San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. (Jan. 8, 2025)
A program to help spur the creation of small businesses in San Francisco that is set to expire this summer could be extended another year after receiving backing from Mayor Daniel Lurie.
The First Year Free program waives several fees for new businesses for their first year of operation, including a registration fee, a license fee and permit fees.
Lurie said in a press release Thursday that he will introduce legislation to extend the program until June 2026. The program was enacted in 2021 and was set to expire this June.
The move to extend the program comes as part of an array of initiatives by Lurie to try to stimulate business in the city, including making the city's permitting process more streamlined and simplified, and backing a bill to increase the number of liquor licenses available in the city.
"I have heard from countless small business owners that it can feel like government is working against them. My administration is not OK with that, and we are fixing it," Lurie said in the press release.
Over 9,600 businesses have taken advantage of the program, according to city data. It is available to new businesses and existing businesses opening new locations.
To qualify, businesses must have less than $5 million in gross receipts in the city and have a physical, commercial location. Home-based businesses are not eligible. If a qualifying business makes more than $15 million in yearly gross receipts within the first three years of operation, it must repay the waived fees.
New businesses and expansion locations will be automatically evaluated for eligibility when they register with the city's Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector. If eligible, registrants will be emailed forms to present when applying for permits that will waive the associated fees.
Katy Tang, director of the city's Office of Small Business, said the program saves business startups thousands of dollars.
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"The First Year Free program is an example of a policy that makes an immediate and real impact for entrepreneurs starting businesses in San Francisco," Tang said.
The permit reforms will be carried out by a working group involving multiple city agencies and departments. Led by Planning Department director Rich Hillis, the team dubbed PermitSF will work on creating a completely web-based system with the goal of having the process be more transparent and easier to complete. Some of those reforms would include a system to move the process along to different departments in a comprehensive way, according to the mayor's office.
Lobbying for more liquor licenses is designed to stimulate nightlife downtown. Lurie last month backed a bill from state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, that would let the city issue 20 new permits in a downtown "hospitality zone," according to the mayor's office.
The bill, Senate Bill 395, was in committee as of the last update on its progress in late February.
