U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) issued the following statement regarding the Kansas Secretary of State’s announcement of record new business formation in Kansas in 2012:

“At a time when national new business formation statistics near historic lows, Kansas is trending in a positive direction,” Sen. Moran said. “These numbers suggest that entrepreneurs have discovered something I’ve known for a long time: Kansas is a great place to start a business. More startup companies in Kansas bode well for future job growth in our state. Research by the Kauffman Foundation shows that between 1980 and 2005, companies less than five years old accounted for nearly all of the net new jobs created in America. The record number of startups in Kansas is good news, but there is more to do. To encourage greater levels of entrepreneurship that will lead to new jobs being created, I am working to pass the Startup Act in Congress.”

The first Annual Business Formation Report released on Friday describes Kansas business filing trends over the past ten years. The report shows 15,008 new-business filings in 2012, surpassing the 13,646 filings in 2011. Conclusions were drawn from the data with the assistance of Dr. Art Hall, Executive Director, Center for Applied Economics, University of Kansas School of Business. The full report can be viewed here.

Sen. Moran’s legislation, the Startup Act, directs the U.S. Department of Commerce to compile a national report similar to the Annual Business Formation report produced by the Kansas Secretary of State. National data on new business formation will help lawmakers encourage entrepreneurship with the most successful policies.