CA AB1573

Expands the definition of "small business technical assistance center" to include local governments for purposes of making supplemental grant awards under the California Small Business Development Technical Assistance Program.

Establishes the Small Business Retention Program as a supplemental grant program (upon appropriation) to provide grants to small business technical assistance centers and local governments for supporting retention of small businesses.

Requires the Small Business Retention Program to leverage state economic development and small business technical assistance providers and establish an early warning system to alert state, federal, and local partners of trending business challenges.

Modifies matching fund requirements for the Small Business Retention Program to allow applicants to document public or private funding sources as matches instead of requiring local cash matches.

Prioritizes funding for applications that serve underserved business groups including women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses, and businesses in low-wealth, rural, and disaster-impacted communities.