Proponent Testimony - Senate Bill 105 (Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State)

Summary

Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State, gives proponent testimony on Senate Bill 105 to the House Economic and Workforce Development Committee. The testimony states that under current law political subdivisions are not required to recognize Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certificates issued by the state, so a business must become certified and pay a fee in each jurisdiction. It states that under the bill all jurisdictions would be required to recognize the state MBE certification by the Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator, while each jurisdiction may still have additional requirements such as residency. It also states that the bill passed out of the Senate unanimously with 23 bipartisan co-sponsors.

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Full text

Chairman Edwards, Vice-Chair Powell, Ranking Member Upchurch, and members of the
House Economic and Workforce Development Committee, thank you for allowing me
the opportunity to provide proponent testimony on Senate Bill 105.

As the front door for businesses in Ohio, my office is always working to find new ways
for entrepreneurs to achieve their dream. After all, a business that succeeds is also a win
for Ohio. As you may know, one way we’ve been working to accomplish our mission is
by better connecting new businesses with resources and support they may not know is
available. This can be key as a business is getting off the ground.

So much of what we do depends on listening to our constituents and finding out the
challenges they’re facing. As a part of this effort, I have hosted and continue to host a
series of minority business roundtables across the state to better find out how Ohio can
improve its collaboration with its diverse community of minority business owners. An
issue that continues to come up is the unnecessary bureaucracy and red tape associated
with becoming certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE). The MBE program is
designed to assist minority businesses in obtaining state government contracts for
goods and services and can be useful in competing in the private sector as well.

Under current law, political subdivisions (i.e. counties, cities, villages) are not required to
recognize MBE certificates issued by the state. This means that those who wish to do
business as an MBE must become certified and pay a fee in each jurisdiction where they
conduct business. This duplicative and cumbersome process is unacceptable and forces
our minority business owners to continuously file paperwork and pay multiple fees just
to certify over and over that they are a minority. SB 105 seeks to eliminate this needless
red tape and make the MBE certification process more friendly to Ohio job creators.

Under this bill, all jurisdictions within the state would be required to recognize the state
MBE certification by the Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator, making it
reciprocal in any city or county in which the business wishes to operate. Each jurisdiction
may still have additional requirements, such as residency, in order to participate in local
programs, but they must accept the MBE certification as proof of minority status
indicated on the certificate. This bill will allow our minority business owners to focus
more on growing their businesses rather than unnecessary bureaucracy.

During the committee process in the Senate, this legislation was amended to include
women and veteran owned businesses, allowing even more of Ohio’s entrepreneurs to
benefit from the streamlining of business certifications in this bill. That’s great news for
all Ohioans.

SB 105 will continue Ohio’s business-friendly policies and help facilitate greater
entrepreneurship and economic prosperity in the minority, women, and veteran
business communities. This bill passed out of the Senate unanimously with 23 bipartisan
co-sponsors. Thank you to Senator Sykes and Senator Schuring for sponsoring this
important piece of legislation and thank you to the committee for the opportunity to
submit testimony.

Yours in service,



Frank LaRose
Ohio Secretary of State




Office of the Ohio Secretary of State                                                  2 | page


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