Legislation introduced in the wake of the destructive Los Angeles County wildfires to help businesses get back on their feet has been referred to the place where hundreds of bills die each year.

Assembly Bill 265 (Jessica Caloza, D-Los Angeles) establishes a $100 million, state-funded program for helping small businesses recover from economic or operational disruptions due to local or state emergencies, including severe weather events.

AB 265 would allocate 90% of the fund to competitive grants, “prioritizing resilience-focused projects, and supporting technical assistance for underserved populations,” according to a CalChamber sample letter addressed to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

It was there on Monday that the Senate Appropriations Committee referred AB 265 to the suspense file. That’s a place where bills go for more analysis on their potential fiscal impacts. Hundreds of bills die there quietly each year.

As CalMatters pointed out, up to a third of bills moved to suspense will go nowhere else — and it’s unlikely that anyone but lobbyists, staffers, lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s policy team will know why.

Legislators have the tough task of deciding where California taxpayer money is spent. Considering all those obligations, why shouldn’t small businesses get a little help when they need it most?

“The loss, damage, and devastation caused by the wildfires is staggering and what we need now is action. Together, we must begin the long process of rebuilding and that starts by giving people and our most vulnerable communities the resources they need to survive.” Assemblymember Caloza said in a statement in January announcing AB 262.

If AB 262 were in place back in September 2020, it could’ve helped businesses such as Cressman’s General Store, which burned during the Creek Fire near Shaver Lake. Five years later, Cressman’s has poured the foundation for a new store at the top of the four lane on Highway 168.

AB 262 could help businesses face an uncertain future. But first, it must make its way out of the suspense file by Aug. 29.