Derek Slap

Senate Passes Bill to Assist Small Businesses Competing in Virtual Marketplace

Bill allows small businesses to utilize free seminars at community colleges

Today, the Senate voted to pass Senate Bill 3, legislation that will lead to the development of online seminar courses supporting small businesses in developing and expanding online infrastructure for their businesses. State Senator Derek Slap (D-West Hartford), Senate Chair of the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, led Senate Democrats in leading the vote, passing a bill that stands as a major priority this year, intended to support small businesses in their recovery from the worst impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Small businesses are vital to our economy and play an important role in our local communities,” said Sen. Slap. “They deserve aid in the modern economic climate, where e-commerce plays a more important role than ever. I’m proud to lead the Senate’s passage of this legislation, which will provide free educational courses to small businesses and help them better utilize the internet as a tool and resource. It will benefit them directly. I appreciate Senator Looney’s foresight in introducing this bill to the Legislature.”

“As a part of the Senate Democratic agenda, Senate Bill 3 is a critical part of our work this legislative session to help Connecticut continue to rebound from the impact of COVID-19,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney. “Expanding debt-free community college to support free online commerce courses will help our local stores better reach customers after the pandemic disrupted their regular way of business.”

Senate Bill 3, “An Act Requiring The Board of Regents For Higher Education To Develop Seminar Programs For Small Businesses,” would see the Board of Regents develop programs designed to aid small businesses with 25 or fewer employees adapt to changing business environments. The programs would offer electronic commerce, social media, cybersecurity and virtual currency courses, among others, and would be available to small businesses by September 1.

Through the programs, up to two small business employees would be able to enroll at no cost in up to five seminar programs, or any courses within seminar programs, at the Northwestern Connecticut Community College Entrepreneurial Center or the Werth Innovation and Entrepreneurial Center at Housatonic Community College.

The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities reported that the seminars would be offered online and in-person for businesses.

Since 2014, worldwide e-commerce sales have more than tripled in value, with e-commerce growing sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media, online platforms and internet presence are all more valuable to market success than they were a decade ago. At the same time, 75% of small businesses experienced a decline of at least 25% in revenue from 2019 to 2020. The Small Business Administration reported that tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of small businesses were lost just at the beginning of the pandemic, with many still struggling to make full recoveries.

The Connecticut Business and Industry Association testified in support of this bill, noting that many small businesses do not have the ability to invest time and resources into researching online practices. The CBIA said in testimony that it strongly supports the creation of these seminars to aid small businesses in easily accessing reputable material, specifically citing the advantages that cybersecurity training could provide in protecting business and customer data.

This legislation follows similar programs in other states; for example, several North Carolina community colleges currently offer free seminars for small businesses to aid job creation and retention.

The bill passed the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee by a unanimous vote. It now heads to the House for further consideration.