The Center for Effective Government recently published a report criticizing the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration for catering to the anti-regulatory agenda of Big Business rather than representing the unique interests of small business. Among other issues raised in our report was a concern that the environmental roundtables held by the Office of Advocacy were too one-sided – with the presentations at the roundtables dominated by opponents of regulation. 

So we were pleasantly surprised to learn that last week’s environmental roundtable included a presentation by a representative of the American Sustainable Business Council on the potential market opportunities presented to small business by California’s proposed Safer Consumer Products Regulation. This is an important first step toward in getting the Office of Advocacy to see that regulation can have benefits for small business, not just costs.