State Launches New Small Business Emergency Relief Program

Connecticut will distribute another $35 million in emergency relief grants to small and mid-sized businesses hard hit by COVID-19 disruptions and restrictions.

The Lamont administration announced the program Dec. 21, saying the program will act as a bridge to the larger federal aid package that Congress approved later the same day.

Gov. Ned Lamont said the grants will range from $10,000 to $30,000 and will target the approximately 2,000 businesses that did not qualify for an earlier $50 million state program.

As with the earlier program, which targeted businesses with 20 or fewer employees, the grants will be funded using the state’s federal coronavirus relief funds.

The program will focus on Main Street businesses with pandemic revenue losses of at least 20%.

Those eligible businesses will be placed in a pool, with grants calculated using a formula based on NAICS codes, tax revenue, business tax filings, and payroll data.

Lamont said further details should be available later this week, with funds expected to be distributed to businesses by the end of the year.

Earlier this year, CBIA joined other organizations in calling for the state to provide additional relief for small businesses, particularly those in the hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, one out of three Connecticut small businesses have closed their doors since March.