WICHITA — Government regulation is costing businesses valuable time and opportunities and denying state and local government millions in tax revenue from business activity and development, according to business leaders speaking at the “Drowning in Regulation” tour stop in Wichita Wednesday.

Gary Oborny, Chairman and CEO of Occidental Management, a real estate development company in Wichita, explained how water quality regulations mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stifle development, add to urban sprawl and don’t materially affect water quality.

Oborny said the regulations are costing Sedgwick County $3.5 to $4 million in property tax revenue each year from land set aside for runoff retention ponds required by the regulations. State Senator Julia Lynn, R-Olathe, asked Oborny what the cost is in lost opportunity.

“Right now there are three or four developments that would like to move forward, but because of the implementation, no one wants to move forward,” Oborny said. “You give up all your legal rights to the water quality retention areas but you still have to accept all the liability. We’ve got two right now that we’re ready to put shovels in the ground, but we’re not moving forward until we get this all figured out.”

Oborny said when business leaders met with government officials about the regulations they were told to simply put the program in place and reevaluate it in eight years.

Sedgwick County Commissioner Richard Ranzau said state and local government officials need to change their attitude on how to deal with the federal government. “Our hands are tied by the federal government because we allow them to be. At some point we need to stand up and say no.”

Ranzau said state and local government officials should take the weight off of business by pushing back against federal regulatory intrusion.

Tim Witsman, president of the Wichita Independent Business Association, said some of WIBA’s members fear retribution if they speak out against government regulations. “That’s part of the difficulty of uncovering where all the problems are. The consequences for them could be to destroy their businesses.”

Gary Mason, CEO of ISI Environmental Services in Wichita, told KansasWatchdog after the meeting that some of his clients do worry about retribution and prefer that his company be out front seeking regulatory reform.

Christy Vasconcellos, human resources director for Pioneer Balloon, told the panel of legislators that when she fires an employee for not showing up for work the Kansas Department of Labor tells her, “Well, they didn’t do anything bad, so they get their unemployment.”

Rep. Gene Suellentrop, R-Wichita, helped organize the listening tour after serving on the Commerce and Economic Development Committee and hearing about problems with over regulation. “We thought we needed to get out to the public and ask them what their issues were.”

Legislators on the tour include Senate Commerce Committee Chair Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, Vice Chair Lynn and ranking minority member Sen. Tom Holland, who participated by phone. House Commerce and Economic Development Committee Chair Rep. Anthony Brown, R-Eudora, and Vice Chair Suellentrop also participated in the forum held at Pioneer Balloon’s headquarters in Wichita.

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce, Kansas Society for Human Resource Management, the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce sponsored the listening tour as an opportunity for their members to speak out about unnecessary or burdensome regulations and laws.

The tour is coordinated with the statewide tour by the Secretary of Administration Dennis Taylor. Taylor is also the state’s first Repealer. Governor Sam Brownback created the Office of the Repealer and appointed Taylor to lead its efforts to reduce government intrusion on the people and economy of Kansas

Some of Taylor’s discoveries are humorous in spite of their negative impact on the people and economy of Kansas.

Bill Rowe, owner of Blue Moon Caterers in Wichita, explained that when his company plans to sell alcohol at a catered event they have to send paperwork, complete with a map, to the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control and local police, “So that they know somebody’s drinking.”

Rowe said the first time they do an event with alcohol in a town they get calls from police asking, “What the hell is this?”

“This is a huge amount of work trying to look for a problem that doesn’t exist,” Rowe said.

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Related:

Repealer Dennis Taylor Explains Effort to Reduce State Government Intrusion

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Video:Gary Oborney on water quality regulation

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Video:Drowning in Regulation

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Video:Interviews