California General Assembly Vote to Increase Budget for Technical Assistance is Great News for Small Businesses
Statement by Mark Herbert, California Director of Small Business Majority, on why the California General Assembly’s vote today to boost funding for technical assistance will help small firms succeed
The California General Assembly showed its commitment to helping small businesses today when it approved a 2018-2019 state budget that includes an increase of $23 million in technical assistance funding for California’s small firms. This new funding is a critical step toward helping the state’s entrepreneurs grow and thrive.
The appropriation, which was spearheaded by Assemblymembers Sharon Quirk-Silva and Sabrina Cervantes, will be used by the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to provide funding to federally designated small business technical assistance centers in the state, including the Minority Business Development Centers, the Women’s Business Centers, the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers and the Veterans Business Outreach Centers. These funds will be used to expand their capacity to provide vital one-on-one counseling and training to businesses and entrepreneurs. Funding will be matched by federal or other non-state funds.
Small business technical assistance has been historically underfunded by California’s government despite the fact that technical assistance centers increase the likelihood that a small business succeeds, which helps California’s economy by creating jobs and generating wealth through local communities. We encourage Gov. Brown to include this technical assistance appropriation in the final 2018-2019 budget.
About Small Business Majority
Small Business Majority was founded and is run by small business owners to ensure America’s entrepreneurs are a key part of a thriving and inclusive economy. We actively engage our network of more than 58,000 small business owners in support of public policy solutions and deliver information and resources to entrepreneurs that promote small business growth. Our extensive scientific polling, focus groups and economic research help us educate and inform policymakers, the media and other stakeholders about key issues impacting small businesses and freelancers. Learn more about us on our website and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.