Forbes - State regs are business-friendly - Top ranking sounds sunny, but there could be a cloud or two to consider in this silver lining

Let the BlackBerrys sing -- "Forbes" magazine declared this week that Virginia is the nation's "best state for business."

Gov. Tim Kaine and others greeted the ranking as great news, and it surely could be. Yet details about the rankings and how they were determined remain sketchy enough to suggest clouds might drift within the silver linings.

The magazine reported Virginia scored the tiara because it compared congenially to 49 other contestants on measures of business costs, labor force, growth prospects, quality of life, economic climate and regulatory environment.

A business-friend regulatory environment? Virginia ranked first.

For this category, Forbes examined business regulations and lawsuit trends in states, as well as incentives and bond ratings. Virginia has an excellent bond rating and is competitive with incentives for development. But what about regulation of business and industry?

Maybe Virginia's recognition as having the nation's most business-friendly regulatory environment means the state's laws and processes are as clear as a pristine stream. Maybe that clarity alone is business-friendly -- companies know what lines to toe, and they step up.

Or maybe Virginia has a reputation for being a soft horse in the regulation rodeo. A gelding, of sorts.

In January 1994, former Gov. George Allen declared Virginia "open for business" and then set about gutting the state's Department of Environmental Quality. It took years afterward to improve morale at the agency charged with protecting the state's air and water and, ultimately, its quality of life.

Today, DEQ does a better job of soliciting and listening to an array of voices on environmental issues. But Virginia still has thousands of miles of polluted streams.

In Martinsville, a citizens group concerned about emissions from a tire-burning plant worry DEQ will keep raising pollution limits until the company's emissions comply.

Meanwhile, corporations set up factories overseas and enjoy cheaper labor and dramatically reduced regulation for pollution, safety and workers' rights. In many developing countries they find a supremely business-friendly regulatory environment.

In measures of quality of life, an increasingly important consideration for corporate executives, Virginia ranked fifth in the category. Employers now examine whether an area has access to outdoor recreation, bike paths, greenways, clean air and scenic beauty.

Maybe if Virginia ranked fifth instead of first for its regulatory environment the next set of rankings would crow about the state's quality of life.