Under Section 206 of New York State's Limited Liability Corporation Law, limited liability corporations (LLCs) formed in New York State (including foreign entities) are required to publish a notice of formation in two newspapers (one daily and one weekly) for six consecutive weeks. The county clerk decides which newspapers.

Following publication, a Certificate of Publication, affidavits from the newspapers and copies of the published notices must be filed with New York’s Department of State. If this is not done within 120 days after the LLC’s formation, the State suspends the LLC’s ability to conduct business in the State.

I have been speaking with business owners that are not able to personally protect their assets by forming an LLC because they are unable to afford the cost of paying for these publications. The antiquated requirement for LLCs to pay to advertise their intent to do business as an LLC in daily and weekly published newspapers is a significant financial burden. This outdated law, which dates back over a century, no longer serves its original purpose and only hinders small businesses from thriving. That money, invested into real advertising, could boost a new business significantly, and instead is being wasted.

In today's digital age, there are more efficient and cost-effective ways to notify the public about new businesses. According to the New York State Department of State, this publication requirement can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending on the county—funds that could be better used by small business owners for growth and development. The public has access to the Internet and the New York State site that lists all current businesses and their status and legal formation. No one reads the newspaper anymore, and certainly no one even knows to go back and look for this publication before using a business that is an LLC, just so they know they are unable to personally sue the owner. Most people don't even understand the legal differences between a Sole Proprietorship, LLC, LLP, or Corporation, or S-Corp. The only reason that this law is still in existence is because of the Newspaper Companies lining the pockets of the politicians that keep laws like this in place. There is no reason that a business cannot fulfil the requirement by being required to put the LLC at the end of their business name on their website or Google Listing. As a matter of fact, there is no doubt that more people, including those with the intent of doing business with the company, are more likely to see it there than in a published newspaper.

Eliminating this requirement will help foster entrepreneurship and economic growth in New York State. Please sign this petition to urge lawmakers to remove this unnecessary financial barrier for aspiring business owners, now. There is no reason to wait other than to continue lining the pockets of the newspapers and politicians that support bills like this and refuse to remove them.