Who: Washington Policy Center's Small Business Project

What: Release of "Reviving Washington's Small Business Climate: Policy Recommendations from the 2005 Small Business Conferences"

Where: Senate Rules Room, 2nd Floor of Legislative Building, Olympia

When: 1:00 pm, Today, January 18

Olympia - Washington Policy Center will release its new study "Reviving Washington's Small Business Climate: Policy Recommendations from the 2005 Small Business Conferences" in Olympia today, January 18. The press conference will include the following legislative leaders:

• Rep. Richard DeBolt, Minority Leader
• Rep. Maralyn Chase, Member of the Economic Development, Agriculture and Trade Committee
• Sen. Linda Evans Parlette, Republican Deputy Leader

Rep. Lynn Kessler, House Majority Leader, cannot attend the press conference but had this to say on the new study, "As a small business owner and manager I wholeheartedly support your efforts on behalf of the small businesses in our state. I wish that I were able to attend today buy my schedule is such that I will not be able to join you. There are several items on your report that I would be happy to support."

This is the follow-up study to the Small Business Conferences held last fall in the Tri-Cities and in SeaTac where Governor Gregoire made her announcement to forgo workers' comp increases for 2006.

Small business owners were asked to identify their policy recommendations in critical areas such as health insurance, transportation, workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, taxes, regulations, tort reform and water and energy, and this study is a compilation of the top recommendations. Many of these recommendations are already included in bills for the 2006 Session. In 2004, as a result of the report compiled after the 2003 Small Business Conference, five pieces of legislation directly reflecting Conference recommendations were signed into law.