Through my innovative programs and fiscal discipline, I cut costs within the Secretary of State’s Office, saved money and returned more than $3 million dollars to taxpayers.

As businesses face the July 1 deadline to file their annual reports, there is a clear difference between how I treated the businesses of our state then and how they are treated now. When I took office in 2009, the secretary of state was charging a transaction fee every time a business filed reports online. This is a blatant example of nickel-and-diming our businesses. I removed the fee, which costs businesses more than $100,000.

For six years, businesses didn’t have to pay the fee. I was able to remove it because I ran an office focused on serving the public and reducing costs. I wanted to help our businesses grow. Once I left office, the fee was put back on them. The secretary of state should be focused on helping businesses and not looking for ways to take advantage of them.

I’m proud of my accomplishments and record. But here’s what I’ll do next: Once again, I’ll remove the fee for our businesses, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars across the Mountain State. Also, I’ll implement even more innovative practices — like the One Stop Business Shop I started — to help our businesses.

I worked with Republicans and Democrats in 2015 to pass legislation to make it easier to start a business. We brought many state agencies, such as the Tax Department, Labor Department and WorkForce West Virginia together so a business owner does not have to run all over the place to various agencies to file paperwork and get started.