Comment On Colorado’s L3C Legislation
Our friends Rick Zwetch and Caryn Cappricioso at interSector Partners L3C just shared this draft of the L3C legislation (PDF download) that Rep Joe Mikosi is introducing in the Colorado legislature.
Beyond “you heard it here first,” Rick is seeking:
- feedback on the bill (this would be your lawyer or friend starting an L3C)
- supporters for the bill (this would be your state rep or senator)
- people to testify for the bill (this could be you)
If you have read this far, and are still wondering “what’s an L3C?”, it’s a new legal and tax designation that appears to most obviously benefit for-profit partnerships that are seeking program-related investment (PRI) or mission-related investment (MRI) from foundations. Wikipedia has a more robust description.
Although there is some debate on the relative merits of L3C designation vis a vis some other business forms that may come down the pike in coming months and years, we see it as a signal that sustainable and triple-bottom-line ventures are being taken seriously by state legislatures.
If you care to dig in on the debate further, we’ll engage just such a discussion at an upcoming gathering of the Sustainable Venture meetup, which Rick and Caryn co-founded with us.