Governor Deval Patrick unveils plans to overhaul regulations that hinder small business growth

Governor Deval Patrick today announced that the government has taken steps to eliminate or revise approximately 150 regulations that state agencies have identified as barriers to the growth of small businesses.

Patrick also announced that he has named April Anderson Lamoureux as the contact point for anybody from any industry who has ideas on how to reduce such barriers. Anderson Lamoureux is the assistant undersecretary for economic development in the Office of Housing and Economic Development.

In a speech this afternoon to The Alliance for Business Leadership, a business group formally known as the Progressive Business Leaders Network, Patrick outlined a plan to review all regulations that have been law for 12 or more years. Patrick said he expects to review 1,000 regulations by the end of the year.

“All business is burdened when regulations are unnecessary and complex, especially small businesses,’’ he said.

As of today, 41 regulations are being taken off the books starting today, and another 107 are targeted for updating, she said.

Among the regulations being jettisoned is one that requires commercial sea bass fishermen to report catch totals at the end of each year. The yearly reporting rule is being discarded as unnecessary, Anderson Lamoureux said in an interview.

Department of Public Health rules for food manufacturing are also on the list for a red tape makeover. Currently, the department requires food businesses to follow 10 different sanitation regulations for 10 different types of food.

Now the administration wants to create just one regulation that will lay out good manufacturing practices for food production, said Anderson Lamoureux. With input from food manufacturers, the updated rules should be in place within six months, she said.

“These are just things that make sense,’’ Anderson Lamoureux said.

Going forward, the administration will continue to review existing regulations, but will also require state officials to show how proposed regulations will impact small businesses. The state will require the addition of a “statement of small business impact’’ for each new rule, she said.

“The idea is to make Massachusetts a little more business-friendly,’’ Anderson Lamoureux said. “So that is exactly what we are doing here.’’

The regulatory overhaul was ordered in October by Patrick.

The administration is also looking to:

— Streamline 17 land use permitting rules with an eye toward “eliminating unnecessary inspection and duplicative reporting.’’

— Change hair salon licensing rules to eliminate antiquated sanitary requirements and to allow change of ownership without disrupting business operations, changes that could impact 9,000 businesses statewide.

— Allow funeral home directors to hire part-time apprentices, instead of being limited to full-time apprentices, a change that could benefit 651 small businesses.