Smith-Sponsored Business Bill Clears Hurdle

A bill to establish the Office of Small Business Assistance in the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office cleared a key legislative hurdle on Tuesday.

Sponsored by State Rep. Greg Smith (R-Heppner), House Bill 3459 would create the small business office, which would facilitate interactions between companies and the state agencies that regulate them. The bill establishes complaint and investigation procedures and requires reports to be presented to the Secretary of State upon the conclusion of the investigations into those complaints.

Under HB 3459, those businesses will be provided with the means to comment on those interactions with state agencies. The small business office will work with agencies to ensure timely responses to companies’ inquiries and requests and identify and recommend processes for resolving any issues that may arise between agencies and businesses.

“This is a great opportunity to assist small business owners by reducing the amount of bureaucracy that they have to deal with when filing their required paperwork,” Smith said.

HB 3459 was passed out of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on General Government Tuesday. It will come before the full Ways and Means Committee within the next couple of weeks.