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NEWS RELEASE

Bredesen Announces New State Resource to Benefit Businesses

State Departments Join Together to Streamline the Business Set-up Process

NASHVILLE - (November 15, 2005) - Governor Phil Bredesen today announced a new online tool to help Tennessee's new businesses streamline the business set-up process.

The Tennessee One-Stop Business Resource (OSBR) combines the governor's focus on technology innovation and improved customer service and will offer a secure online service on the official State of Tennessee web site, www.Tennessee.gov, that allows new businesses to process applications with multiple state agencies. The service will reduce time and costs, and allow agencies to share information, thereby ensuring consistent business names and applications.

“More than 16,000 new businesses start-up in Tennessee each year. The OSBR was created to help simplify the process of obtaining all the necessary documents needed,” said Bredesen. “I want new business owners to have a trouble-free application process so they can focus their efforts on opening their doors and providing new jobs and economic growth in Tennessee communities. All the state departments represented here today are committed to helping new business owners cut through the red tape and laborious process of getting a new business up-and-running in our state.”

The OBSR will offer several services, such as obtaining proper permits, licenses, certificates and tax numbers, ability to search, select and reserve a business name and informational links to specialty state divisions. In addition, it will allow businesses to process payments via credit card and provide faster approval turn around time on a new business name.

OSBR will also offer each business a secure user name and password, allowing information to be saved and updated as needed, and the flexibility to login and work on new business set-up anywhere, anytime. The online tool will automate current new business forms issued by various state agencies, provide online confirmation numbers for record keeping at every stage of a new business set-up and provide quality customer support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) will act as the primary project sponsor for the OSBR.

A listing of state agencies involved in the development of the OSBR include:

“Prior to the OSBR, there had not been a web site, agency or resource available that provided comprehensive new business set-up information,” said ECD Commissioner Kisber. “Improved technology in our state has increased businesses access to the Internet and produced greater demands by businesses for e-government services, making this online tool a priority for Tennessee. ECD is excited to lead the charge to expedite state processes so businesses can get on their feet and start selling their products and services.”

Tennessee is the first state in the Southeast region to provide an online one-stop business resource for its citizens. Last month, Tennessee’s official web site (www.Tennessee.gov) was recognized in the “2005 Best of the Web” competition by the Center for Digital Government, an international research and advisory institute on the use of information technology in government. Tennessee was named the second most innovative, user-friendly state government portal among a field of more than 250 public sector web sites behind Delaware.

Currently, Tennessee.gov offers more than 150 interactive services, including income tax filings, driver’s license renewals, state park reservations and professional license renewals. In 2004, nearly 10 million eGovernment transactions took place on the web site.

Tennessee.gov is the state of Tennessee’s official web portal (www.Tennessee.gov) and is a collaborative effort between the state of Tennessee and the eGovernment firm NICUSA, Inc.

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