The California legislature approved a $263 billion budget proposal Monday that is now sitting on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.
While negotiations were over homelessness, transportation, and education, most of the small business pieces were not up for negotiation. Some of the budget pieces that will benefit our sector and your clients include:
- $1.5 Billion was added to the COVID-19 Relief Grant Program for a total investment of $4 billion.
- $2 billion in Unemployment Insurance tax credits are allocated over 10 years from 2023 to 2033 to mitigate the impacts of UI repayments for small businesses and nonprofits.
- $150 million creates the California Venues Grant Program and provides tax credits that support small business hiring and the hiring of homeless individuals.
- The budget includes a $50 million one-time allocation for grants to local governments and nonprofits to provide direct relief to eligible microbusinesses.The budget includes $35 million to support microgrants up to $10,000 to seed entrepreneurship and small business creation in underserved small business groups facing opportunity gaps,
- $5.4 million from the General Fund goes to technical assistance for Underserved Farmers
- The Small Business Loan Guarantee Program (SLGP) was reduced in the Governor’s Budget to $20 million one-time, as the state expects federal funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative
More negotiations are on their way, as are details on how some of these programs will work, so stay tuned.