(announcer) (announcer) >>from the nation's capitol, "eye on washington with marilee joyce." a weekly discussion about the federal issues most important to nevada. and now, from washington, d.c., here's marilee joyce. >> and good day to you, i'm marilee joyce.

washington." it's the only statewide nevada news program produced in washington, d.c. every week, "eye on washington" takes you straight to capitol hill for a discussion with nevada's delegation and other leaders about the federal matters that matter to you. today's topic, there is nothing small about small business. we're going to look at its importance to nevada's and this nation's economy. and my special guests today are jill lagan, the president and ceo of the boulder city chamber of commerce, and mr. tray abney, the director of chamber of reno-sparks and northern nevada. thanks both of you for being here today. >> thank you. >> thank you. it's my pleasure. >> well, if the economy is a body, small business is its spine. and today on "eye on washington," we're going to discuss the importance of small business. we'll tell you the top concerns of my guests and their small business members. and we'll look at delegation efforts on small business. now, we have all heard the phrase "small business is the

but what does that really mean? well, according to a december 2014 report in "inc" magazine, based mostly on the 2010 census, almost half the nation's private sector workforce is employed by small business. that's 120 million people. since 1995, it has created two out of every three or 64% of net new jobs in our country, and 42.9% of u.s. payroll dollars. small business is a leader in and other new products. consider this. many small businesses become big businesses. home-based non-employing businesses become small businesses. small businesses become big businesses. and small businesses drive a ton of consumer spending into the economy, not to mention income tax dollars into the government's budget. well, i want to welcome both of you to "eye on washington." ms. lagan, let's start with

you know, the author of that "inc" article says this. he says, quote, one could argue that the american small business economy is the american economy. do you agree that small business is where the u.s. and nevada's economy begin? >> i do. i truly agree with that. i think that they are really the front lines to rebuilding the economy and continuing to build the economy. i know that many of our small businesses in our community are really the center focus, not only commerce, but also for our local government. they do understand that there are some concerns that they have, and they want to help them be the best they can. >> you know, mr. abney, regarding small businesses becoming big businesses, you know, some hopeful words to our home-based entrepreneurs in the reno-sparks area and, of course, in southern nevada and in our rural communities as well. consider apple computer started in a garage. facebook started in a dorm room. isn't that right?

>> sam walton's five-and-dime store in northwest arkansas, right, became walmart. and so i think a lot of small business owners have those dreams of becoming a bigger business owner and becoming an employer and employing people and providing payrolls. and really it ends up being a symbiotic relationship, right? all of your big business employees are going to need small businesses to shop at, to go eat at, you know, to play with their family at. and then those small business employers need those big businesses to hire the people to come in and be their customers. and so it works. it's not good or bad. we know that small businesses are leading as far as hiring goes in this country. you know, they hire more people year after year. you know we talk a lot about the teslas and the switches of the world, and those are very important certainly to the nevada economy. but small business again is the backbone there. so we need those folks. the vast majority of our membership certainly are small businesses. >> sure. >> and they don't need -- you know, a chamber of commerce is interesting because we've got folks and we've got every size business

but the big businesses don't necessarily need a lot of our help when it comes to lobbying, which is what i do in representing them in front of the legislature and city councils. but the small business folks, they don't have time to sit in carson city for 120 days every other year. they don't have time to sit in front of the reno city council all day long. so that's why a chamber of commerce can help them do that and provide a collective voice for those folks. >> ms. lagan, you know, in nevada, where as you both know where the recession hit the hardest -- definitely no one needs to remind us of that. as we continue to emerge out of the great recession, what have you seen over of these years? and especially lately regarding job creation among your members. >> so we have actually seen quite a bit of expansion and a lot of that coming from the tourism industry. we happen to be the kind of epicenter for tourism in boulder city. so in a lot of different sectors, you do see some expansion. you do see some growth.

that enthusiasm, of course, lends to more creation, more expansion and other sideline businesses because of that. much like tray had said in the workforce situation, one new company may require some other services or a potential education program. and so we are really seeing a lot of that kind of spear and that excitement kind of create that larger population and a larger business growth. >> excellent. you know, we don't have a lot of time left in this, but i do we mentioned that census report said 43% of all payroll dollars come from small businesses. i'm sure your chamber members know, as you are excited about, that means they are paying northern nevadans who then they go into the community and they benefit the community and even the whole state at times. how crucial is that strong small business sector to the region and the overall state economy? >> well, extremely. because they are going to be the ones employing most of the

but small business as a whole are going to be employing most of the people. those are the community-based people. they are the ones that give to the little leagues and to the hockey games and all that stuff, so they are very important. >> spreads it all over the place. >> absolutely. >> excellent. when we return, your top small business concerns. we are going to talk about it just ahead. (announcer) >>you're watching "eye on washington with marilee joyce."

>> and welcome back to "eye on washington" and our discussion of the importance of small business to the nevada economy. we have been visiting with ms. jill lagan, the president and ceo of the boulder city chamber and mr. tray abney, the director of government affairs for the chamber of reno-sparks and northern nevada. so you have done it, you entrepreneur, you. you have started a business or you have been a business owner for years. either way, all is rosy. your future is bright, correct? wait. did i hear a no? i might have. a new capital one survey shows business owners are concerned about the economy. the poll of 401 for-profit small businesses found high taxes, regulations, the presidential elections and low labor participation may be tempering small business owners' confidence about current economic conditions. and they are reconsidering plans for investment of growth. here's a couple of key

9% drop in the percentage of business owners who see conditions as good or excellent compared to one year ago. fewer businesses are planning to hire. that's 26% versus 32% last year. the survey says business owners are most concerned about the potential impacts the election may have on their business with top concerns being tax policy on small business at 29%, importance placed on economic growth at costs at 17%. so, mr. abney, we can't read the full report. it's long. but a concerning thing is that fewer businesses are planning to hire in the near-term. more are, you know, looking at the part-time employees, contractors or they are investing less in employee benefits. what are you seeing regarding hiring and other concerns in northern nevada? >> well, i think we are a little bit different. i mean i won't quibble with

but we are in such a growth mode right now, again due tesla. >> right. >> and a bunch of other companies moving here. >> and the whole emergence from the recession. >> emerging from the recession and our economy is diversifying rapidly away from that gaming centric and tourism centric and building construction concentric economy. so we are really seeing people that need to hire, but they are not able to find the workforce. i mean we have kind of picked off -- our unemployment rate has dropped and we have kind of picked off the low-hanging fruit, if you will. now they need a qualified workforce and educated workforce for folks to come in there. so i think that's one concern. >> and neither problem is great, is it? >> not enough jobs. >> not at all. they do have a concern about healthcare costs. i probably hear about that more than i do taxes, fees and regulations and all that, although those are all important. >> sure. >> i probably hear about healthcare costs more than anything. >> what's the top concern or complaint or need as far as healthcare? >> it's being able to provide healthcare to their employees. it just gets more and more expensive. most employers want to do that for their employees. and they know in order to get good employees, they are going to have to offer those benefits. but it's becoming almost out of reach for a lot of these

going up. >> does that make it more difficult to hire? >> absolutely. >> or does that curtail the number they can hire? >> it curtails and it takes away investment. they can't invest in other areas of their business because they are paying so much for healthcare costs. >> what about the southern nevada economy, ms. lagan? >> you know, i think we are really watching the minimum wage and also the overtime regulation. those two things are key to our local numbers. it's really kind of the unknown. they are not sure, you know. the healthcare situation, there were so many unknowns. progress. they weren't sure if they should expand or not because it was of the unknown. they did not know what was going to be in the future based on the regulation. and so that was very concerning to them. just what the chamber was trying to provide them was the education so that they could stay on top of that. and i do know that that probably is the biggest hindrance and one of the biggest concerns we have. >> mr. abney, you know, that survey says that women and younger business owners are the most optimistic with half

will remain stable in the next six months. 44% say their business will be doing better in the next six months. what does the chamber see regarding women and younger -- >> well, i think that's right. certainly, with the younger small businesses, you know, when you're just starting out, i think you are optimistic. i mean you wouldn't be starting a business if you weren't optimistic. >> big dream. >> so they have got big dreams for the future. and they may have lower costs. they don't have legacy healthcare costs or legacy labor union costs or, you know, all these legacy costs that build up over time as your business grows. so i think they see a big opportunity there moving forward. and they tend to be less ideological about things and they are not following i don't think d.c. as much, although they should. you know, they should follow what's going on here. but they tend to be less rigged in their political views as well. >> quickly, ms. lagan, the percentage of small business owners offering 401 plans has declined nearly 50% since the fourth quarter of 2014. what do benefits or lack thereof mean both to the employer's bottom line and to the workers not getting them? >> you know, that kind of speaks to the same thing in

but also because of the concerns of what their future might hold and if they have got the funding to be able to pay for some of those benefits and those services, i think that is kind of one of the keys. we are worried about that workforce. we are worried about the benefit. we are worried about what the future looks like in the regulatory area. >> and when we return, the nevada congressional delegation on small business, we'll talk about legislation

>> and welcome back to "eye on washington." our discussion of the importance of small business to the nevada economy and some of the top concerns of these entrepreneurs. we have been visiting today with ms. jill lagan, the president and ceo of the boulder city chamber of commerce, and mr. tray abney,

reno-sparks and northern nevada. from legislation to a wealth of internet resources, to town halls and more, let's look now on what our delegation is doing regarding small business. examples of legislation. senator dean heller has a bill in this congress called the veterans small business opportunity and protection act. it would help the spouses and dependents of veteran-owned small businesses after service members pass away from a disability or in the line of duty. a look at business hel hearings, congressman cresent hardy who arguably is the most active in small business members, given both his position on the house small business economy and his own long background as a nevada business owner himself, well, he conducted a federal hearing in north las vegas in november on how new regulations are affecting and possibly harming small business.

vital role in the economy by spurring innovation, job creation and competition. i will continue to support small businesses because the economic recovery of nevada and of our nation depends on their success." and, of course, all the delegations have a wealth of small business resources on their sites. and just all types of assistance from all types of agencies. so if you are in need of help, you are encouraged to go to their websites and see what help is there for you and your ms. lagan, congressman hardy is the chairman of the house small business committee of investigations, oversight and regulations. and at the time of that hearing last november, he said that in 2014 alone, federal regulators issued 2400 new rules affecting small businesses. and he said they can have, quote -- that they have negatively impacted the business community with

what do you say to that? >> i 100% agree. 2400? how does anybody even stay on top of that? this is exactly the concern that we have. and on top of what's happening on washington and what's happening on the hill, you also have what's happening internally in those local and state communities. and so i know personally in boulder city, our residents just had a 34 -- and commercial had a 34% increase of their utility rates. that's what's happening locally. they are worrying about that locally. and then to have to worry about what's happening on a federal business. >> mr. abney, when i interviewed congressman hardy about that, he said that a lot of small business owners in nevada didn't even know what they didn't know. and then they were getting fined for it, for instance. >> well, i mean how are they supposed to keep up with 2400 year after year after year? i mean the fact that we have unelected bureaucrats in this town come out with these things, and then nobody knows what they are doing is a problem. but it starts with congress and the president. remember, they write bills to

congressman hardy and others, they need to get their arms around this thing and write bills that won't allow this to happen in the first place. >> what are some comments about federal regulations getting just sort of -- the regulations and paperwork getting out of control? what are you hearing among your members? >> well, i mean jill mentioned this earlier, this daily overtime or the overtime rule. >> overtime rule. >> from the department of labor raising the threshold by which you have to pay your employees overtime. that's going to affect a lot of people. and not just negatively impact the employers, but the employees. you know they will just make them -- you know, they'll just make them salaried employees and take care of it that way. but that's something that has a real up-front cost right now this year to our members. and it's very concerning. >> you know, mr. abney, i was researching on your chamber site and i saw the political action section that encourages involvement in the political process. we're almost out of time this segment, but i'll ask you both. i'm a little small business owner. how can what i do here --

etc. from our delegation and have some impact politically? >> so civic engagement is so key in our communities. and it also allows those elected officials to understand where we are coming from. this is our opportunity to make sure the people we elected understand what our needs are. >> mr. abney. >> well, absolutely. it allows them -- again, that's what a chamber of commerce is for. it's a collective voice. one small business owner doesn't think their voice is that loud. but if you have 100, 200, 1,000, it makes a much bigger dien important. >> great, thanks. just ahead, my guests' final thoughts on top small business concerns and what needs to happen on capitol hill to meet them. let's find out right after

>> and we are back with our closing segment of today's "eye on washington." ms. lagan, what is the top thing you think congress has to do to meet the needs of small business? >> i'd like to see them take care of protecting the workplace advancement and opportunity act. it's important for them to analyze a little more what exactly the impacts will be on small business and non-profits in our own communities and how

>> mr. abney, there is also the other side. what do you want to see congress do less of? >> well, we already talked about regulations. but how about, beyond that, they can do less of creating special tax breaks, tax deals. we need to simplify our tax code and they keep making it more and more difficult. i'd like to see them stop doing that. >> you know, you mentioned, mr. abney, in our second segment the big, big thing being healthcare. what are some of the big concerns you are hearing about healthcare? >> well, it's the fact that the costs keep going out of control and it's harder and harder to provide healthcare coverage for employees. >> was that also southern nevada's top? >> it is that and just simple regulation that we don't understand, can't figure it out, aren't aware of it. at 2400, how do you stay on top of that? and that's every year. >> okay. thanks, both of you, for being here today. we can do another show with the two of you on. you're a good team on the importance of small business. >> thank you very much.

back home appreciated it today. that is it for this edition of "eye on washington" with marilee joyce. but we are always here for you providing the latest news from the hill that nevadans need to know. you can just go to our website joycecommunications.com. check out all the federal issues that impact nevada while you're there. you can "like" us on facebook, you can "follow" me on twitter. and you can watch any shows you may have missed on our youtube page. thanks again for joining us on "eye on washington." i am marilee joyce in

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