Small Business Development Technical Assistance.

The $26 million General Fund appropriation (split into $7M for SB-TAP, $17M for CIP, and $2M for administration) is entirely removed. The bill no longer appropriates any funds.

The urgency clause requiring immediate effect is removed. The bill will now take effect on the standard July 1 date rather than immediately upon passage.

The bill now amends Section 12100.61 in addition to Section 12100.63, adding a new section with legislative findings and declarations about federal technical assistance programs (SBDC, Women's Business Center, Veteran Business Outreach Center, Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Minority Business Development Agency) and the role of nonprofit organizations.

The SB-TAP program description is narrowed to centers 'administered and primarily funded by federal agencies' while still including other nonprofit centers that can demonstrate experience and capacity. This clarifies the primary target population of the program.

A new eligibility pathway is created: an applicant may qualify if it is currently operating a small business technical assistance center (as defined in Section 12100.62(s)), has intent and ability to continue administering a center during the grant period, and has operational funding from a nonstate source - even without an active contract or letter of intent from a funding partner.

The network application requirement is relaxed: multiple centers may now apply as a network with a single fiscal agent if their active contracts are under the same funding authority, removing the prior requirement that contracts be for the same program.

The OSBA must now establish standardized performance metrics, reporting requirements, and outcome measures applicable to all grant recipients. Specific metrics include number of businesses served, consulting hours provided, geographic distribution of services, services to underserved groups, and business outcomes such as job creation and revenue growth.

New equitable access requirements mandate that grant recipients make publicly funded technical assistance available to all eligible small businesses regardless of membership status, affiliation, or dues payment. Chambers of commerce and membership-based organizations must establish specific procedures for non-member access.

The OSBA is now required to monitor grant recipients during the grant performance period to ensure compliance with program requirements, maintain records sufficient to evaluate program effectiveness, and report findings, actions, and aggregate program outcomes to the Legislature.

Removed 'federal' from 'federal nonstate funding partner' throughout Section 12100.63(f), broadening eligibility to centers with any nonstate funding source (private, state, or other) rather than only federally funded centers.

Eliminated the alternative pathway in subdivision (f)(1) that required non-federally contracted centers to document a private funding source and meet criteria defined in Section 12100.62(s). All centers now follow the same streamlined eligibility track.

Changed the new-center requirement from demonstrating 'ability to fully draw down substantially all federal or private funds available' to showing 'capacity to effectively operate, including reporting, with only the nonstate funds.'

Replaced the detailed plan-of-action requirement (which mandated fully drawing down federal funds using local cash match and state funds, with an alternative for private-funded centers) with a simpler requirement: a plan to operate the program solely with the contracted nonstate funding partner.

Changed the fiscal agent requirement from being able to receive 'nonfederal funds' to being able to receive 'state funds and has demonstrable experience reporting on small business assistance or other programs.'

Removed language requiring centers to be 'administered by and primarily funded by federal agencies, but shall also include other nonprofit small business technical assistance centers.' The program now simply requires centers to demonstrate experience, success, and capacity to expand existing small business administration programs.

Simplified the funding cap in subdivision (f)(3) by removing 'or the private funding sources specified' - the requested amount now only needs to not exceed the total award in the nonstate funding partner contract, with a $25,000 minimum retained.

The legislative digest was updated to note that the Small Business Resiliency and Innovation Act 'would include findings and declarations by the Legislature relating to the purposes and impacts of the CIP and the SB-TAP.'

The bill was renamed from the 'Los Angeles and Ventura Wildfire Small Business Recovery Resiliency and Innovation Act' to the 'Small Business Resiliency and Innovation Act,' removing the geographic limitation to LA and Ventura counties and the wildfire-specific purpose. Funds may now be used for assistance to small businesses generally rather than solely those directly impacted by the January 2025 wildfires.

The requirement for OSBA to establish a separate program providing relief for employees of small businesses directly impacted by the January 2025 wildfires (former Section 12100.73) is removed entirely.

The legislative finding and declaration that a special statute is necessary specifically for the Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura due to the extreme wildfires is removed, along with the corresponding urgency justification language about wildfire recovery.

The General Fund appropriation was reduced from $50,000,000 to $26,000,000. The internal allocation remains the same: $7 million for SB-TAP, $17 million for CIP, and $2 million for administrative purposes.

A new 'California Dream Fund Program' is created within SB-TAP to provide microgrants of up to $10,000 to seed entrepreneurship in underserved small business groups facing capital and opportunity gaps. These microgrants are disbursed through SB-TAP grantees to startup clients in intensive training programs.

A new Section 1 amends Government Code Section 12100.63 to add uniform eligibility criteria for SB-TAP applicants with nonstate funding sources, including requirements for an active federal contract or letter of intent, a plan of action for drawing down funds, a minimum grant amount of $25,000, a maximum duration of five years, and a fiscal agent capable of receiving state funds.

The amended Section 12100.63 allows groups of small business technical assistance centers to apply as a network if they are supported by contracts for the same program under the same funding authority, with a single consolidated application and fiscal entity.

Privacy protections are added for California Dream Fund participants: no person or entity may seek unnecessary information including immigration status, and collected information shall not constitute a record subject to public disclosure under the Public Records Act.

Temporary modifications are added for applicants whose federal contracts were canceled, frozen, or rescinded in the 2024-25 fiscal year. These centers may use their 2023-24 contract to meet eligibility requirements for grants made in fiscal years 2025-26 through 2027-28. This provision expires June 30, 2029.

The sunset date for the article was changed from January 1, 2031 to no explicit repeal date. The reporting deadline to the Legislature remains January 1, 2030.

Appropriation reduced from $50,000,000 to $26,000,000, a 48 percent decrease in total funding for wildfire small business recovery.

Specific allocation breakdown added: $7 million for SB-TAP, $17 million for CIP, and $2 million for staff augmentation, administrative support, program oversight, and accountability activities of the Office of the Small Business Advocate.

Act renamed from 'Los Angeles and Ventura Wildfire Small Business Recovery Act' to 'Los Angeles and Ventura Wildfire Small Business Recovery Resiliency and Innovation Act,' broadening the stated purpose beyond recovery to include resiliency and innovation.

A specific report deadline of 'on or before January 1, 2030' was added for GO-Biz's report to the Legislature detailing fund allocation and expenditure.

The digest indicates the repeal date was changed from January 1, 2031 to on or before January 1, 2030, though the section text in the amendment still reads January 1, 2031, suggesting a possible drafting inconsistency.

The urgency clause justification was substantially expanded to include language about small businesses being the primary source of employment and economic stability, ongoing economic volatility, rising costs, constrained credit markets, and threats to local employment, household income, and community stability.

Report content requirement changed from 'an assessment of the impact on business recovery' to 'an assessment of the impact on business recovery resilience and innovation.'