We Did It! Benefit Corporations are Coming to Connecticut!
It is with tremendous pride and pleasure that I’m able to announce that at (very) long last Connecticut has legislation enabling businesses to register as a social enterprise!!! The language in our bill is the most comprehensive in the United States in that it permits a “legacy preservation” option. Benefit corporations may elect, after at least two years of operation, to lock in their social mission in perpetuity regardless of changes to management or ownership of the company.
This could not have happened without the hard work of a tremendous number of people, most notably our own James Woulfe who worked tirelessly and passionately to make sure no stone was left unturned and no important person left uneducated. We are also very grateful to a number of others including Gregg Haddad who has been our champion in the legislature from day one, and didn’t abandon us when things got complicated; Nora Duncan, Mike Martone, Rebecca Paolino, Judy Greiman, and the rest of the Legislative Action Team who helped draft the initial bill and worked to hone it afterwards; The good folks of Boehringer Ingelheim; Kevin Graff; everyone who wrote letters in support of the bill and who came and spent time to testify for on the bill’s behalf; Representative Perone, who co-sponsored the bill and helped usher it through the process over the past two years; and, our own Governor Dannel P. Malloy who made it a priority to get this done.
This is a significant, happy milestone and for all those who have supported our efforts we are very grateful. Now our work can turn toward creating a vibrant community of social entrepreneurs in the state, using the power of the free market, along with the hearts and minds of this creative new brand of entrepreneurs to help solve some of our world’s most pressing problems!
– Kate
