SECTION 1. (a) There shall be established and set upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the COVID-19 Economic Stabilization Emergency Fund to be administered by the executive office of housing and economic development.

(b) The purpose of the Fund shall be for financial assistance in the form of grants to small businesses, non-profits and municipalities within the commonwealth who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in high impact areas. High impact areas are towns where public and private institutions of higher education are located and have closed as a result of or in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Such financial assistance shall include, but not be limited to, grants for: (i) loss of revenue; (ii) unexpected expenses; or (iii) loss of contributions, grants or other financial assistance as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in such high impact areas.

(c) There shall be credited to the Fund all amounts that are, by law, transferred or authorized to be transferred thereto or directed to be deposited therein, and all amounts received as gifts, grants, or contributions for the purposes of the Fund. Amounts credited to the Fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and any money remaining in the Fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.

(d) For the purposes of this section the term “small business”, shall mean a business entity, including its affiliates, that: (i) is independently owned and operated; (ii) has a principal place of business in the commonwealth; and (iii) would be defined as a small business under applicable federal law, as established in the United States Code and promulgated from time to time by the United States Small Business Administration.

SECTION 2. On the effective date of this act, the comptroller shall transfer no less than $125,000,000 from the General Fund to the COVID-19 Economic Stabilization Emergency Fund established in section 1 for the purposes of carrying out this act.