HONOLULU – The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) Small Business Regulatory Review Board (SBRRB) has announced its officers for fiscal year 2021 to 2022.

  • Robert Cundiff, chair (O‘ahu) – Mr. Cundiff has been a board member since 2015 and the SBRRB chair for the past two years. He is a principal of Lokama Group, a business/management consulting service.
  • Mary Albitz, vice-chair (Maui) – A member since 2018, Ms. Albitz is the owner of Island Art Party, a paint and sip studio located in Kihei.
  • Jonathan Shick, second vice-chair (O‘ahu) – Mr. Shick works for Pono Consulting Group LLC and has been an SBRRB since 2019.

Other board members are Nancy Atmospera-Walch (O‘ahu), Garth Yamanaka (Hawai‘i), James (Kimo) Lee (Hawai‘i), Will Lydgate (Kaua‘i) and Taryn Rodighiero (Kaua‘i).

“The SBRRB oversees the more than 105,000 small businesses in Hawai‘i for rules and regulations promulgated by state and county agencies. I believe that the SBRRB is very committed to improving the regulatory climate in the state for the benefit of small businesses. We appreciate the board members for giving their time and expertise to this program,” said DBEDT Director, Mike McCartney.

“The SBRRB is “open for business” and continues to meet monthly via electronic means,” stated SBRRB Administrator, Dori Palcovich.  We encourage those small businesses that may have specific regulatory concerns with Hawai‘i Administrative Rules to join the meetings on https://zoom.us/j/3082191379.

About the Board:

The SBRRB was established on July 1, 1998 with the passage of the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act. The responsibilities of the SBRRB include:

  1. Commentary on small business impact statements to the rule-drafting agencies.
  2. Identification and commentary on business impact of existing administrative rules.
  3. Recommendations to the Governor’s Office, State Agencies or the Legislature for the need for an administrative rule or legislative change.
  4. Recommendations to the Mayors or County Councils regarding County rules; and
  5. Review of small business petitions and complaints on business impact.

The SBRRB is comprised of ten (10) volunteer members who are current or former owners or officers of businesses from across the state, and the Director of DBEDT or the Director’s designated representative, who serves as an “ex officio” member. Three members are appointed by Senate President, three members by Speaker of the House, two members by the SBRRB, and two appointed by the Governor.

Further, the appointments reflect a representation of a variety of businesses in the state with no more than two members from the same type of business and at least one representative from each county.