Pate to chair national committee on business services

CEDAR RAPIDS - Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has been appointed chairman of the National Association of Secretaries of State's Standing Committee on Business Services.

Pate and Delaware Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock will lead the committee through July 2016.

'One of the things I have set as a high priority is for us not to move at the speed of government, but at the speed of business,” the former Cedar Rapids mayor said. 'My goal is to make sure that government is not a barrier, but a portal to help them.”

To achieve that goal, he said, the state needs to upgrade its technology in order to provide top-notch service.

His office serves 211,982 business entities statewide. Iowa's business filing fees are among the least expensive in the nation. During his first term as Secretary of State from 1995-99, Pate transformed Iowa's system to institute biennial filing for businesses. This effort reduced bureaucratic red tape and streamlined the filing process, making it easier for business owners to operate.

Along with serving in his second term as Secretary of State, Pate is president of Pate Asphalt Systems in Marion. He has been recognized as Iowa Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the Small Business Administration and was a Blue Chip Award recipient from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.