WEST virginia legislature

2021 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 3203

By Delegates Hornbuckle and Lovejoy

[Introduced March 16, 2021; Referred to the Committee on Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development then Finance]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §5B-1-10, relating to creating the West Virginia Small Business COVID Relief Act to be established under the West Virginia Department of Commerce; providing legislative findings; creating the act and providing qualifications for relief; and providing an effective date.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 1. department of commerce.

§5B-1-10. West Virginia Small Business COVID Relief Act.

(a) Legislative findings.-- The West Virginia Legislature finds that West Virginians were greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and are still feeling the effects in 2021. Among those hardest hit were those West Virginia small businesses. Most small businesses had to close for a period of time, and some were unable to survive. The Legislature finds that many of those businesses could use assistance to help get them back on their feet.

(b) West Virginia Small Business COVID Relief Act established. -- There shall hereby be established a grant in an amount not to exceed $25,000 for small businesses in West Virginia who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant shall be established by federal relief money allocated to West Virginia.  This grant is intended to assist the most affected businesses across the State of West Virginia, including, but not limited to:

(1) Restaurants;

(2) Breweries;

(3) Event businesses;

(4) Furniture stores;

(5) Home furnishings;

(6) Clothing stores;

(7) Shoe stores;

(8) Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods;

(9) Sporting goods, hobby, and music instrument stores;

(10) Book Stores and news dealers;

(11) Florists;

(12) Office supplies and gift stores;

(13) Used merchandise stores;

(14) Motion pictures and video industries;

(15) Gyms;

(16) Child daycare services;

(17) Performing arts companies;

(18) Dance companies;

(19) Amusement parks and arcades; and

(20) Salons and Barbers.

In order to qualify for this $25,000 grant, eligible businesses must make no more than $3 million in business earnings per year.  Applicants for this relief shall be subject to an audit to determine the amount of need and the amount to be awarded to that small business. A small business must use this grant money for business purposes only.

(c) Effective date.-- This section shall become effective upon passage.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the West Virginia Small Business COVID Relief Act.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.