Senate unanimously supports Sen. Vitelli bill to revive entrepreneurship program

AUGUSTA – On Wednesday, the Senate voted unanimously to support a bill from Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, to restart an entrepreneurship program for unemployed Mainers. LD 594, “Resolve, Directing the Department of Labor To Submit to the United States Secretary of Labor a Plan for a Self-employment Assistance Program,” would revive the Maine Enterprise Option (MEO) program.

“For many years, I helped support Mainers who were daring to build a small business or become self-employed,” said Sen. Vitelli. “The MEO program was one great pathway that helped participants build something new for themselves and their communities. We already know that Maine’s economy is changing, and that we’ll need more tools in our toolkit to build the economy we want and need. As we recover from the pandemic, we need to be encouraging the creativity, innovative thinking and hard work that entrepreneurship requires. The MEO program can help build a thriving small business community in our state.”

The Maine Enterprise Option program was first implemented in March 1995 and operated successfully for almost 20 years before funding lapsed in 2013. The goal of MEO is to encourage Mainers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own to prepare to become self-employed while receiving unemployment insurance (UI). Rather than completing weekly work search activities to qualify for UI, MEO participants receive counseling in how to open a business.

MEO operated as a partnership between the Maine Department of Labor, the Small Business Development Centers and New Ventures Maine. In her previous role with New Ventures Maine, Sen. Vitelli helped manage the MEO program and saw first-hand how beneficial the program can be. A 2001 study found that Maine MEO participants were more likely to start a business than non-participants. Of MEO participants, 62 percent went on to start a business, and one-third were still self-employed after 36 months. Successful small businesses started with assistance from MEO included a kettle corn maker and a small engine repair shop, among many others.

LD 594 faces further votes in the Legislature.