California cannot afford to hurt our small businesses

It’s no secret to Californians how devastating the COVID-19 pandemic was to our small businesses and workers. LA County alone lost over half a million jobs and saw the permanent closing of 7,500 small businesses.

After all the hard work California business owners have done to recover from the pandemic, the last thing we need is another law to make conducting business more difficult. That is why I am extremely concerned about Senate Bill 1144, a new bill introduced by State Senator Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley that would make selling online much harder.

Sen. Skinner’s bill would duplicate the federal INFORM Consumers Act, which recently went into effect in June 2023. The INFORM Act is a bipartisan bill that requires online businesses to “verify and share information on third-party sellers” that are responsible for a large number of transactions.

This legislation is designed to deter bad actors and organized crime rings who may attempt to sell large amounts of stolen or counterfeit goods online. This was an important step to ensure criminals were not able to profit from their theft, but the best part about the bill was that it did not hinder legitimate businesses from selling and growing.

Now, Sacramento politicians are threatening online sellers with a duplicative law that is not only unnecessary, but potentially detrimental to our ability to run our business. The last thing small business owners in California need more of is red tape. It is already hard enough to run a business without adding layers of confusion and bureaucracy, for little to no payoff.

That’s why it shouldn’t come as a surprise, that with the threat of these hurdles and potential liability, many Californians will be hesitant to open a business or may even be tempted to take their new business out of state.

California has experienced a significant decline in our population, with approximately 818,000 of our residents moving out of state between 2021 and 2022. Moreover, California business headquarters left the state in 2021 at twice their rate in both 2020 and 2019, and at three times their rate in 2018.

A loss of revenue and California’s cooling economy have greatly contributed to the state’s $73 billion budget deficit. California – and its business owners – cannot afford anti-small business legislation such as SB 1144.

California certainly has seen its fair share of organized crime, smash and grabs, and “crime tourism.” We can all agree these criminals must be brought to justice, but this legislation will not be helpful in addressing the root cause of the issue. Instead, we should address issues at the scene of the crime and continue giving law enforcement the tools they need to prevent in-store retail theft.

The past few years have been exceedingly difficult for small business owners. I sincerely hope that legislators will reconsider the severe and completely unnecessary impact SB 1144 will have on online sellers throughout California.

Instead of wrapping sellers in confusion and red tape that makes it more difficult to support ourselves and our families, lawmakers should focus on pro-growth policies and empowering law enforcement to end the rampant theft before it begins.

Bernadette Suarez is the Mayor Pro-Tem for the City of Lawndale