (801) 746-2273; e-mail: mallen@slcscore.com

- Wayne Brown Institute -- Runs the oldest and most successful non-profit venture accelerator program in the country, helping technical entrepreneurs from every social economic level raise money for their businesses.

- Small Business Development Centers
-- Provides counseling and training to small businesses.

- Small Business Administration -- Provides information about small business (Click here for Utah SBA)

- Utah Micro Enterprise Loan Fund -- Provides counseling and funding for small business

- The Pete Suazo Business Center -- Provides counseling and training for Hispanic/Latino business

- Utah Business.gov -- Provides online access to Utah Government services; one stop shop business registrations

- Export.gov -- Provides information on how to export your product.

Feature

Busy Legislature Considers Bills that May Impact Your Business

Week three of the six-and-a-half week legislative session is underway and business and industry leaders are warily watching the outcome of key legislation.

And there is plenty to watch! According to Jerry Howe, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, writing in the Hinckley Institute of Politics February Update, “this legislature has more bill files opened (1,029), more bills numbered (434), and more bills assigned to committee (409), than it has had in any session in recent memory, and perhaps even in the history of the state.”

If you are interested in helping to shape the legislative agenda, see the right-hand column of this newsletter for information about the NFIB’s Small-Business Day at the Capitol.

We are not, of course, trying to sway your opinion regarding these bills, but do hope you will take an interest in the legislative process and stay informed regarding the issues that are important to you.

A few of the bills being considered by the legislature may increase the burden placed upon businesses, especially in regard to immigration laws, and thus could have an impact on worker availability and worker transportation, to name a few. Regardless of what side of the aisle you’re on regarding immigration reform, you should be interested in House Bills 239 and 257, and Senate Bill 81.

HB239, sponsored by Rep. Glen Donnelson, would repeal the use of a temporary identification number (ITIN) issued by the Internal Revenue Service for purposes of obtaining a Utah driving privilege card, thus making it difficult for Utah’s migrant population to drive legally. The implication for businesses is that migrant employees without proof of legal immigration status could not legally drive to work or drive on the job.

HB257, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Herrod, would make certain economic incentives and procurement agreements conditional upon employer participation in a federal employee eligibility verification program.

The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce is said to oppose both HB239 and HB257.

SB81, sponsored by Senator Bill Hickman, is a huge omnibus bill modeled after an Oklahoma law considered to be one of the nation’s toughest crackdowns on illegal immigration. SB81 would make it tougher for undocumented immigrants to find jobs or receive public benefits. The bill would also get Utah's law enforcement agencies involved in enforcing immigration law. Furthermore, one measure of the bill would make it “discriminatory for an employer to discharge a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident employee when an undocumented immigrant is performing a similar job, and creates a cause of action for an employee to sue.”

Regarding the Oklahoma law, the Deseret Morning News reports that a new federal lawsuit was filed Friday by the State Chamber of Oklahoma and other business organizations, saying the Oklahoma law poses unreasonable burden on employers, placing them at a disadvantage with employers in other states.

Other important legislative activity to watch involves transportation and healthcare reform. Led by United Way of Salt Lake, the Salt Lake Chamber and other community leaders, an impressive health-reform framework has been developed and legislation is now being considered that would put all of the difficult issues into a multi-year study by a legislative task force. While HB133 only lays out the elements of healthcare reform and creates a legislative task force to further study the issue, one element that may make it into law this year would allow people to buy their own health insurance with pre-tax dollars. Another measure sets up an information system to share medical information so consumers can make better choices.

Transportation legislation is another key issue for businesses to watch. The Salt Lake Chamber says Utahns will face a transportation-funding gap by 2015 in excess of $6.8 billion. The chamber is requesting that the legislature close this gap by increasing existing revenues and tapping new sources of revenue. In that regard, the chamber is urging the legislature to approve a two-cent per gallon gas tax increase every year for the next 15 years.

Another bill of interest, HB99, sponsored by Rep. Mark Wheatley, would require anyone conducting business under an assumed name to file a certificate with the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code that identifies the name under which the business is conducted, the full name of the person(s) owning or carrying on the business, and the location of the principal place of business.

Two sister bills before the legislature, HB75 and HB76, both sponsored by Rep. Craig Frank, (which would be merged if passed) would create a 15-member state Government Competition and Privatization Council to field unfair-competition complaints leveled by private enterprises against the state, and compile an inventory of state services that the council believes could be provided by the private sector. The governor would be required to select at least three activities from the list every two years and determine if they should be privatized. The targets: municipal golf courses, recreation centers, swimming pools and ice-skating rinks.

The related HB76 would create seven-member state and local privatization commissions that would include at least four business owners or officers.

Utah Consular Corp
Aids International Business

The latest issue of Global Utah, World Trade Center Utah's newsletter, features a story about the Utah Consular Corps, which rivals those in cities such as the District of Columbia, New York City and Los Angeles in regard to foreign representation, according to Bjorn Ablad, honorary Swedish consul in Salt Lake and first vice president of the Utah Consular Corps. The newsletter also reports that the Governor's Office of Economic Development hopes to use the Sundance Film Festival as a vehicle to attract not only more filmmakers, but more international businesses to the state.

Zions Bank Business Resource Center Announces Sunrise Seminar

When: Thursday, February 28, from 8:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Presenter: Randi Ruff, University of Utah Purchasing Department
Topic: Small Businesses and Contracts with Large Companies and Government Entities
Where: Zions Business Resource Center, 310 South Main Street – Mezzanine South, Salt Lake City
To R.S.V.P. for this FREE seminar, call 594-8245 by Wednesday, February 27. Refreshments served. Parking validation available.