Governor Mark Sanford signed a new law Tuesday aimed at helping ease the burden of starting and running a small business. The "Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act of 2004" requires state agencies to review their current regulations to see if they're still necessary. If they are, the agencies are to look to see if they could be more narrowly drawn.

And, state agencies couldn't pass any new rules and regulations until they first do a cost/benefit analysis, looking for how the regulations would impact small businesses.

"This bill is 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," Gov. Sanford said.

The new law is similar to the federal Regulatory Flexibility Act. Patrick Gartland, Southeast Regional Advocate for the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, says federal regulations were killing small business.

He says for any business with fewer than 200 employees, it cost $7,000 per employee per year to adhere to federal regulations. Since the regulatory relief law was passed, he says small businesses have saved over $31 billion in the last three years.