As the Texas Legislature enters a special session focused in part on flood recovery, small business owners across the state are seizing the opportunity to renew a critical push: the creation of an emergency bridge loan fund. This fund, modeled after a Florida program, would provide immediate cash flow to small businesses devastated by natural disasters, helping them cover payroll costs while they await long-delayed federal aid. For business owners like Janice Jucker of Three Brothers Bakery in Houston, the proposal could be the difference between reopening and shutting down for good.
Jucker, whose family bakery has weathered repeated hurricanes and floods, says time is of the essence after disaster strikes. “You must pay your employees to have a chance of reopening, and that takes cash,” she explains, according to Fox 26 Houston. Having testified on the issue during the regular legislative session, Jucker now plans to continue her advocacy in the special session, urging lawmakers to make small business recovery a top priority while the devastation of the Hill Country floods is still fresh in their minds.
The Texas Restaurant Association is also backing the measure. Kelsey Erickson Streufert, a spokesperson for the association, stresses the growing need for accessible financial tools amid increasingly frequent disasters. “These disasters are becoming relatively commonplace, so we need to make sure small businesses have the tools they need to get back on their feet, employ the community, and help rebuild the community,” Streufert said.
A bill introduced by Houston State Senator Carol Alvarado during the regular session would have established a bridge loan fund similar to Florida’s, offering up to $50,000 in zero-interest loans for payroll costs, with a two-year repayment period. However, the bill stalled before reaching a vote, leaving supporters hoping the special session can bring renewed attention to the issue.
As of now, the emergency loan proposal is not listed on the special session’s official agenda. Still, Jucker and other advocates say they’ll be lobbying hard to get it on the table. With small businesses serving as vital economic engines in communities hit hardest by natural disasters, the push for a bridge loan fund could become a defining debate in the weeks ahead.
