Lawmakers and regulators in Washington, D.C., yesterday heard an earful from small-business owners, including some from Massachusetts, who claimed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is burdening firms and stifling growth.

Complaints ranged from the costs associated with the act’s accounting regulations to firms balking at going public if it means spending so much money complying with provisions.

“From my perspective as an entrepreneur, the atmosphere for raising capital in the U.S. has taken a turn for the worse,” said Joseph Piche, chief executive of Franklin-based Eikos Inc., a privately held nanotechnology firm. Piche, whose firm has explored going public, and others testified at a hearing of the U.S. Senate’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, headed by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

Thomas Venables, chief executive of Benjamin Franklin Bancorp in Franklin, said his bank achieved compliance last year with a key provision of the act, Section 404, which requires extensive accounting procedures.

[1] Boston Herald: Small biz hits Sarbanes-Oxley law