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TRENTON – Bipartisan legislation providing the state Economic Development Authority with $300 million for grants and loans to help small businesses and nonprofits rebound from the Covid crisis was introduced Feb. 11 by Sen. Dawn Addiego, Senate President Steve Sweeney, Sens. Vin Gopal, Declan O’Scanlon, and Michael Testa, and Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean.
“Small businesses and nonprofits face difficult challenges as they try to decide how and when to reopen, rehire and ramp-up to full operation as we slowly come out of this terrible pandemic,” stated Addiego (D-8th), the bill’s principal sponsor. “The $300 million we are providing the EDA for grants and loans will preserve and expand jobs, help small businesses and nonprofits recover, and restore the vitality of our downtown business districts.”
According to a release, the bill would provide aid not only to small businesses and nonprofits that lost revenue during the economic shutdowns and slowdowns caused by the coronavirus crisis, but also to those whose business opening plans were disrupted by Covid and those who fill vacant storefronts or under-utilized space with new operations.
“Small business is the backbone of our communities and the biggest source of new job creation,” stated Sweeney. “This $300 million investment will speed up our economic recovery from the pandemic, prevent more businesses and nonprofits from closing, and create jobs for workers who have been on the unemployment rolls for almost a year.”
“This legislation will be particularly important to the restaurant, hospitality, and tourism industries that have been hit hardest by the shutdowns last spring and the continuing restrictions imposed by the pandemic that have crippled these businesses for the past 11 months,” stated Gopal (D-11th). “These businesses are going to need help when they try to ramp up to full operation again in what is bound to be an uncertain economy as we come out of the pandemic.”
Republican senators said the $300 million plan was essential to assist struggling small businesses and nonprofits whose recovery is critical to New Jersey’s economic growth.
“After nearly a year of operating restrictions, our restaurants and Main Street shops are barely staying afloat. They’re begging for help,” stated O’Scanlon (R-13th). “I’m glad we now have a bipartisan effort in the Senate to provide the emergency funding our small businesses and nonprofits will need to survive this crisis. We can’t get this done soon enough.”
“Small businesses and nonprofits across New Jersey have faced some of the greatest hardships during the pandemic and received some of the least support,” stated Testa (R-1st). “They’ve been forced to fight for scraps through a patchwork of underfunded state relief efforts. It hasn’t been enough. This bipartisan effort to greatly increase funding for emergency grants and loans is a major step in the right direction.”
“The funding we have proposed will enable the EDA to provide $300 million of emergency grants and loans to help New Jersey’s small businesses, nonprofits and their employees to survive the economic impact of Covid-19,” stated Kean. “With the state sitting on a growing multi-billion surplus, there’s no budgetary reason to oppose this bipartisan measure. We sincerely hope that our colleagues in the General Assembly and Gov. Murphy will join us in advancing this critically important initiative.”
