Small Business Roundtable May 18, 2020, Convening
During the course of the conference call we will be referring to documents and links on this page and the JEDE COVID-19 Resource Page.
The May 18, 2020, agenda is included within this PowerPoint. The primary topics are related to the California's response to the coronavirus and COVID-19 epidemic. These issues include:
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Significant Issues Facing Small Businesses
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Service and Program Delivery Challenges in Meeting Small Business Needs
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May Revise and Pending COVID-19 Legislation
The five top program challenges that have emerged from discussions include:
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While necessary, reopening guidelines are placing new financial and management challenges on an already stressed business community. Accessing sufficient PPE to meet necessary health and safety standards is a barrier to re-opening.
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Small businesses, especially minority- and women-owned, are still finding it difficult to access low-cost financial resources. State funding structures have resulted in too high of fees being placed on disaster loans and guarantees.
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While the Federal Reserve has addressed liquidity issues for mainstream banks, smaller nontraditional lenders are still experiencing significant liquidity issues.
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State program requirements impede program delivery and should be adjusted to better serve small businesses to meet the coronavirus challenge.
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The lack of clarity about the post-coronavirus economy. It is clear, however, that prior economic disparities will have even greater impacts.