The Legislature again is considering a measure that would create a Small Business Bill of Rights intended to reduce the regulatory roadblocks that businesses face, and to direct government agencies to be more responsive to the needs of business owners.

A similar bill failed in the 2005 session primarily because of opposition from the Lingle administration, which feared it could lead to lawsuits by business owners who felt their rights had been violated. This session, Rep. Kyle Yamashita, D-12th (Pukalani, Makawao, Olinda), introduced a revised bill that removed the provision on suing the state and instead makes the state ombudsman responsible for investigating and resolving complaints.

HB 2736 passed the House Economic Development and Business Concerns Committee last week and has been referred to the Judiciary and Consumer Protection and Commerce committees for further debate.

"Small business is 98 percent of our economy and a big part of it as far as employment. We'd like to see that they have some support," said Yamashita, a partner in a venture that owns convenience stores on Maui.

He pointed out that the 17 rights in the bill already exist in some form in the Hawai'i Revised Statutes, but that the bill of rights would consolidate them into one law.

"This gives it more teeth," Yamashita said.

The bill is patterned after a bill of rights brochure published last year by the state Small Business Regulatory Review Board, which evaluates rules that could affect small businesses before they are implemented.

Lynne Woods, review board chairwoman and former president of the Maui Chamber of Commerce, said many business owners don't realize that they have certain rights and often are frustrated when they believe they have been unfairly treated by government agencies. Publishing a bill of rights, Woods said, is intended to help them realize they have an avenue for their complaints.

"There was a reason that the board started working on those basic principles of business expectations — because it felt that over the years government certainly did not meet those expectations and businesses sometimes were handled very, very poorly, and in some people's interpretation abused," Woods said. "It became clear to us a couple of years ago that people needed to be reminded of their rights."

Small-business advocacy groups support the measure, and several state agencies have come out in support of the bill's intent.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.