As Ohio’s Attorney General, Mike DeWine is the chief legal officer of the state of Ohio and, among other duties, is charged with representing the state in various legal matters. Some of those legal issues pertain to civil as opposed to criminal matters, more specifically including tax, regulatory, land use and economic development considerations. Because Attorney General DeWine and his office have worked with economic development professionals across the state, he decided to create the Ohio Economic Development Manual and solicit the Ohio Chamber’s support for this endeavor, which we were happy to participate in.

 Today, Ohio Chamber President Andy Doehrel (pictured left) joined Attorney General DeWine in announcing the release of this new economic development manual. This is the first time a single, comprehensive handbook or publication has been produced that outlines all of the various economic development laws and programs available in Ohio, whether on the state or local level.

The Ohio Chamber believes the manual is an excellent compilation of the wide range of Ohio laws potential investors in our state need to be aware of. It will be of particular help to out-of-state businesses who may be unfamiliar with Ohio’s Constitution, public records laws, state & local tax structure, workforce incentives and local development tools such as port authorities, tax increment financing and various kinds of development districts. In summary, the manual is a great service to businesses and local leaders across the state, as it gives them detailed yet understandable information about the tremendous economic development opportunities and options Ohio can offer.