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Gov. Martin O'Malley's latest plan to help small businesses drew mostly positive reviews this week.

O'Malley (D) outlined the 10-point strategy during the Maryland Chamber of Commerce's Business Policy Conference in Cambridge last week. The plan includes creating the state's first-ever Commission for Small Business; creating a single loan application for small businesses applying for state financing; streamlining the state's permitting requirements; and waiving borrowing fees for Small Business Administration loans on the state level.

"I like most of what I see here," said Thomas Loveland, CEO of Mind Over Machines, a 75-employee Web applications company in Owings Mills. "Probably none of it will touch Mind Over Machines. But there are about 100,000 other firms in Maryland the size of mine or smaller, and I'm sure many will be touched by these initiatives."

Ellen Valentino, Maryland director of the National Federation of Independent Business, which advocates for small-business concerns, said she did not hear O'Malley's speech firsthand and has not been contacted about a commission or the state Small Business Task Force formed last summer. But she said she looks forward to discussing small-business initiatives with state officials.

"Whenever lawmakers and key policy leaders take a step back and realize that the health and importance of the small business community is critical, that's a good thing," Valentino said.

O'Malley's plan seemed to be well-received at the chamber gathering, said William Burns, a chamber spokesman. "Many are items that the small-business community has been talking about for a while," he said.

The state chamber's board approved its 2010 business agenda last week, which includes seeking a "competitive tax structure" and avoiding over-regulation and additional business taxes.

The SBA loan fees being waived would include fees for the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority. That program has financed 26 businesses since July 2007, providing about $5 million in assistance and helping these businesses create and retain 400 jobs, officials said.

Plan also seeks to expand minority business program

Other points in O'Malley's plan include expanding the Minority Business Enterprise program and another one started last year to help small employers subsidize medical insurance costs. He also proposed extending the small-business contract reserve program by six years.

The minority business program achieved 22 percent minority business participation across state government in fiscal 2009, up from 20.3 percent in fiscal 2008, the state reported. That included awarding $346 million to black-owned companies, a 30 percent increase from the previous year.

The state of Maryland has faced criticism of its small-business reserve program, which began in 2004 and requires that at least 10 percent of contract dollars from 22 agencies go to small contractors. In fiscal 2008, the last year for which data are available, the state agencies awarded 6 percent of contract dollars, or $131.6 million, to eligible small businesses, according to a state report. That was about the same percentage as in fiscal 2007.

One predictable opponent of O'Malley's plan is Larry Hogan Jr., a real estate company executive and former Cabinet member under then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R). Hogan, who has said he plans to run against O'Malley for governor if Ehrlich does not, questioned the idea of forming a commission.

Hogan, who was Ehrlich's appointment secretary, said in a statement that O'Malley had raised taxes and "put added burdens on small businesses and mom and pop stores, forcing them to lay off workers and close up shop."