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Small Business owners in Florida say federal regulations are keeping their businesses from growing. The National Federation of Independent Businesses is rallying its members to speak out about the red tape they face when trying to create jobs. As Whitney Ray tells us, a coalition of 200 Florida business owners is forming to take on the regulations.

For nearly 40 years Jay Lunts has been in the window business. He employs 20 people and says his business would grow if it weren’t for new federal regulations.

“It’s kind of like death by a thousand bites; it’s a fee here, a fee there,” said Lunts.

Jay’s workers specialize in replacing windows, but because of new regulations now they have to learn how to test for lead paint, and it’s raising the cost of business.

In April of 2010, federal law began requiring all contractors to be certified in how to spot and remove lead paint. The certification costs 300 dollars plus extra charges involved with equipment and disposal.

“What value to our windows does another EPA fee bring? That’s the question. Do they make what we sell better or do they just add cost,” said Lunts.

But not all regulations are bad. A lack of regulations on mortgage companies helped spur the housing collapse that lead to the Great Recession. Brad Ashwell, with Florida Public Interest Research Group says many of the rules protect customers.

“Regulations typically aren’t meant to benefit or penalize any one party, they are meant to protect the common good,” said Ashwell.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses says its not just current regulations stifling growth. They’ve identified 4-thousand pending rules they say are keeping jobs from being created.

New water standards, health care laws, and Consumer protections are some of the reason the National Federation of Independent Businesses says small business owners are afraid to add jobs. The Federation has joined with the State of Florida in a suit to block the new health care laws.