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Lane County Business Leaders Call On Lawmakers For Relief

Florence Chamber of Commerce

Lane County business leaders are calling on the governor and state legislature to provide immediate relief to small businesses. This comes as lawmakers meet for a special session in Salem Monday.

In a letterto lawmakers, Chamber of Commerce leaders say because of COVID restrictions, many small businesses will not survive the winter without help from the state.

Bettina Hannigan is President and CEO of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. She said her town relies on tourism for its economic stability. And if a restaurant closes, it affects more than the owner and employees.

“It affects the entire economy because people don’t come to a tourist destination without restaurants, because that’s what we all want to do when we go out, being a tourist.” Hannigan said.  “We want to eat, drink, stay, play, hike, fish, golf, and eat.”

Business leaders want lawmakers to provide a path for safe reopening, remedies to small businesses that have had to shut down, create a relief fund, put a moratorium on new or increased local taxes, and provide for stabilization of the commercial rental market.

Copyright 2020 KLCC.

Rachael McDonald is KLCC’s host for All Things Considered on weekday afternoons. She also is the editor of the KLCC Extra, the daily digital newspaper. Rachael has a BA in English from the University of Oregon. She started out in public radio as a newsroom volunteer at KLCC in 2000.
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