Call on California legislators to reform antiquated antitrust law

On behalf of small business owners across California, we write to express our strong support for the COMPETE Act (AB 1776), introduced by Assembly Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry. This legislation is a critical step toward ensuring a fair and competitive marketplace where small businesses can thrive.

California’s 4.3 million small businesses make up 99.8% of all businesses in the state and employ nearly half of the private workforce. Yet too often, small businesses are forced to compete in markets where the rules are set by a handful of dominant companies.

California—the fourth largest economy in the world–relies on antitrust laws that were created in 1907 and could not possibly reflect the realities of today’s economy or technology. Additionally, California is one of only a few states without a clear state-level prohibition on illegal monopolization. AB 1776 addresses a significant gap in California law by recognizing what small business owners experience every day: a single dominant company can use its power to block competition, limit access to customers and push out smaller competitors. This bill ensures those harmful practices can be addressed. Importantly, the bill focuses on banning illegal monopolization and single-firm anticompetitive conduct.

The need for action is clear. Small business owners overwhelmingly agree that our current laws are not keeping pace with today’s economy:

• 82% say it’s time to update our laws to better protect small businesses—not just consumers
• 80% say large companies have too much control over markets
• 80% report that large companies have an unfair advantage
• 56% say their industry is dominated by a few major players
• 83% say large companies take their ideas and scale them

These challenges are not theoretical. Across industries, small business owners are experiencing real consequences. Restaurants are being pushed down on delivery platforms unless they pay higher fees, retailers are struggling to reach customers when a single platform controls access, and local businesses are losing customers when dominant companies undercut prices or lock in exclusive deals

AB 1776 would establish necessary guardrails by making it unlawful for dominant companies to block competitors, control access to customers or engage in unfair practices that harm small businesses. This will help restore balance to the marketplace and ensure that businesses succeed based on innovation, quality and service—not market dominance.

Small businesses are the backbone of California’s economy, but they cannot compete on a level playing field without modern protections that reflect today’s market realities. The COMPETE Act will help ensure that entrepreneurs have a fair chance to grow, compete and succeed.

We urge you to support AB 1776.

Join us in urging the California Legislature to level the playing field and protect small business owners from the monopolistic practices.