Today, House Bill 312 passed the Ohio House of Representatives unanimously by a vote of 92-0. This piece of legislation allows startups and small businesses the opportunity to offer equity securities for the purpose of raising capital.

The Ohio Small Business Council (OSBC) is housed within the Ohio Chamber as one of our standing committees, and their mission is to promote the establishment, growth and vitality of small business in Ohio. HB 312 serves as a positive step in helping small businesses start and grow here in our state and while the bill was pending in Ohio House Financial Institutions Committee, we lent our support to this measure.

Businesses face many challenges when they are starting up, and one of those is having access to capital. We believe that HB 312 has the potential to assist startups and small businesses through the creation of “OhioInvests.” This program will allow for Ohioans to directly invest in startup businesses through this new portal.

In the previous General Assembly, this bill was introduced as House Bill 10, and it passed through the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate, but did not make its way completely through the legislative process. It is our hope that this time around, the bill moves quickly through the legislative process and becomes law in order to assist startups and small businesses.