Golden State Today

Assemblyman Thurston “Smitty” Smith is pushing for the state’s businesses to reopen.

Smith, vice-chair of the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee is also part of the California State Assembly’s Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Committee.

Smith encourages employers to avail of various resources to help them run their companies and keep employees on their payroll.

“We need to reopen California's small businesses. If you are a small business owner visit covid19.ca.gov for resources available from the state,” he recently stated on Twitter.

“I am honored to contribute to the statewide conversation and advocate for our region in the State Assembly,” Smith said in a statement. “First and foremost, we are going to get our local economy back on track, honor our law enforcement officers and get to work to fix the major backlog of claims at the EDD.”

Smith is also co-sponsoring a tax levy bill that would also aid small businesses.

The bill states that “for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2026, gross income does not include the amount of a grant awarded pursuant to the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program.”

The current law requires “any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and  data collection requirements.”