The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Market demand is a driving factor in determining profitability of California companies and the ability of those companies to invest in business growth.
(b) The onset of COVID-19 and the subsequent economic downturn and recession has laid bare considerable social and economic inequities, and, overall, nearly one-half of all small businesses face permanent closure, with women-owned, minority-owned, and LGBTQ-owned businesses facing even higher foreclosure thresholds.
(c) The current economic recession caused by COVID-19 is hitting our minority and disadvantaged communities the hardest.
(d) California companies are often at a competitive disadvantage when responding to public contract proposals from government agencies because of factors associated with higher taxes, wages, rents, labor benefits, and insurance rates.
(e) The competitiveness of California companies is also impacted as a result of in-state business preference policies that exist in other states.