Although Ohio seeks to attract new industries, a substantial portion of the state's annual economic growth stems from the expansion of existing businesses.
Ohio offers numerous business incentives to spur industrial development. The state encourages capital investment by offering private developers property tax abatements for commercial redevelopment. A 1976 state law permits municipal corporations to exempt certain property improvements from real property taxes for periods of up to 30 years. The state's guaranteed-loan program for industrial developers provides repayment guarantees on 90% of loans up to $1 million. The state also offers revenue bonds to finance a developer's land, buildings, and equipment at interest rates below the going mortgage interest rates.
The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) consists of several divisions, including the: Economic Development Division, Office of Business Development, Office of Tax Incentives, Office of Financial Incentives, Office of Industrial Training, and Office of Small and Developing Business. These organizations administer plans for economic growth in cooperation with city and county governments. They inform companies about opportunities and advantages in the state and promote the sale of Ohio's exports abroad. In the 1990s, the departments instituted research and development programs at state universities in such fields as biotechnology, clean coat technologies, welding and joining technologies, robotics, polymers, and artificial intelligence. In 2002, special attention was paid to the development of Ohio's growing life science industry under the BioOhio 2002 rubric. In 2003, the Governor announced the Third Frontier Internship Program, designed to keep Ohio's college graduates in the state by connecting them with Ohio businesses through student internships.