By: Jasmine West
Small businesses sit at the center of Michigan’s neighborhoods. They are the salons where families gather before graduations and weddings, the restaurants that anchor commercial corridors, the corner stores that know customers by name, and the mom-and-pop shops that often keep local dollars circulating close to home.
Now, a new bipartisan, bicameral legislative package introduced by Sen. Sarah Anthony seeks to give those businesses a stronger place in Michigan’s statewide economic development strategy.
Anthony, a Lansing Democrat and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced Senate Bills 1009 and 1010 during Small Business Month. The legislation is designed to expand how Michigan Strategic Fund dollars can be used and create a new Office of Small Business Growth within the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
The proposal comes at a time when small businesses continue to face pressure from rising costs, access-to-capital challenges, workforce needs and uneven recovery in commercial districts across the state. For many entrepreneurs, especially small and microbusiness owners, the issue is not a lack of ideas or demand. It is often the difficulty of finding funding, technical assistance, reliable state support or a clear point of entry into programs that already exist.
“From our mom and pop shops and salons to restaurants and more, small businesses make Michigan communities vibrant,” Anthony said. “During Small Business Month, I’m proud to introduce legislation which would equip small business owners with the resources and tools they need to grow and succeed here in Michigan.”
Senate Bill 1009 would expand the allowable use of Michigan Strategic Fund dollars, permitting those dollars to be used to administer or invest in small business programs, services and initiatives across the state. The Michigan Strategic Fund has long been one of the state’s major economic development tools, often associated with larger business attraction, job creation and investment efforts. Anthony’s legislation would place small business growth more directly within that framework.
For communities like Detroit, where neighborhood businesses often serve as both economic engines and cultural anchors, that shift could matter. Small business owners frequently operate with thin margins while also filling gaps in areas where residents need food, beauty services, childcare, retail, professional services and gathering spaces. In Black communities especially, small businesses often carry additional weight as sources of ownership, employment, stability and legacy.
Anthony said the legislation was shaped with input from the Small Business Association of Michigan and reflects the needs of both small and microbusinesses.
“Thanks to the dedicated partnership of the Small Business Association of Michigan, this bipartisan, bicameral package truly reflects the needs of small and microbusinesses and the solutions needed to help them stay a strong driving force behind Michigan’s economy, workforce, and communities,” Anthony said.
Senate Bill 1010 would create the Office of Small Business Growth within the MEDC. The office would serve as a central hub for small business strategy and coordination across state government. According to Anthony’s office, the office would align programs across agencies, strengthen partnerships with local providers and improve how small businesses connect to capital and technical assistance.
That kind of coordination is often where small business policy succeeds or fails. A program may exist, but if business owners do not know where to go, what they qualify for, how to apply or who can help them navigate the process, the benefit can remain out of reach. The proposed office would be intended to reduce that fragmentation and make the state’s support system easier to access.
Brian Calley, president and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan, said the legislation represents a long-term shift in how the state thinks about small business development.
“This legislation takes an important step toward making small business central to Michigan’s economic strategy by establishing a long-term approach through the new Office of Small Business Growth,” Calley said. “Small businesses are the very core of our communities, driving vitality, stability, and opportunity. I want to thank Senator Anthony for her strong leadership and collaboration in moving this effort forward.”
The package also builds on language included in the Senate’s 2027 budget proposal, which called for a more formal structure around small business growth. By placing the office within MEDC, supporters say the state could better connect entrepreneurs with funding opportunities, technical help, local economic development organizations and other resources that are often spread across multiple systems.
The bills now move to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for further consideration.
For Anthony, the legislation is about more than acknowledging the role small businesses play during a designated month. It is an attempt to move small business support from seasonal recognition into permanent state infrastructure.
If passed, the package would mark a policy shift in how Michigan uses its economic development resources, moving small businesses closer to the center of conversations often dominated by large-scale development projects and major corporate investments.
For neighborhood entrepreneurs across Michigan, the promise of the legislation will depend on whether it can turn state strategy into practical help: capital that reaches the right hands, technical assistance that is easy to access and a state office that understands the realities of businesses operating on Main Streets, commercial corridors and neighborhood blocks.
