Social Enterprise Law Tracker

Status Tool

Select a classification to view its legal history

All

Benefit Corps

L3Cs

SPCs

BLLCs

SPBLPs

Enacted Legislation

Under Consideration

Failed Legislation

No Activity

Repealed Legislation

Status Overview

Within each Social Enterprise Category

All

2 10 0 88 0 G

Benefit Corps

2 10 8 80 0 G

L3Cs

41 37 6 16 0 G

SPCs

92 0 0 8 0 G

BLLCs

88 2 2 8 0 G

SPBLPs

98 0 0 2 0 G

Annual Review

State of Social Enterprise and The Law

The Grunin Center publishes The State of Social Enterprise and the Law annually. These reports describe considerations and challenges in defining the field of social entrepreneurship and impact investing, legislative developments in the United States with respect to forms of legal entities that are available to social entrepreneurs, the role of U.S. legal education in training a new generation of lawyers knowledgeable about the field of social entrepreneurship and impact investing, and the last decade of legal scholarship in the field of social entrepreneurship and impact investing.

2017-2018 Report 2018-2019 Report 2019-2020 Report 2020-2021 Report 2021-2022 Report

2022-2023 Report

*This research project is generously funded by the Tepper Family. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Tepper Family, with particular thanks to Marvin Tepper ’58, Elise Tepper, Jacqueline Tepper ’90, Edward Tepper, and Shelley Tepper.

Click here for more details.

Recent Activity

11/03/22

Pennsylvania act concerning the standard of conduct for benefit corporation directors, benefit directors, and officers signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf. View

03/17/22

Colorado act concerning PBC voting thresholds and appraisal rights signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis. View

02/01/22

Mississippi introduced benefit corporation legislation on January 4, 2022. It died in committee on February 1, 2022. View

06/30/21

Delaware act concerning the manner in which and requirements for an LLC to become a BLLC. Signed into law by Gov. John Carney. View

03/29/21

Wyoming introduced benefit corporation legislation on January 12, 2021. It failed in the House on March 29, 2021. View

02/10/21

Pennsylvania act concerning loan discounts on standard interest rate for benefit corporations referred to Commerce. View

01/21/21

Iowa introduced benefit corporation legislation on January 21, 2021. It was referred to Commerce and no action has since been taken. View

12/18/20

Ohio benefit corporation bill (S.B. 21) signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine. View

07/29/20

Georgia benefit corporation bill (H.B. 230) signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp. View

05/15/20

Missouri introduced benefit corporation legislation on January 8, 2020. It died in committee on May 15, 2020. View

05/06/20

Oklahoma introduced BLLC legislation on February 3, 2020. The bill passed the Senate, but was not voted on by the House. View

03/06/20

New Mexico Governor Grisham signs benefit corporation legislation into law. View

Resources

Click to visit external sources

The Need and Rationale for the Benefit Corporation Benefit Corporation Information Center Social Enterprise Law Bibliography Making Social and Environmental Impact Through Legal Careers The Top 10 Roles for Attorneys in Social Entrepreneurship Regulating Social Enterprise Charitable Solicitation Acts Maslow's Hammer for Regulating Social Enterprise Which Legal Structure is Right for My Social Enterprise? A Guide to Establishing a Social Enterprise in the United States Balancing Purpose and Profit Legal Mechanisms to Lock in Social Mission for 'Profit with Purpose' Businesses Across the G8 European Social Enterprise Law Association Social Enterprise in Europe: Developing Legal Systems which Support Social Enterprise Growth List of Oregon Benefit Companies List of L3Cs

About

Welcome to the Social Enterprise Law Tracker. Beginning in 2008, state legislatures started authorizing a new class of entities collectively known as social enterprises. These corporate and company forms are designed for businesses that seek to create positive social and environmental impacts in addition to financial returns. These forms include the benefit corporation (Benefit Corps), the social purpose corporation (SPC), the low-profit limited liability company (L3C), the benefit limited liability company (BLLC), and the statutory public benefit limited partnership (SPBLP).

The Status Tool on this page visualizes how social enterprise law has spread across the United States. Select any state or jurisdiction for information about the social enterprise forms that are available, or are currently under consideration by the state legislature. All data collected and used on this site adheres to Sunlight Foundation’s Open Data Policy Guidelines, and can be downloaded for corresponding categories by clicking the link below the Status Tool map.

The Social Enterprise Law Tracker was developed by Rob Esposito and Shawn Pelsinger, with support from the NYU Jacobson Leadership Program in Law & Business, the NYU Stern Business & Society Program, and the NYU Law and Social Entrepreneurship Association. The Social Enterprise Law Tracker is now hosted and maintained by the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship at NYU School of Law.

Launched in 2017, the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship is an emerging global leader in the field of law and social entrepreneurship. The mission of the Grunin Center is to enhance the community of lawyers and legal institutions engaged in social entrepreneurship and impact investing and to accelerate their effective participation in these fields. To fulfill this mission, the Grunin Center educates students and practicing lawyers about legal issues in social entrepreneurship and impact investing; disseminates knowledge, resources and research about legal issues and policy developments in these fields; and collaborates with other field-building organizations, universities and research centers.

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