HB 1004 (the Small Business Restart Grant Program) was voted out of the Senate unanimously (48-0) over a week ago and returned to the House with amendments.
This bill establishes the Hoosier hospitality small business restart grant program to provide grants to eligible entities to accelerate economic recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, it establishes the small business restart grant fund and provides that the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) administers the program. The bill also allows the IEDC to award grants from the fund and makes a $30 million appropriation.
The most noteworthy change is that the Senate version calls for a $60 million appropriation from the coronavirus relief fund. The House had a $30 million appropriation from the state general fund. The House will likely concur with what the Senate approved and therefore avoid sending the bill to a conference committee. In fact, Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) predicts that the House will soon pass HB 1004, which will send the bill to the Governor’s office.
Despite the bill mentioning hospitality businesses specifically, businesses eligible to apply for grants include those in any other industry that have suffered economic harm as a result of the coronavirus. This would include, for example, theaters. Per the legislation, eligible businesses may receive up to $10,000 per month with a maximum total grant amount of $50,000.
This bill will go a long way to providing businesses with the bridge funding necessary to get through the tail-end of this pandemic; namely, until enough people are vaccinated and life returns to closer to normal. And signs are pointing in the right direction. Last Wednesday, Gov. Holcomb announced that all Indiana adults 16 and older will be eligible for the vaccine as of today.
