Small Business Advocacy Council president Elliot Richardson (left) and South Shore Chamber of Commerce executive director Tonya Trice speak during a House committee meeting on Thursday. 

Updated 9:35 a.m. Jan. 21: Small business groups are back in Springfield with a new effort to reverse an incentive for property owners to leave their storefronts vacant, a phenomenon they say has long plagued commercial corridors across the state. But a spirited hearing on Thursday signaled a rocky path ahead for the bill.