New Act Creates Awards to Reward Local Governments for Cutting Business Startup Paperwork

The Supporting NEW BUSINESSES Act is tackling one of the biggest headaches for anyone trying to launch a new venture: bureaucratic red tape. Simply put, this legislation creates an annual awards program designed to pressure and incentivize state and local governments to make it significantly easier to start a small business in their area. The goal is to reward local leaders who actually read the fine print and figure out how to cut down on the piles of forms, confusing licenses, and redundant steps that kill entrepreneurial momentum before it even starts.

The Carrot on the Stick: Cash for Cutting Paperwork

This bill sets up three annual awards administered under the Small Business Act, but they aren't just handing out participation trophies. The Administrator will award governments that have demonstrated “smart, effective ways to simplify the process of forming a small business.” Crucially, these awards are tiered based on population size to ensure fair competition. One award goes to large communities (400,000+ people), one to mid-sized communities (100,000 to 400,000 people), and one to smaller communities (under 100,000 people). This means a city council in a small town has the same shot at recognition as a major metropolitan county, provided they deliver results.

What Counts as 'Streamlining'?

For a local government to win, they need to show they’ve made life easier for the entrepreneur. The bill specifically calls out a few key areas the Administrator must look for. Did they cut down on the number of forms, documents, or paperwork required? Did they combine overlapping requirements from different departments—like making sure the health department and the city planning office aren't asking for the same five things on separate forms? Or did they consolidate resources, perhaps by building a single, user-friendly online portal where a new bakery owner can handle their permits, licenses, and tax registration all in one place, instead of bouncing between five different offices?

Real-World Impact: Less Time Waiting, More Time Working

Think about the person trying to open a food truck or a consulting firm. Every hour spent filling out redundant forms is an hour not spent serving customers, building inventory, or earning money. By incentivizing local governments to create consolidated, efficient systems, this bill directly translates to lower startup costs and faster launch times for new businesses. For example, if a county wins an award for building a portal that cuts the licensing process from three weeks to three days, that’s three weeks of rent and labor saved for every new business owner. While the bill itself is mostly administrative—it even moves Section 49 of the Small Business Act to Section 50 to make room for this new program—its effect is entirely practical: reducing the friction between a great idea and a successful business.