HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5040        FILED ON: 4/21/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Carlos González

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to providing relief for micro businesses for the duration of executive order 591 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5040        FILED ON: 4/21/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act relative to providing relief for micro businesses for the duration of executive order 591 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide forthwith for relief to micro businesses within the commonwealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. For the purposes of this act, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

“Fund”, the COVID-19 Micro Business Economic Stimulus Fund established in section 2.

“General operation losses”, loss of business income, goods or services related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Micro business”, a business entity, including its affiliates, that: (i) is independently owned and operated; (ii) has a principal place of business in the commonwealth; (iii) has fewer than 5 employees; and (iv) reported gross receipts or sales on its 2018 tax return [PJ(1] of not more than $200,000[MC(2] .

SECTION 2. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the COVID-19 Micro Business Economic Stimulus 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 micro businesses with credible revenue losses due to the 2019 novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, outbreak and executive order 591 or any subsequent order pursuant to such emergency. Each grant provided to a micro business under this act shall be of an amount that is not less than $15,000; provided, however, that, not less than $11,250 of each grant shall be used for payment to employees of the micro business and not less than $3,750 of each grant shall be used to mitigate or offset general operation losses of the micro business.

(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) The executive office of housing and economic development shall promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, including, but not limited to, regulations pertaining to grant application and disbursement procedures.

SECTION 3. On the effective date of this act, the comptroller shall transfer $50,000,000  from the General Fund to the COVID-19 Micro Business Relief Fund for the purposes of carrying out this act.