SB105 Removes Bureaucratic Barriers to Minority Business Creation

COLUMBUS – Today, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose released the following statement following Senate passage of SB105, a bill that streamlines the approval process for minority entrepreneurs establishing a new business in Ohio.

“The guiding principle of state government should be to foster and encourage business creation, but for many minority entrepreneurs, red-tape and bureaucracy have stood in the way of their success. This legislation will simplify the certification process to allow minority entrepreneurs to focus more on their new business and less on bureaucratic paperwork. The inspiration for the bill resulted from a series of minority small business roundtables I convened around the state, when it became abundantly clear that Ohio's MBE certification process was unnecessarily burdensome and a hinderance to economic growth. This bipartisan, common-sense reform bill has been a top priority for me and my office, and I am thrilled to see the Senate pass it unanimously, paving the way for more minority entrepreneurs to enter the free market economy and prosper as a business owner.”

Under current law, Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) must be certified separately in each jurisdiction where they seek to do business. SB105, sponsored by Senators Vernon Sykes and Keith Schuring, requires Ohio's political subdivisions to recognize state MBE certification, thereby eliminating unnecessary and duplicative paperwork for minority entrepreneurs wishing to establish a new business in Ohio.

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