California: Governor Newsom signs historic law to stop big business from shutting out competition, cuts red tape to speed up business permitting

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Sep 30, 2026

Governor Newsom signs historic law to stop big business from shutting out competition, cuts red tape to speed up business permitting

What you need to know: The Golden State is home to over 7.6 million small businesses, the most in America, and today Governor Newsom is signing legislation to encourage fair competition and expand opportunities for entrepreneurs and workers.

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom announced he has signed new legislation to level the playing field for California's small businesses, cut red tape, strengthen competition, and give entrepreneurs more tools to open businesses, grow, and succeed.

The new laws will crack down on monopolies, help turn vacant storefronts into thriving pop-up businesses, speed up commercial permitting, and protect businesses from abusive financial practices. Governor Newsom is making California's economy work better for consumers, workers, and entrepreneurs, not just the biggest and best-connected.

California didn't become the fourth-largest economy in the world by chance. We got here because of the innovators, risk-takers, and entrepreneurs who started small and helped build this state from the ground up. Today we're leveling the playing field for small businesses by making it easier to open and expand businesses, cutting red tape, and protecting competition, We're taking on predatory practices that drive up costs and shut entrepreneurs out — making sure California's economy works for everyone, not just the biggest and best-connected.

Governor Gavin Newsom

"California should be a place where our small businesses, workers, and entrepreneurs get a fair shot, and where consumers aren't held hostage by companies that have crushed their competition and can now raise prices unchecked. I celebrate successful businesses, big and small. But when a corporation stops competing by offering the best product or service and instead uses its power to crush competitors, government has a responsibility to step in," said Assembly Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters). "Thank you to Governor Newsom for signing the COMPETE Act, and to everyone who helped make it happen. California now has stronger tools to protect our small businesses, workers, and consumers and to make sure our markets work for everyone."

Here's how new legislation signed by Governor Newsom will help power Golden State small businesses.

✅ Making a major update to California's antitrust and consumer protection laws. Clamping down on anti-competitive behavior, encouraging competition, and expanding opportunities for entrepreneurs and workers — including by creating new authority for the Attorney General and district attorneys to combat monopolistic behavior while also protecting small businesses.

✅Requiring cities to create a new permit that allows pop-up businesses to operate in vacant stores for up to 120 days, helping to drive up foot traffic and expand opportunities for small businesses.

✅Streamlining qualifying small business tenant-improvement permits by requiring local governments to provide applicants with a plan-check timeline and, when review is excessively delayed, allowing specified small businesses to use approved third-party plan checkers to review building plans and help them get permits and open their doors faster.

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✅Helping retailers open and operate faster by allowing businesses undertaking certain tenant improvements to hire qualified architects or engineers to review and certify that building plans comply with life-safety, health, and building code requirements.

✅Giving Californians more flexibility and convenience by allowing restaurants and bars to continue offering cocktails to-go.

✅Protecting small businesses from abusive financial practices by unscrupulous financing companies.

✅Ensuring access to small business technical assistance by supporting providers who offer free or low-cost one-on-one, confidential consulting and training. This will help small businesses and entrepreneurs start, grow, expand, and create jobs in California.

New legislation to support small business owners:

• AB 2116 by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita) — Commercial financing.
• AB 685 by Assemblymember José Luis Solache (D-Lynwood) — Small Business Development Technical Assistance.
• AB 1679 by Assemblymember Mark González (D-Los Angeles) — Local pop-up small business program.
• AB 1693 by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) — Accelerated retailer building plan approval: tenant improvements.
• AB 1776 by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) – Cartwright Act: violations. View signing message here.
• AB 2418 by Assemblymember Mark González — Local building permits: nonresidential private permitting review.
• AB 2663 by Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) — Alcoholic beverages: retail on-sale license: off-sale privileges.

Building a competitive world-leading economy

Since Governor Newsom took office, California's annual GDP has grown by more than $1.18 trillion, reaching $4.25 trillion in 2025. First-quarter 2026 economic output reached an annualized $4.4 trillion, following annual GDP gains exceeding $200 billion in each of the previous two years.

California also remains home to more small businesses than Texas or Florida, and continues to be America's startup capital — with more than 4.3 million small businesses employing 7.6 million Californians.

As the world's fourth-largest economy, California continues to lead the nation where it matters most — creating new businesses, attracting venture capital, driving technological innovation, expanding advanced manufacturing, growing high-tech industries, and producing more than any other state. In fact, the Golden State continues to be the #1 state for new business starts, #1 state for high-tech business, #1 state for agriculture, and #1 state for venture capital.

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