S.F. No. 19 - Small Business Relief Grants Program

• Appropriates $60,000,000 from the coronavirus relief fund to the Commissioner of Employment and Economic Development for small business grants, with funds available until December 30, 2020.

• Distributes funding with $31,250,000 to the Minnesota Initiative Foundations for greater Minnesota businesses and $31,250,000 to nonprofit corporations for seven-county metropolitan area businesses.

• Provides grants of up to $10,000 to individual businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees that are Minnesota-based, have a physical location, were in good standing as of March 1, 2020, and can demonstrate COVID-19 financial hardship.

• Prioritizes grants for businesses restricted by executive order on May 18, 2020, and allocates minimum funding of $18,000,000 for micro-businesses (6 or fewer employees), $15,000,000 for minority-owned, veteran-owned, and women-owned businesses, and $2,500,000 for ethnic cultural food markets and retail spaces.

• Requires grants to be awarded by lottery over no more than ten calendar days by December 30, 2020, and mandates a report to legislative committees by December 31, 2020.