Mayor Karen Bass Continues Progress For L.A. Businesses

The directive instructed the Mayor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to work in collaboration with select City Departments and Bureaus to form the Los Angeles Business Steering Committee to identify barriers to business development and growth. It also instructed the Steering Committee to conduct its initial findings and report back within 90 days of the issuance of the directive. Read the 90-Day Progress Report here and Report Summary here.
 
“For too long, we have heard that Los Angeles is hostile to business, but with more than 10,500 businesses opening since I came into office, it is clear that people want to start and grow their businesses here,” said Mayor Bass. “Our city is open for business. That is why I instituted Executive Directive 4 and ordered this report to take full stock of the City’s barriers to attracting and retaining small businesses. This 90-Day Progress Report is an honest look at our government processes and immediate opportunities to improve the way City Hall supports the nearly 500,000 businesses that are owned and operated in Los Angeles.” 

The initial findings identify solutions to implement prior to December 31, 2023, including: 

• Enacting departmental action plans to address process delays

• Providing virtual and in-person counter services for businesses looking to open or expand Adopt strategies to immediately help expedite contract payments 

• Establishing a Small Business Cabinet and an ED4 Community Business Taskforce to ensure small businesses can inform the Steering Committee and provide solutions 

Mayor Bass signed Executive Directive 4 on June 22, 2023 to encourage small business and minority business creation, development and growth across Los Angeles. The directive requires: 

• A review of existing business taxes and fees and reasonable opportunities to reduce those costs with special attention to how fees impact small and micro businesses; 

• An assessment of existing processes and timelines associated with starting and operating a business in the City, expanding an existing one, and contracting directly or indirectly with the City; and 

• A comparative analysis of our City’s taxes and to those of other Cities.

The Mayor’s Office will continue to review and assess processes, timelines, taxes, and fees that create barriers for entrepreneurs and small businesses; evaluating how Departments can improve businesses’ engagement with the City and gathering feedback from the business community to advance their top priorities. The Steering Committee will submit regular reports to the Mayor’s Office to track progress and identify additional areas of improvement. Future progress reports will be shared as they become available.

SOURCE: https://mayor.lacity.gov/news/mayor-karen-bass-continues-progress-la-businesses