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Interested Party Testimony on HB 669 - Heritage Ohio, Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee (May 28, 2020)

Summary

Interested party testimony from Heritage Ohio on HB 669 (Swearingen, LaRe), dated May 28, 2020, to the Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee, in support of House Bill 669. Heritage Ohio describes itself as Ohio's statewide downtown revitalization non-profit and the coordinating agency for the Ohio Main Street Program since 1997. The testimony states that expanding bars, restaurants, small breweries, micro-distilleries and wineries into outdoor spaces would help achieve social distancing and that the bill maintains local control with an expedited approval process. The signature block names Joyce Barret, Executive Director, and Duane Van Dyke, Chair, Government Relations.

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“Interested Party Testimony on HB 669 - Heritage Ohio, Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee (May 28, 2020).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2020-05-28-commerce-labor-testimony-hb669heritageohioproponent-c09af837ea/, SHA-256 dc01cf30fd5931a04081c18850050d48cb9a14dd3a309bedb6ccfa210e173696.

Full text

                        Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee
                     Interested Party Testimony, HB 669 (Swearingen, LaRe)
                                       Heritage Ohio
                                       May 28, 2020

Thank you Chair Manning, Vice-Chair Dean, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan, and members of the
Commerce and Labor Committee for the opportunity for Heritage Ohio to provide interested party
written testimony in support of House Bill 669.
Heritage Ohio is Ohio’s statewide downtown revitalization non-profit that has been the coordinating
agency for the Ohio Main Street Program since 1997. Currently we manage 22 certified Main Street
programs and work with 35 Downtown Affiliates to assist with community revitalization and economic
development efforts. We also assist dozens of additional communities with technical assistance
through a CDBG grant from the Office of Community Development.
Because of our work across Ohio, we know that restaurants are the anchor businesses driving traffic in
our downtown commercial districts. The survival and success of our restaurant industry going forward
will impact not only restaurants but are important for the vitality and stability of our other Main Street
businesses.
By permitting bars, restaurant, small breweries, micro-distilleries and wineries to easily and quickly
expand into outdoor spaces, both public and private, it will help to achieve social distancing while
enabling these businesses to come closer to the number of seats required to stay in business. The bill
maintains local control, but with an expedited approval process. This is important as we are already
into our warmer months, and time is of the essence to save our small, independent restaurants and
other businesses. By taking advantage of the outdoors, HB669 will help bring people back to our
commercial districts.
With over 22,000 dining and drinking establishments in Ohio, the Ohio Restaurant Association
estimates 10% of the Ohio work force is in the food services industry. Heritage Ohio supports the swift
passage of HB 669 to help save these Ohio businesses, which are the backbone to our local economies.
In summary, this bill:
   1. Will help save local businesses by expanding their service areas to outdoor public and private
      space.
   2. Makes it easier to achieve social distancing while having the business remain economically
      viable.
   3. Expedites the approval process efficiently while allowing for solid local control.
Thank you for your time, and if you have any questions, we can be reached at 614-258-6200.


Joyce Barret                                                        Duane Van Dyke
Executive Director                                                  Chair, Government Relations

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