A new law gives small-business owners the chance to speak up if they think a state regulation is hurting their business and requires state agencies to consider the impact on small business before final regulations are issued.

Gov. Mark Sanford signed the state Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act last May. The bill establishes a regulatory committee to act as a watchdog, sniffing out regulations that could affect small business adversely. The measure went into effect Jan. 1.

The law gives small businesses the legal authority to challenge regulations coming out of state agencies before they are considered by the General Assembly.

"This bill is all about making life easier for our state's small businesses, which is a big step forward in stimulating job creation and economic growth in South Carolina," Sanford said when the bill was signed.

The Small Business Regulatory Review Committee is charged with looking out for the state's small businesses. Part of the state Department of Commerce, the committee is responsible for scanning all regulations submitted to the General Assembly for how they might affect small business.

The committee's 11 members must represent a variety of small businesses in the state, the law states. Five members are appointed by the governor, three are appointed by the Senate president pro tem and three are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The bill requires the committee to be in place by March 1.

According to the law, before a state agency submits to the General Assembly any regulation that might affect small businesses adversely, it first must submit, at the request of the Regulatory Review Committee, a cost-benefit analysis.

The report should provide an estimate of the number of small businesses in the state that would be affected by the proposed regulation, an economic-impact statement and a proposal of less intrusive or less costly alternatives for achieving the purpose of the proposed regulation.

If the committee concludes the proposed regulations will affect small business adversely, it can request that the regulations be revised. If the agency determines the regulation should not be changed, the committee can recommend that the agency amend or repeal the regulation.

If the agency still doesn't agree, the committee can send a report to House and Senate leaders.

Within the next five years, each state department must review its regulations to determine the economic impact of regulations on small businesses, the law states.

As a first step in that process, the state Department of Revenue is asking small-business owners who think particular Revenue Department regulations are causing unnecessary hardship on business activities to contact the department with their comments.

The department is reviewing its regulations, said Danny Brazell, Revenue Department spokesman in Columbia, and businesses have until Sept. 1 to voice their concerns. The agency can rescind a regulation or amend it to reduce the burden it places on small business, he said.

The new law does not require departments to canvass the public when conducting reviews.

"If the agency determines that a regulation places an undue economic hardship on a small business owner," Brazell said, "corrective action is to be taken to reduce that impact."