This is part of my Series on Entrepreneurial Culture.
Those of us who have set-up LLC's in NY State know well of the antiquated 'publication requirement' the State still imposes on so many of its entrepreneurs. (In 2007 alone, 50,000 LLC's were formed in NY State!).
Along with standard incorporation fees, having to publish the "existence of your LLC" in these obscure journals can easily run up an entrepreneur's total expenditures to $2,000 even though any company formed in NY State can easily be found online at the NY Department of State website. This anachronism achieves only one result: it penalizes those same entrepreneurs that the State and the City have spent so much time, effort, lip-service and money trying to empower.
The good news is that there is an effort underway to repeal this legislation in the form of Assembly Bill A04496/Senate Bill S1667.
You can do your part by familiarizing yourself with this issue and if so inclined, by signing this petition.