HCS HB 2104 -- SMALL BUSINESSES

SPONSOR:  Ervin

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Small
Business by a vote of 9 to 1.

This substitute requires up to $2 from each business registration
fee collected by the Secretary of State to be deposited into the
newly created Small Business Technology Fund and, upon
appropriation, used in support of technical assistance to small
businesses to attract federal research dollars to Missouri.

Fifty cents of each fee collected must also be deposited into the
newly created Small Business Regulatory Fairness Fund and,
subject to appropriations, used by the Small Business Regulatory
Fairness Board to hire 1.5 full-time equivalent employees to
perform certain specified clerical and professional tasks and to
provide additional funding for certain board-related costs.

Requests or recommendations generated by the board to any state
agency, board, or commission must be responded to within 60 days
of the request or recommendation.

The provisions regarding the Small Business Technology Fund
become effective July 1, 2011.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of $0 to
$145,913 in FY 2011, $0 to $728,267 in FY 2012, and $0 to
$727,833 in FY 2013.  Estimated Income on Other State Funds of $0
in FY 2011, $0 to $642,716 in FY 2012, and $0 to $642,716 in
FY 2013.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill will assist small
businesses and entrepreneurs by providing funding for the Small
Business and Technology Development Centers.  Continued and
sustainable funding of the centers is vital to economic growth in
Missouri and moving technology into the 21st Century.  The state
funding will help get federal funding into Missouri.  The centers
help with preparing initial applications, market research, and
preliminary research and assistance and provide counseling and
assistance with business plans to small businesses across the
state.  Missouri has been behind other states in winning small
business awards so the centers created MoFAST to help provide
private seed and investment funding after the initial stages.
Research grant awards submissions were almost $200 million with
almost $22 million in grants awarded in 2007-2009.  Before this
funding, Missouri was in the bottom 25% of states receiving
funding with a 16% rate.  In 2009, the rate increased to 65%.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Ervin; Michael
Orlando, Jr. and R. J. Miller, Interdisciplinary Design
Collaborative, LLC; Mary Paulsell, Small Business and Technology
Development Centers; Barry White; National Federation of
Independent Business; and Associated Industries of Missouri.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:13 pm