SB12-143, Local Business Database

 SB12-143

DEVELOPMENT OF A LOCAL BUSINESS DATABASE BY THE COLORADO OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Sponsor:  Senator Carroll, Representative Pabon

Staff Name: Laura Brown

What the Bill Does:
SB12-058 directs the Colorado Office of Economic Development to create an electronic database of local businesses in Colorado. Businesses will be included in the database based on the information they submit to certify that they are a local business. The business is also required to pay a filing fee. The fee entitles the business to be included in the database for twelve months. This database will be accessible free of charge to the public.

The bill amends current law¹ to direct the Colorado Office of Economic Development to create and operate the database of local businesses, pursuant to §24-48.5-114, which the bill creates. Under the new section, the database is created to: assist customers in finding local businesses, allow businesses to publicize their association with Colorado, and promote economic growth through expansion of local businesses. The Colorado Office of Economic Development is authorized to accept donations, grants, and gifts to cover the cost of information technology associated with creating and maintaining the database. The database is to be online and functional by January 1, 2014.

Colorado Context:
Over 500,000 locally owned businesses in Colorado that employ more than 1.6 million people are based in Colorado.  Thus it is important to keep these businesses healthy because of the current economic challenges of the state. The bill also states that money spent at locally owned businesses re-circulates in a community at least three times more than money spent at non-locally owned businesses. Further, the General Assembly has found that if an individual shifts 10% of their purchases from non-local to local businesses, this could translate into a $3 billion dollar boost to Colorado’s economy over two months. Helping to strengthen locally owned businesses increases community economic activity and helps to create jobs. The database would provide information about local businesses to customers and inform them of local job opportunities.

National Context:

• The City of Chicago runs an online Chicago Local Business Directory². Listing on the website is free to small-to-medium sized local businesses, but the website is funded by outside advertisements. The website is run by an outside entity.
• Arizona has a website entitled Local First Arizona, which includes a local business directory.³ Local First Arizona is also a non-profit organization. The fee to join ranges from $35 to $350.
• Hancock County, Tennessee, has a local business directory accessible directly from the county home page. It is not clear how local businesses get added to the web page or whether there is a fee to be listed.

Bill Provisions:

• Section 2 revises current law to allow for the creation of a local business database by the Colorado Office of Economic Development
• Section 3 directs the Office of Economic Development to create a local business database to help customers locate local businesses, allow businesses to publicize their affiliation with Colorado, and promote economic growth through the expansion of local businesses.
  • A local business is defined as a privately-held business having its principal place of business in Colorado and organized under the laws of Colorado
  • The database is to be created and maintained by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and must be operational by January 1, 2014
  • The database shall be searchable by the types of goods or services offered, the location of the business, and any other factor deemed appropriate by the Office
  • To be included in the database, a local business must provide information to certify that it is a local business and provide a fee that entitles the business to be included in the database for twelve months
  • The public can access the database free of charge
  • The Office is authorized to accept grants, donations, and gifts to cover the cost of information technology associated with the creation and maintenance of the database

Fiscal Impact: There is currently no fiscal note available for SB12-143.

¹ Colo. Rev. Stat. §24-48.5-101

² http://chicago.smugnet.org/

³ http://www.localfirstaz.com/directory/

⁴ http://www.hancockcountytn.com/Local_Bus.html