The California Chamber of Commerce today released the following statement in response to Governor Newsom’s new stay at home order:
“It is incredibly difficult to balance public health needs against the ability of small businesses to stay open and workers to support their families,” said CalChamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg.
“Small business revenues will now be a function of hospital capacity and we need every Californian to support small business by practicing responsible behavior,” said Zaremberg.
“The loss of revenue many small businesses will experience as a result of this latest shut down could be catastrophic. We appreciate that the Governor has allowed retail to stay open even if it is at a reduced capacity. With so many small businesses relying on revenue from the holiday shopping season, we are encouraging people to take advantage of local retail establishments to do their holiday shopping,” said Zaremberg.
Due to concerns over the economic fallout of the new order, CalChamber and more than 100 local chambers of commerce today sent a letter to the California Congressional delegation urging them to act immediately to provide economic relief to struggling small businesses.
CalChamber and local chambers of commerce are specifically asking Congress to extend and expand the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as well as forgive the federal loan California has received for unemployment benefits. This loan is repaid with higher employer taxes and is now approximately $20 billion and expected to grow as a result of the new shelter in place order.
A copy of the letter is available at https://advocacy.calchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Federal-Relief-for-Small-Businesses-12320.docx.
The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is the largest broad-based business advocate to government in California. Membership represents one-quarter of the private sector jobs in California and includes firms of all sizes and companies from every industry within the state. Leveraging our front-line knowledge of laws and regulations, we provide products and services to help businesses comply with both federal and state law. CalChamber, a not-for-profit organization with roots dating to 1890, promotes international trade and investment in order to stimulate California’s economy and create jobs. Please visit our website at www.calchamber.com
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