JACKSON — The Mississippi Development Authority will administer the disbursement of more than $100 million in federal funds to small businesses in the state impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant economic shutdown.
The plans were laid out in a meeting of the state Senate Appropriations Committee Friday morning as the Legislature deliberates on how to appropriate $1.25 billion in federal funds related to COVID-19 relief efforts.
State Sen. Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. He said during the committee meeting that he’d met with Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and they were in agreement that creating a specific Coronavirus task force in the Senate would be unnecessary. Hopson said standing committees already in place could handle any legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Senate took back SB 2772 from the governor’s desk Thursday and are holding it on a motion to reconsider, a legislative tactic that allows more work to be performed on a particular bill.
The bill was amended and passed last week in a three-hour session to prevent Gov. Tate Reeves from being solely in charge of appropriating the $1.25 billion in federal funds the state has received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Reeves and legislative leaders agreed to end their battle over who’d control the flow of federal funds Thursday and part of that deal was taking back SB 2772 for more work.
Hopson said SB 2772 will be the vehicle for appropriating the CARES Act funds and that a complete plan will be due next week. He said the committee will amend the bill next week, get it to the House for a vote and then the governor’s desk for a quick signature.
State Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, presented a rough outline of the plan for the Appropriations Committee. The plan, known as the Back to Business Mississippi grant program, includes:
• Dates for which small businesses would be eligible for federal relief, which would be March 1 to Dec. 30. Harkins said that these dates were specified by the U.S. Department of Treasury guidelines and could be subject to change.
• Businesses eligible for federal relief include non-profit corporations, limited liability corporations and partnerships or sole proprietorships. An eligible non-profit’s net worth can’t exceed $500,000 and an eligible business or non-profit would need to be in good standing with the Secretary of State’s office.
• The business would have to be owned by at least one Mississippi resident and would’ve had to file state taxes for either the 2018 or 2019 tax years or plans to file in 2020.
• The business would be required to have employees working at a physical location in the state to be eligible and have fewer than 50 employees.
• The Back to Business Mississippi grant program will add up to $100 million in federal funds, $15 million of that exclusively reserved for businesses owned by minorities and women.
• The grants would be awarded first by the MDA to eligible businesses that were forced to close because of the economic shutdown and haven’t received any funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
• Applications would require supporting documentation and sworn statements, opening up any business owner who tries to defraud the system to possible perjury charges.
• Grants will be subject to audits from the state treasurer and auditor and won’t be considered taxable income.
• Any leftover money in the specific Back to Business grant fund that will be created by the Legislature could be shifted to other eligible purposes by the governor on November 1.
The CARES Act passed by Congress in March and provides $2.2 trillion for individuals and businesses to help in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
