Reps. Ciresi, Snyder seek cosponsors for COVID relief bill

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State Reps. Joe Ciresi (D- Montgomery County) and Pam Snyder (D-Greene County) recently sent a memorandum to all House members seeking cosponsors for a bill establishing a COVID-19 relief program.

The COVID-19 Grant Program for Ultra-Small Businesses was introduced last session as House Bill 2452. This version of the bill allocates funding from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to replace federal CARES Act money, which has been exhausted.

The $50 million grant program would be for businesses employing 30 full-time employees or less and making no more than $3 million in gross annual receipts.

“Small businesses are the backbone of many of our communities throughout Pennsylvania, and we feel it is essential that the commonwealth put extra support towards ensuring they can make it through these tough times and continue once life returns to normal,” the memorandum said. “While there have been previous business relief efforts, we have to make sure that there’s funding dedicated to help the smallest businesses, which often struggle to compete with larger businesses for competitive funding.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has hard hit small businesses and their employees, the memo said, yet these businesses are the foundation of the state’s economy and local communities.