Interest-free payment options also will be
expanded for larger businesses, Newsom said.
The additional $500 million in relief funds will be
available to small businesses and nonprofits in
the form of grants up to $25,000.
“California’s small businesses embody the best
of the California Dream and we can’t let this
pandemic take that away,” Newsom said in a
statement. “By providing potentially billions
in immediate relief and support, our small
businesses can weather the next month.”
The tax relief and grants are designed to provide
aid until the Legislature can meet in the new
year and work with the governor to provide
more relief, Newsom said.
“This is not the end,” Newsom said at a
news conference. “This is just the beginning
of a bridge.”
Many small businesses are struggling to stay
afloat after months of restrictions and lower
sales because of the COVID-19 pandemic,
which in recent weeks has surged to record
levels, prompting a nearly statewide nighttime
curfew on nonessential work, movement
and gatherings.
In addition Los Angeles County, the nation’s
most populous, instituted a new local stay-
home order that took effect Monday. It calls for
10 million residents to stay home “as much as
possible” and prohibits them from gathering
with people outside of their households for
most public or private occasions.
California’s 4.1 small businesses employ 7.
million workers — nearly half of all private-
sector employees — and they are “drivers of