Hawai'i's reputation as a being unfriendly to small businesses continues, with the state ranking in the bottom 10 in the annual "Small Business Survival Index" put out by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

The SBE Council said Hawai'i was the 41st worst state based on public policy climates for small business and entrepreneurs.

That was a slight improvement from 2007, when the state was ranked 42nd, and from 2003 when Hawai'i was mired in the 48th spot.

In terms of their policy environments, the most entrepreneur-friendly states under the "Small Business Survival Index 2008" are: 1) South Dakota, 2) Nevada, 3) Wyoming, 4) Florida, 5) Washington, 6) Texas, 7) South Carolina, 8) Alabama, 9) Virginia, and 10) Colorado.

The more difficult state policy environments for entrepreneurs include: 40) West Virginia, 41) Hawai'i, 42) Iowa, 43) Vermont, 44) Massachusetts, 45) New York, 46) Minnesota, 47) Rhode Island, 48) Maine, 49) California, 50) New Jersey and 51) District of Columbia.

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy group that ranks states according to taxes, regulations, spending and other governmental policies that affect small businesses.