Small-business advisory board to debut

Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed into law a bill that creates a Connecticut Small Business Advisory Board, along with other changes in state law intended to help small businesses thrive and create new jobs.

“It is imperative that we do everything in our power to keep existing employers moving forward and to provide the resources, know-how and tools that will enable startup ventures to succeed,” Rell said in a statement. “This bill creates an advisory council of business leaders ”“ real, front-line veterans ”“ to tell the state exactly where we are helping and where we are letting them down.”

The bill also re-establishes a single point of contact within state government for small businesses, a position previously held by recent U.S. Senate candidate Rob Simmons before his post as state business advocate was eliminated.
The Department of Economic and Community Development will also establish a website with links to all the small-business resources available for Connecticut companies.

DECD Commissioner Joan McDonald is a member of the panel and is responsible for appointing members of the Small Business Advisory Board, which must include representatives from:

Ӣ a manufacturing association;
Ӣ a business association;
Ӣ a chamber of commerce;
Ӣ an economic development entity;
Ӣ the Connecticut Economic Resource Center; and
Ӣ the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology.