Issues
Making our State the Most Business-Friendly in the Nation
January 05, 2010
Our State has a lot to offer a business looking to relocate to Mississippi. In the current economy, we need to make sure we have the most business-friendly laws to attract those businesses. Through business reform study groups composed of citizens statewide, Secretary Hosemann has been successful in drafting new business and corporate laws, which are the most up-to-date in the nation. New laws including:
- Charities. Mississippians are the most generous people in the nation. We donate more money, per capita, than any other state in the union. Secretary Hosemann has a strong commitment to ensuring Mississippi donors have the most knowledge available in charitable giving. The Non-Profit/Charities Act of 2009 reduces costs for smaller charities, strengthens the agency’s ability to enforce laws against dishonest charities, provides more transparency in charitable giving, and even gives the Office of the Secretary of State the ability to revoke charitable status. The new law ensures the good names of strong charitable organizations are protected, and Mississippi donors can have more confidence in their charitable giving.
- Securities. The Stanford debacle shattered many Mississippi investors, some of whom had millions invested in the company. Secretary Hosemann worked tirelessly with the Receiver in the Stanford case to get over $300,000,000 back to our citizens. Realizing there were potential holes in our State’s securities laws, Secretary Hosemann drafted the Mississippi Securities Act, which offers many benefits to investors and makes Mississippi securities law state-of-the-art. By providing for more oversight in State’s investment industry, Secretary Hosemann has provided Mississippians with more confidence in their financial planning.
- Trademarks. When first taking office, Secretary Hosemann found registered trademarks in a box in the basement. The antiquated system of filing and registering trademarks in our State was revamped with new trademarks legislation, which aims to protect the good name of Mississippi businesses. Now, our State has the most progressive trademark laws, which were recently recognized by the International Trademarks Association, a global organization with members worldwide.
