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PRINTER'S NO. 500
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
537
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY CIRESI, SNYDER, LONGIETTI, SANCHEZ, SCHLOSSBERG,
GALLOWAY, BENHAM, GUENST, D. WILLIAMS, HOHENSTEIN, ISAACSON,
MERSKI, SAPPEY, HILL-EVANS, SCHWEYER, CONKLIN, FREEMAN,
MALAGARI, KIRKLAND, NEILSON, GUZMAN, DeLUCA, FRANKEL,
WEBSTER, DEASY, PASHINSKI, PISCIOTTANO, O'MARA, INNAMORATO,
KULIK, DELLOSO, WARREN, SIMS AND LEE, FEBRUARY 16, 2021
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, FEBRUARY 16, 2021
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
"An act relating to the finances of the State government;
providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
financial management firms, for private dam financial
assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
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collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
Commonwealth," providing for small business grant program,
imposing duties on the Department of Community and Economic
Development; and making an appropriation.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known
as The Fiscal Code, is amended by adding an article to read:
ARTICLE I-D
SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM
Section 101-D. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this article
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Community and Economic
Development of the Commonwealth.
"Regional network." A department economic development
service provider, including, but not limited to, industrial
development organizations, local development districts and small
business development centers.
"Small business." A retail or personal service employer
within this Commonwealth:
(1) whose gross annual receipts for the prior fiscal
year did not exceed $1,500,000; or
(2) that employs no more than 10 full-time employees.
Section 102-D. Grants and funding.
(a) Purpose.--The department shall provide grants in
accordance with this article to regional networks for the
purpose of administering and funding a regional small business
grant program pursuant to which grants will be provided to small
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businesses that are adversely affected financially due to the
coronavirus pandemic and the proclamation of disaster emergency
issued by the Governor on March 6, 2020, published in 50 Pa.B.
1644 (March 21, 2020), and any renewal of the state of disaster
emergency.
(b) Regional small business grant program.--Regional
networks awarded a grant under this article shall operate their
regional small business grant program in accordance with
guidelines developed by the department under section 107-D.
(c) Amount.--Subject to the availability of State money, a
grant from a regional network to a small business under this
section shall not exceed $15,000.
Section 103-D. Application form.
(a) Development of forms.--The department shall develop a
regional small business grant application form for small
businesses to apply to regional networks for a grant under this
article.
(b) Contents of form.--At a minimum, the regional small
business grant application form shall contain the following
information:
(1) The name, address and contact information of the
small business.
(2) The amount of grant money requested.
(3) The proposed use for the grant money requested.
(4) The financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and
the proclamation of disaster emergency issued by the Governor
on March 6, 2020, published in 50 Pa.B. 1644 (March 21,
2020), and any renewal of the state of disaster emergency, on
the small business.
(5) Any other information that the department deems
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necessary and appropriate.
Section 104-D. Public notice.
The department shall provide information regarding the
availability and award of grant money on the department's
publicly accessible Internet website.
Section 105-D. Award of grants.
(a) Criteria.--After review of the information specified
under section 103-D and within 20 days of the submission of the
grant application, the regional network shall determine whether
to award grant money to the small business and, if so, the
amount of the grant money awarded.
(b) Considerations.--In awarding grant money to a small
business, the regional network :
(1) Shall consider the geographic and demographic
diversity of the small businesses applying for the grant
money.
(2) Shall consider how the small business and other
persons would be served through the award of the grant to the
small business.
(3) May require documentation of gross annual receipts
and employee information for the small business.
(c) Notice.--
(1) The regional network shall provide written notice to
the small business of the award or denial of the grant money.
(2) Notice of the award of grant money shall include the
amount of the grant money awarded and any conditions or
restrictions on the use of the grant money.
(3) Notice of the denial of all or part of the grant
money requested shall include the reasons for the full or
partial denial.
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(4) The regional network shall provide copies of all
notices to the department when they are provided to the small
businesses and shall provide other documents, information and
data to the department immediately upon request.
Section 106-D. Reports.
(a) Preparation.--By September 30, 2021, or 60 days after
the expiration of this article, whichever occurs later, the
department shall prepare a report that lists each regional
network and small business that received grant money under this
article and a summary of the information specified under section
103-D(b).
(b) Publication.--The report under this section shall be
posted on the department's publicly accessible Internet website.
Section 107-D. Guidelines.
The department may promulgate guidelines for the
implementation and administration of this article.
Section 108-D. Appropriation.
A disposition in the sum of $50,000,000 is hereby
appropriated to the department in accordance with section 1703-A
from the Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund established in
section 1701-A to administer and fund the grant program created
by this article.
Section 109-D. Expiration.
This article shall expire on September 30, 2021, or 30 days
after the termination of the declaration of disaster emergency
under 35 Pa.C.S. ยง 7301(c) (relating to general authority of
Governor), whichever occurs later.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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