SEN. BOND LEADS EFFORT TO REFORM FEDERAL AGENCIES

Small businesses can expect fewer regulations and more understanding from the federal government soon, Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond said Saturday.

The senator stopped in Cape Girardeau to speak with area business leaders about their concerns with the Internal Revenue Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal regulators.

Bond is chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business.

The Senate unanimously passed Bond's Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fair Act Tuesday, which forces federal agencies, like the EPA, to consider the impact of their regulations on small business.

The bill also requires the agencies to prove easy-to-understand compliance guidelines on federal regulations, sets up an independent ombudsman program to ensure regulation enforcers are fair and allows businesses to collect legal fees when cleared of fines or penalties.

Bond said House leaders are optimistic the bill will pass the Senate, and Clinton Administration officials indicate the president will sign it into law.

"The law had no teeth before," Bond said. "Federal agencies thumbed their noses at small businesses when owners said, `You didn't consider how this would affect my business!' Now we've put judicial enforcement in."

If the bill becomes law, regulatory agencies will have to send their new rules to Congress for a 45-day review before they may be passed.

Bond also urged support of the Independent Contractor Tax Simplification Act, which he introduced March 13 to help define what an independent contractor is. The current system has a 20-point checklist to determine if someone is an independent contractor or an employee, but Bond said some business owners' confusion has led to problems with the IRS.

IRS auditors may say a person wasn't an independent contractor and the business owners should have held out taxes.

Following the meeting, financial adviser Steve Elefson of Jackson said he supported Bond's legislation defining an independent contractor. He has encountered confusion working as one.

"The way the law is written now, an IRS agent can come in, go through the checklist and decide you aren't an independent contractor," Elefson said. "It's too complicated, too subjective and it wreaks havoc with a person's business."

Bill Beyder, territory manager for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said his organization supported Bond in pushing regulatory reform.

"I talk to 2,000 small business owners a year," Beyder said. "They know they need regulations, but micromanagement is killing them."