"There is a difference in how a small business exists compared to large businesses," said Bev Harbin, chamber president and a former small-business owner. "We need to be a little more assertive and aggressive in holding lawmakers accountable."

Part of her role, Harbin said, is to educate lawmakers on issues that directly affect small businesses. She contends that companies with fewer than 50 employees aren't benefiting from the potential of today's strengthening economy; instead, they're dealing with rising costs of workers' compensation and healthcare.

The chamber's slogan sums up her goal: "Business Equity and Justice in Hawai'i."

Don Ojiri, president of Obun Hawai'i Group, sees a need to change workers' compensation laws and healthcare insurance requirements, which he said are costing his company a lot of money. He wants employees to share more of the costs — bigger co-payments, for examples.

"There are very big issues for small business," said Ojiri, who supports the new chamber. "Every year it's double-digit increases for workers' comp and health insurance. We have no control."

Workers' comp costs are one of the biggest complaints of Hawai'i employers, who paid more to replace injured workers' lost wages than for medical care in 2002 compared to the previous year, reported the National Academy of Social Insurance.

The report, released in August, found that workers' comp payments in the state rose to $268 million in 2002, a 6.3 percent increase over the previous year. Cash payments for lost wages to workers rose 8.8 percent to $162 million in 2002, compared to spending on medical care, which rose 2.5 percent to $106 million during the same period.

Gov. Linda Lingle was unsuccessful this year in pushing through changes to the system intended to ease the burden on small-business owners faced with rising workers' comp costs.

Only one part of Lingle's plan passed — a proposal allowing those who successfully investigate fraud to share any fines levied and recoup any costs. A second proposal allowing the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to investigate fraud claims passed, but it was altered to only allow examinations of self-insured businesses and insurance companies.

The most significant part of the governor's package — requiring employees to see an employer-approved doctor in the first 120 days after an injury — stalled in committee.

This is where the Employers' Chamber of Commerce could step in and lobby lawmakers, Harbin said.

"We've got one of the worst workers' comp systems in the nation, and we haven't been able to get reform," Harbin said.

"There's no one place that knows enough about the day-to-day goings-on of a business owner and what's impacting their bottom line."

Workers' comp is a pressing issue for Audrey Hidano of Hidano Construction Inc., which employs about a dozen workers.

"It's my sore button," said Hidano, former president of the Building Industry Association. "We really take care of our workers and their families. It's the system and procedures that are out of whack. We don't have enough people watching the process, and things slip through the cracks."

She supports more employer involvement in the system, including requiring injured workers to visit an employer-approved physician — not because she doesn't trust her employees; she wants them to get the right help, right away.

"All we want is the worker to be well and come back to work," she said. "They're our greatest asset."

Those in the construction industry pay the highest insurance rates. For example, the rate for an office worker might be $1 an hour for every $100 in gross income that employee makes. For a carpenter who does interior framing, that rate might jump to $30 per hour for every $100 that employee makes.

"But it's not only workers' comp," Hidano said. "It's TDI (temporary disability insurance), prepaid healthcare, Social Security taxes, unemployment taxes. It just goes on and on."

These are concerns Harbin wants to raise with lawmakers to promote change in current — and what she calls "outdated" — laws affecting small businesses.

"The small-business community feels unempowered. I'm passionate about these issues," Harbin said. "I want Hawai'i to be a place for businesses to grow so we have a healthy economy and higher quality of life."