page_title: Jon A. Husted
section_title: Business services
hierarchical_section_title: Jon A. Husted / Political career / Ohio Secretary of State / Business services
caption_attribution_description: English: Ohio Business Central
context_page_description: Jon A. Husted is the 66th and current lieutenant governor of Ohio, since 2019. He was previously the 53rd Ohio Secretary of State. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the 6th District of the Ohio Senate from 2009 to 2011 and was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009. From 2005 to 2009, Husted served as Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and remains one of the youngest people to ever become Ohio House Speaker.
  Husted was elected Ohio Secretary of State in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. He was a candidate in the Republican Party primary for Governor of Ohio in the 2018 election but later announced that he would instead run for lieutenant governor of Ohio as Attorney General Mike DeWine's running mate.
context_section_description: All Ohio businesses are required to maintain a business registration with the Secretary of State's Office and the business services division was the focus of a large number of changes after Husted took office in 2011. In 2013, he launched the Ohio Business Central program, which allowed businesses to file the necessary paperwork with the state online.
  The change was supported by the Ohio Manufacturers' Association, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, who stated that "by utilizing technology to improve the services available from the Secretary of State's Office, Ohio is now in a position to roll out the red carpet to business and job creation by cutting red tape."
  Husted also reduced the fee for starting a new business in Ohio by 21 percent and launched a partnership with Google's Get Your Business Online initiative which directed new business filers to free business startup resources offered through the web giant. This announcement drew support and praise from Urban Leagues across Ohio for making it "easier for businesses to succeed." Husted's office estimated the move would save Ohio businesses $2 million each year based on growth rates at the time.
  Husted leaned heavily on technology in his efforts to streamline the operation of his office, which allowed him to reduce spending over his predecessor, Democrat Jennifer Brunner, by $14.5 million in his first term. The cuts, heavily driven by staff reductions, received some criticism by labor groups. In 2015, Husted announced he would close his office's in-house business call center and instead contract with a nonprofit organization in northeast Ohio called the Cleveland Sight Center, which employs individuals who are blind or have significant visual impairments. In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, Husted's spokesman said it was part of the Secretary's mission to offer better services at a lower cost to taxpayers.
  According to the Cleveland Sight Center, their call center was able to answer Secretary of State calls within 54 seconds, while the old, in-house call center Husted eliminated maintained an average of 10 minutes.
caption: Husted announces partnership with Google and a 21% cut in new business filing fees on September 24, 2015.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 7D Mark II", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2015:09:24 10:07:16", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "360", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "10316", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "12204", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "16719", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/400", "EXIF FNumber": "11", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "16000", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "16000", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:09:24 10:07:16", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:09:24 10:07:16", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "69/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "7", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "56", "EXIF SubSecTime": "12", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "12", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "12", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5472", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3648", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "10088", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "5472000/899", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "3648000/599", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "042021000792", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 135, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "00002a4b0f"}