State Senator Bill Beagle
Enterprise Zone program extended two years 

COLUMBUS– Senate Bill 112, sponsored by State Senator Bill Beagle (R–Tipp City), today passed the Ohio Senate with strong bipartisan support. If enacted, the bill would extend the certification deadline for Ohio’s Enterprise Zone program for an additional two years. 

“The Enterprise Zone program empowers local governments to incentivize investment and job creation in a needed area of their community,” said Beagle. “This is a program that has a proven track record for creating jobs by providing this viable economic development tool at a time when we need to do everything in our power to attract new jobs to Ohio.” 

In order to create an enterprise zone, a community submits a petition to the Development Services Agency showing that the area is appropriate for business development, meets minimum population requirements, and has a continuous boundary. After the enterprise zone is certified by DSA, local officials can begin negotiating tax incentive agreements with businesses that commit to making significant new investments within the zone. 

The current Enterprise Zone Program expires on October 15, 2013. This legislation would extend the deadline two additional years.