(Frankfort, KY) Passing two of the most comprehensive changes to business entity laws in Kentucky’s history is no small feat.  Despite those difficulties, three Kentuckians were honored today for making that process look simple after leading the effort to pass Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s backed business enhancement legislation. 

Allan Vestal, Dean of the University of Kentucky College of Law, State Representative Scott Brinkman, and Tom Rutledge, a member of Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC, were presented with NASS Medallion Awards by Secretary Grayson at the Kentucky Bar Association’s Annual Convention in Louisville.  The NASS Medallion Award allows individual secretaries of state to recognize outstanding service and dedication to furthering the mission of the National Association of Secretaries of State within the states.

            “These gentlemen have worked tirelessly with me over the last few years to improve the business formation process in Kentucky. Their work is no more evident than in the passage of two major pieces of our business enhancement legislation,” remarked Secretary Grayson.  “Through no small effort, this legislation has increased flexibility, removed barriers, and decreased confusion for business formation.  Their mark on Kentucky’s economic future will be felt for many years to come.”

The Business Enhancement Legislation was a primary focus of Secretary Grayson’s 2006 and 2007 legislative agendas.  In 2006, the state legislature passed updates to Kentucky’s Partnership Law, the first such update in over 50 years.  The bill aligned Kentucky law with the most recent version of the Uniform Partnership Act, as approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. 

In 2007, the business entity update focused primarily on providing conformity among business entity statutes. Those changes not only make Kentucky law easier to clarify to constituents, they reduces the burdensome bureaucratic hoops that many citizens face when trying to form a business entity.

“There are few other Kentuckians who have made such a dramatic impact on the Office of the Secretary of State and business law in Kentucky.  They are most deserving of this recognition, and I thank them for what they have done and will do to make Kentucky a better place to conduct business,” concluded Grayson.

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