A state review panel has launched a new program that should help small business owners who feel they don't receive adequate notice when the government implements or amends rules and regulations that affect businesses.

The "RegAlert" program was unveiled by the state Small Business Regulatory Review Board at its monthly meeting yesterday. The board is responsible for evaluating rules that could affect small businesses before they are implemented.

Small business owners have complained that many rules are put in place without their knowledge, leading to confusion and often a lack of compliance. To address this problem, the review panel developed the RegAlert system to notify the small business community of proposed rule changes.

Lynne Woods, review board chairwoman, said whenever a state or county agency proposes a rule that could have a significant impact on businesses, the board will send an alert to business organizations. These groups, which include the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and major chambers on each island, will then send the notices to their membership.

"This is an early warning system. The 'Paul Revere of business regulation,' " Woods said.

The alerts will contain basic information about the rule, a link to the rule or regulation, and a link to the board's Web site, where businesses can leave comments. These comments will be reviewed by the board and be sent to the proposing agency for review.

"It will give the departments a much better opportunity to understand what's going on out there in the business world," Woods said. "In a lot of rule writing, if you haven't owned a business or you're not running a small business, you don't understand the impact, so having this review is a great time for them to begin to understand the impact."

Based on the comments, the board can ask the governor to hold off on sending the rule change to a public hearing until the concerns are addressed, she said.

The board does not have the authority to strike down proposed rules and regulations.