State hears small-business comments

It was the second-ever public hearing of the Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board, held at Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

“What we are looking for is a change in the way state agencies and small businesses deal with each other,” said Scott George, the board’s chair and owner of Mid-America Dental and Hearing. “We are in an adversarial relationship, but we’re (also) in a cooperative relationship.”

At the hearing Monday, Roberta Johnson of Country Side Greenhouse in Ash Grove spoke of her yearlong exchange with the Missouri Department of Transportation about a sign she had along Interstate 44 that promoted her business. She was told to move the sign to another area, but, after doing so, was told it was still placed illegally.

Johnson complained about the lack of due process with MoDOT and said she was told by a MoDOT representative that she could request a hearing but was unlikely to win her case. After months of attempts to work the situation out, she was able to reach a resolution with the department by placing her sign along an off-ramp of the highway.

“We recognize at this point that yes, we do need to take some proactive measures to avoid things of this nature from happening to anyone,” said Brenda Treadwell-Martin, MoDOT’s equal opportunity director, in response, noting that there are measures under way to post regulations on the MoDOT Web site and explore other avenues of communicating with small businesses.

Johnson was one of three small-business representatives to testify. Nancy Good of JCT Title Services in Joplin and Russ Henry of IdentiPro LLC in Kansas City also spoke.

Good testified about ambiguity in determining which of her employees must be licensed – an issue Department of Insurance Deputy Director Doug Ommen said his department is working to improve.

The board was created last year to look at the impact on small businesses when state regulations are created and enforced. The board holds public hearings in areas of the state where small businesses have submitted comments about their experiences with various state agencies.

To submit comments to the board, visit www.sbrfb.ded.mo.gov, send e-mail to sbrfb@ded.mo.gov or call (866) 719-1401.