Here’s how California lawmakers can help hurting LA small businesses

OPINION – As Los Angelenos come together to rebuild from the recent fires, the need for support is urgent. For the small businesses that were destroyed, the flames snuffed out livelihoods and buried treasured community spaces. These business owners are left with the difficult decision of whether to attempt to rebuild, to walk away from their life’s work or to start over somewhere else.

Los Angeles County is home to more than 1.3 million small businesses. Even businesses that remain standing are feeling the effects of the fires. Foot traffic and spending is down and, as we saw during the pandemic, most small businesses do not have the cash reserves necessary to survive more than a few days of a shutdown or even a prolonged slowdown. That is especially true for women- and minority-owned businesses, more of which call LA County home than any other county in the nation.

Last month, California passed a $2.5 billion wildfire package that will provide much-needed relief and support to help LA rebuild housing, but the bill did not include specific provisions to help small businesses. Small businesses need the state’s help, too.

Lawmakers have an opportunity to help small businesses rebuild stronger and more prepared for whatever the future might hold, with straightforward investments and protections. Here are key actions small business owners urgently need lawmakers to take:

• Eviction moratorium and protection from price gouging: Assemblymember Isaac Bryan has introduced critical legislation, AB 246, to protect renters from price gouging in the wake of the fires. LA small business owners need similar protections. It’s likely that corporate landlords may seize on this moment to oust longtime small businesses in favor of higher-paying tenants, and small businesses must be protected from price gouging and evictions in the immediate wake of the fires.
• Passage of Small Business Recovery Fund Act: Assemblymember Jessica Caloza has introduced AB 265, legislation that would establish a $100 million small business relief fund for small businesses and nonprofits affected by the fire. This program will provide critical funding to help small businesses with rebuilding and recovery efforts for these fires and other disasters. The fund will also help small businesses prepare for future disasters by enabling them to make important investments like fire-proofing, electrical relocation, additional insurance coverage, and even business relocation for businesses in disaster-prone areas.
• Investment in community development financial institutions (CDFIs): CDFIs, financial first responders that served on the frontline of Covid-19 recovery efforts for small businesses, are essential to small business resilience. Immediately in the aftermath of the fires, many local CDFIs set up zero- and low-interest loans to help small businesses with emergency relief and working capital to stay afloat. Long-term, CDFIs will help small businesses with sustainable plans for growth, offering affordable financing to strengthen operations and put in cost-saving, climate-friendly measures like solar power or energy efficient windows. The California State Treasury just awarded $9.1 million to CDFIs to distribute to small businesses, funded by the California Investment & Innovation Program (Cal IIP). This is the type of investment that should be doubled down on in coming years.
• Support of small business technical assistance and access to capital: Assemblymember José Solache, Chair of Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact has introduced a budget proposal to provide increased support for small business technical assistance in times of natural disaster so that the underpinning of our economy is insulated as much as possible.

We mourn for what’s been lost: local shops, with beloved traditions for families and community members attached; jobs that employees would love to be at right now; revenue that supported the families who ran these businesses and our municipal and state infrastructure. LA businesses can – and will – rebuild.

Entrepreneurial drive and resilience are alive and well. Some local business owners will have to pivot, some will have years of progress to make up. Lake Avenue and Old Town in Altadena, along with the Village in the Palisades, will look different. California’s network of mission-driven lenders and small business assistance groups are working full-speed to support businesses through this rebuilding period. Just as we want to rebuild homes as fast as we can, we urge lawmakers to take action on behalf of our small businesses and their communities. They are counting on you.

Carolina Martinez is the CEO of CAMEO Network. Patrick Nye is Regional Director for the Los Angeles Small Business Development Network.