Ohio Lt. Gov.-elect Jon Husted, who will serve as secretary of state until January, offered to transfer $10 million from the office he currently oversees to the state’s general fund in order to “improve the lives of all Ohioans.”
In a November 5 letter, which was released this week, Husted wrote to Office of Budget and Management Director Tim Keen to request the transfer of funds. He notes that even after transferring $10 million to the general fund, the secretary of state’s operating account will still have a “balance nearly twice the amount of what I had when I took office.”
“When I took office in January 2011, the secretary of state’s operating account had roughly $4 million in it. As of November 1, 2018, that same account now boasts nearly $18 million. As a result, I am requesting that you transfer $10 million from Secretary of State Fund 5990 to the state’s general revenue fund as authorized by the General Assembly,” Husted writes.
He claims that the accomplishment is a result of the policies his administration put in place to make it “easier and cheaper to do business in Ohio, which has led to record numbers of new businesses choosing Ohio as the place to set up shop.”
“Since taking office in 2011, we have made it so companies can submit filings online, reduced the time it takes to set up a new business from four days to four hours, and expanded customer service hours through a partnership with the Cleveland Sight Center. These improvements have resulted in eight consecutive years of record setting new business filings, and 2018 is on track to be the ninth,” he states.
Husted points out that the secretary of state’s office has operated without “need for any tax dollars” for the past two years, and will likely continue to do so in 2019.
“During my two terms as secretary of state, I have worked every day to improve how we run the office in order to provide a better experience for the people we serve while also reducing the cost to taxpayers,” he says in his letter. “We have had many successes and today we are adding one more by requesting the transfer of $10 million from my office’s ‘checking account’ to the state’s general fund in order to further support efforts to improve the lives of all Ohioans.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jon Husted” by John Husted.
Background Photo “Ohio Capital” by Alexander Smith. CC BY-SA 3.0.
