Local, State and Federal Links
to Legislative Resources
and Business Lobby Groups

New Hampshire Business Association Links

Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire- www.nhbia.org 

The BIA is the state's leading trade association with 400 member firms that employ 80,000 people statewide and contribute $4.5 billion in payroll each year to the state's economy.

As issues such as technology, healthcare, and the environment influence New Hampshire's business climate, the BIA works to maintain a positive atmosphere that allows the quality of life in New Hampshire to endure and the state's business community to flourish.

New Hampshire Small Business Development Center- www.nhsbdc.org

The New Hampshire Small Business Development Center offers free, one-on-one, confidential business counseling, low cost training programs, and access to information and referral.  Specialized services include environmental counseling, manufacturing assistance, international trade programs, and innovative economic development initiatives.

NH SBDC services are made possible through cooperative funding from the Small Business Administration, the State of New Hampshire, and the University System of New Hampshire.   The private sector often provides sponsorships and funding for conferences and special projects.

Counseling is provided through six regional offices. Staffed by highly qualified professionals, these centers provide assessment, evaluation, advice, education and referral -- whatever is needed to promote business success.  Sample counseling topics include business planning, financial analysis, marketing, accounting, cash flow projections and pro forma financial statements, and new business/acquisition evaluation.

Specialized counseling is also available in environmental issues, international trade, manufacturing, and the specialty food/giftware industries.

NH Small Business Association- www.sba.gov/regions/states/nh

This website is the premiere resource for information regarding the Small Business Association, and how it affects business in New Hampshire.

Software Association of New Hampshire (SwANH)- www.swanh.org

The Software Association of New Hampshire (SwANH) promotes and supports the software and internet industries throughout the State. SwANH sponsors networking events and educational programs that provide members with opportunities to gain information, connect with resources, grow their businesses, and succeed.

The Women's Business Center, Inc.- www.womenbiz.org

The Women's Business Center, Inc. (WBC) is a collaborative organization that provides resources for women entrepreneurs, business owners and business professionals. By encouraging and advocating for women in their business ventures, WBC fosters economic development.

State Government Links

New Hampshire State Government - www.nh.gov/government/state.html

New Hampshire General Court- www.gencourt.state.nh.us/ie/

New Hampshire State Agencies Online- www.nh.gov/government/agencies

Gov. John Lynch- www.nh.gov/governor

Federal Business Association Links

US Chamber of Commerce- www.uschamber.com

The idea of a national institution to represent the unified interests of U.S. business first took shape when President Howard Taft, in a speech before Congress on December 7, 1911, addressed the need for a "central organization in touch with associations and chambers of commerce throughout the country and able to keep purely American interests in a closer touch with different phases of commercial affairs."

Four months later, on April 12, 1912, President Taft's vision became a reality when a group of 700 delegates from various commercial and trade organizations came together to create a unified body of business interest that today is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

More than 90 years later, the Chamber has grown from an initial membership of 878 to more than 3 million businesses, nearly 3, 000 state and local chambers, 830 associations, and over 90 American Chambers of Commerce abroad.

National Federation of
Independent Businesses (NFIB)- www.nfib.com

NFIB's purpose is to influence public policy at the state and federal level and be the resource for small and independent business in America.

With 600,000 members and offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals, NFIB is the nation's largest small business lobbying group. NFIB members are a diverse group consisting of high-tech manufacturers, retailers, farmers, professional service providers and many more.

NFIB sets its public-policy positions by regularly polling members and acting on their advice. Once this member ballot is tallied, NFIB carries a unified message to Congress and the state legislatures on behalf of small business owners.

In the last several years NFIB has enlarged its scope, entering the political arena to support pro-small business candidates for state and national office. In 2000, it added the NFIB Legal Foundation, representing small business interests in the judicial system. The NFIB Education Foundation provides scholarships and internships to the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. And the NFIB Research Foundation provide policy-makers, small business owners and other interested parties empirically based information on small business. NFIB also continues to build alliances with various businesses, allowing the organization to provide services to members at special prices.

Federal Government Links

United States Government Official Web Portal- www.firstgov.gov

FirstGov.gov is the gateway to all government information and connects the world to all U.S. government information and services. FirstGov.gov is an interagency initiative administered by the U.S. General Services Administration. It got its start when Internet entrepreneur Eric Brewer, whose early research was funded by the Department of Defense, offered to donate a powerful search engine to government. That gift helped accelerate the government's earlier work to create a government-wide portal.

United States House of Representatives- www.house.gov

United States Senate- www.senate.gov

Thomas-Legislative Information on the Internet- www.thomas.loc.gov

Acting under the directive of the leadership of the 104th Congress to make Federal legislative information freely available to the Internet public, a Library of Congress team brought the THOMAS World Wide Web system online in January 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. Searching capabilities in THOMAS were built on the InQuery information retrieval system, developed by the Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval based at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

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