Albany, NY – As Chair of the Assembly Small Business Committee, Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon
(D-119) is proud to announce the New York State Assembly has voted unanimously to advance Bill A.11046,
legislation introduced by Assemblywoman Buttenschon which will require the New York State Division for Small
Business to compile and publish, in layman terms, an annual small business compliance guide cataloging the
statutory and regulatory changes enacted each year.
The legislation is designed to ease the burden of regulatory compliance on New York’s small business owners by
requiring the State Division for Small Business to publish a comprehensive plain-language compliance guide each
year by January 31st, cataloging in one single easy-to-read document all statutory and regulatory changes of the
prior year. The guide will also be accompanied by a public awareness campaign, ensuring small business owners
are aware of the new resource and how/where to access it.
“For our small businesses, who are the lifeblood of our local economies and communities, keeping up
with the shifting laws and regulatory changes each year can be an enormous burden,” said
Assemblywoman Buttenschon. “As Chair of the Assembly Committee on Small Business, I hear from
owners across the Mohawk Valley that are struggling to juggle the arduous task of maintaining
changing compliance statutes while running their operations, and as a small business owner myself, I
too can attest. This legislation will save our small business owners much needed time and energy by
providing them with a single, clear, accessible, plainly worded resource they can use to ensure their
annual compliance, allowing them to get back to what they do best: running their business and serving
our neighbors.”
Key provisions of the new law include:
● Requiring the Division for Small Business to compile and publish a small business compliance guide by
January 31 of each year, in consultation with relevant state agencies, cataloging statutory and regulatory
changes from the prior calendar year in plain and commonly understood terms.
● Requiring the guide to include information on permits, licenses, taxes, insurance, workplace safety,
workers’ compensation, wages, hours, and benefits, along with appropriate contact information for relevant
state agencies.
● Directing the Commissioner of Economic Development to conduct an annual public awareness campaign
utilizing public forums, social media, and mass media to inform small business owners about the guide and
available compliance resources, in coordination with statewide and regional business advocacy
organizations.
● Requiring the annual guide to be published in the State Register and posted to the Division for Small
Business’s website.
Under current law, the State is not statutorily required to create or publish a small business compliance guide
informing business owners of relevant statutory and regulatory changes, and as a result, our small business owners
are forced to track-down and navigate a complex patchwork of local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations
located across numerous publications and online resources, and that are often published in overly technical
language. This bill tackles this patchwork head-on by consolidating all relevant state statutory and regulatory
changes into a single annual resource designed to be easily understood, and which provides all necessary contact
information for the appropriate agencies of regulatory jurisdiction.
“No small business owner should lose sleep wondering if they’ve missed a new rule buried in the State
Register,” Assemblywoman Buttenschon added. “This guide will level the playing field and make
compliance simpler for every entrepreneur in New York.”
The legislation received unanimous support in both the Assembly and the Senate, and now awaits delivery to the
Governor’s Office for enactment.
####
About Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon
Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon proudly represents New York’s 119th Assembly District, encompassing
the cities of Utica and Rome as well as the Towns of Floyd, Deerfield, Marcy, and Whitestown. From a lifelong
educator and former Dean of Public Service and Emergency Preparedness at Mohawk Valley Community College,
to a small family farm owner, Buttenschon brings decades of experience advocating for equity, access, and
opportunity across public health, education, agriculture, and emergency services. In the Assembly, she serves as
Chair of the Committee on Small Business and as a member of the Agriculture, Education, Higher Education, and
Veterans’ Affairs Committees, where she champions bipartisan solutions to improve quality of life. Her work
reflects a steadfast commitment to ensuring that every family in her district and beyond can live with dignity,
support, and a voice in their future.
-####-
