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November 3, 2025
Nyasha Howard, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
Dear Secretary Howard:
Today, alongside Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George and Brooke Pinto , I am introducing the
“Small and Local Business Credit Enhancement Amendment Act of 202 5”. Please find enclosed a
signed copy of the legislation.
The District’s many small and local businesses are the engine s of our economy. According to data
published by the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than 98.1% of DC businesses are small
businesses. As the District continues to welcome and pursue development of our commercial
corridors, it is paramount that our small and local businesses can compete with national chains for
new and prime commercial space.
Many developers prefer to secure financing for a project by signing long -term leases with tenants
that can afford to do so . These tenants are more likely to be big national chains and not small and
local businesses, whose owners must typically rely on their own personal savings and financing from
credit cards to get the business going.
This legislation would create a Small and Local Business Credit Enhancement Program within the
Department of Small and Local Business Development to provide qualifying businesses rent
guarantees and other credit enhancement services. The program provides for a rent guarantee for
up to three years that would be 100% of the rent owed in year one, 50% in year two, and 25% in year
three. The program will enhance DC small and local businesses’ competitiveness with big national
chains and also incentivize develop ers across the District to work and support DC’s entrepreneurs
and small and local business owners.
Please feel free to reach out to me or my Legislative Director, Antonio Nunes, with any questions or
for additional information.
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Sincerely,
Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6
Chairperson, Committee on Transportation & the Environment
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Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Councilmember Charles Allen 2
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Councilmember Brooke Pinto 6
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A BILL 11
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 16
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To amend the Small, Local, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Development and 21
Assistance Act of 2025 to create a Small and Local Business Credit Enhancement 22
Program within the Department of Small and Local Business Development to provide 23
qualifying businesses rent guarantees and other credit enhancement services. 24
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 26
act may be cited as the “Small and Local Business Credit Enhancement Amendment Act of 27
2025”. 28
Sec. 2. The Small, Local, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Development and 29
Assistance Act of 2005 , effective October 20, 2005 (D.C. Law 16-33; D.C. Official Code § 2 -30
218.01 et seq.), is amended by adding a new section 2316 to read as follows: 31
Ҥ 2316. Small and local business credit enhancement program. 32
“(a) There is established within the Department a Small and Local Business Credit 33
Enhancement Program (“Program”), to provide to qualifying businesses rent guarantees and 34
other credit enhancement services as determined by the Department. 35
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“(b) The Department shall maintain a Small and Local Business Underwriting Registry 36
(“Registry”), listing local business enterprises and small business enterprises that are eligible to 37
receive credit enhancement services from the Department. 38
“(c) To be placed on the Registry, a local business enterprise or small business enterprise 39
shall provide to the Department, on an annual basis and in a form determined by the Department, 40
information sufficient to determine creditworthiness, including: 41
“(1) For a local business enterprise or small business enterprise that has been 42
operating for at least 2 years: 43
“(A) Corporate tax returns for the previous 2 years; 44
“(B) The local business enterprise or small business enterprise owner’s 45
individual tax returns for the previous 2 years; 46
“(C) The local business enterprise or small business enterprise owner’s 47
personal financial statement, including a listing of all assets and liabilities; and 48
“(D) A financial statement for the local business enterprise or small 49
business enterprise, including: 50
“(i) A profit and loss statement; 51
“(ii) Balance sheet; and 52
“(iii) A listing of accounts receivable and accounts payable; or 53
“(2) For a local business enterprise or small business enterprise that has been 54
operating for fewer than 2 years: 55
“(A) All corporate tax returns; 56
“(B) The local business enterprise or small business enterprise owner’s 57
individual tax returns for the previous 2 years; 58
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“(C) The local business enterprise or small business enterprise owner’s 59
personal financial statement, including a listing of all assets and liabilities; 60
“(D) A financial statement for the local business enterprise or small 61
business enterprise, including: 62
“(i) A profit and loss statement; 63
“(ii) Balance sheet; and 64
“(iii) A listing of accounts receivable and accounts payable; 65
“(E) A business plan; and 66
“(F) Evidence of the business owner’s management experience or other 67
experience relevant to the business plan. 68
“(d) If the Department determines, pursuant to publicly available criteria adopted by 69
rulemaking, that the information provided by a local business enterprise or small business 70
enterprise pursuant to subsection (c) of this section demonstrates an acceptable level of risk, the 71
Department shall place the local business enterprise or small business enterprise on the Registry. 72
“(e) A local business enterprise or small business enterprise listed on the Registry shall be 73
eligible to apply for rent guarantees, as follows: 74
“(1) The Department may provide a certification to a property owner that, in the 75
event a local business enterprise or small business enterprise listed on the Registry is unable to 76
pay rent and the property owner is unable to mitigate the lost rent, the Department will provide 77
payments, pursuant to the terms of a lease between the property owner and the local business 78
enterprise or small business enterprise listed on the Registry, to the property owner for up to 3 79
years as follows: 80
“(A) In the first year of the lease, 100% of the rent owed; 81
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“(B) In the second year of the lease, 50% of the rent owed; and 82
“(C) In the third year of the lease, 25% of the rent owed. 83
“(2) The Department shall not provide a certification to a property owner pursuant 84
to paragraph (1) of this subsection after the qualifying business is obligated to make payments 85
pursuant to a lease with the property owner, or if the local business enterprise or small business 86
enterprise listed on the Registry has at any other time been obligated to make payments pursuant 87
to a lease between the qualifying local business and the local business enterprise or small 88
business enterprise listed on the Registry. 89
“(3) Before receiving a certification pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, a 90
property owner shall provide the Department a certification, in a form determined by the 91
Department, that but for the rent guarantee, the property owner would not enter into a lease 92
agreement with the local business enterprise or small business enterprise listed on the Registry. 93
“(4) The Department shall not make a payment pursuant to paragraph (1) of this 94
subsection if the property owner has not made a good faith effort to replace the local business 95
enterprise or small business enterprise listed on the Registry. 96
“(5) The payment made pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not 97
exceed 110% of the average commercial rent per square foot for the census tract where the 98
qualifying business is located. 99
“(f) Within 90 days after the effective date of the Small and Local Business Credit 100
Enhancement Amendment Act of 2025 , introduced November 3, 2025, and annually thereafter, 101
the Department shall publish on its website a list of the average commercial rent per square foot 102
for each census tract. 103
“(g) The Department may provide other credit enhancement services.”. 104
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Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 105
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 106
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 107
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 108
Sec. 4. Effective date. 109
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 110
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 111
provided in section 602(c)( 1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 112
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1 -206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 113
Columbia Register. 114