SACRAMENTO – Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) issued the following statement on Feb. 22, after the Assembly passed a historic small business relief bill, which includes more than $2 billion in grants for non-profits and small businesses:

“Our local small businesses and non-profits – and their employees – have borne the brunt of California’s on-again, off-again COVID-19 lockdowns. As a result, thousands of California businesses and non-profits have had to close their doors for good, and millions of employees were forced to navigate a broken unemployment system that sometimes took months to get benefits out.

“Thanks to an unexpected budget surplus, we have the means to help some of these struggling small businesses and non-profits. This historic relief bill will help organizations pay their bills, save jobs, and keep their doors open.

“Small businesses and non-profits – and the thousands of local workers that rely on them – are the backbone of the Central Coast economy. We must continue to do whatever we can to ensure their survival. I am proud to co-author this bill and implore the Governor to sign it immediately.”

SB 87, coauthored by Cunningham, creates a $2.075 billion California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program. If signed into the law, small businesses and non-profits would be eligible to apply for these grant funds in order to cover eligible expenses like payroll, healthcare benefits, and reopening costs.