House Bill No. 537 - Small Business Grant Program

This is a bill introduced in the General Assembly of Pennsylvania that proposes to amend the act of April 9, 1929, known as The Fiscal Code. The purpose of the bill is to create a small business grant program to assist businesses that have been financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the state of disaster emergency declared by the Governor in March 2020.

The bill defines a small business as a retail or personal service employer in Pennsylvania that either had gross annual receipts of $1,500,000 or less in the previous fiscal year or employs no more than 10 full-time employees.

The bill outlines the process for applying for grants through regional networks, which are economic development service providers. The Department of Community and Economic Development will provide grants to these regional networks, which will then administer and distribute the grants to eligible small businesses. The maximum grant amount that a small business can receive is $15,000.

The bill requires the Department to develop a grant application form for small businesses to apply for a grant. The application form should include information such as the name, address, and contact information of the small business, the amount of grant money requested, the proposed use of the grant money, and the financial impact of the pandemic on the business.

The bill also requires the Department to provide public notice regarding the availability and award of grant money on its website. Regional networks will review the grant applications and determine whether to award grant money to the small businesses based on certain criteria, such as geographic and demographic diversity.

The bill includes provisions for reporting and publication of information regarding the grant program and appropriates $50,000,000 to the Department from the Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund to administer and fund the program.

The bill will expire on September 30, 2021, or 30 days after the termination of the declaration of disaster emergency, whichever occurs later.

Rep. Manuel Guzman

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