21 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Overview of the Final Rule U.S. Department of the Treasury
Assistance to Small Businesses
Small businesses have faced widespread challenges due to the pandemic, including periods of shutdown, declines in revenue, or increased costs. The final rule provides many tools for recipients to respond to the impacts of the pandemic on small businesses, or disproportionate impacts on businesses where pre-existing disparities like lack of access to capital compounded the pandemic’s effects.
Small businesses eligible for assistance are those that experienced negative economic impacts or disproportionate impacts of the pandemic and meet the definition of “small business,” specifically:
1. Have no more than 500 employees, or if applicable, the size standard in number of employees established by the Administrator of the Small Business Administration for the industry in which the business concern or organization operates, and
2. Are a small business concern as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act8 (which includes, among other requirements, that the business is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field of operation).
Impacted Small Businesses
Recipients can identify small businesses impacted by the pandemic, and measures to respond, in many ways; for example, recipients could consider:
✓ Decreased revenue or gross receipts
✓ Financial insecurity
✓ Increased costs
✓ Capacity to weather financial hardship
✓ Challenges covering payroll, rent or
mortgage, and other operating costs
Assistance to small businesses that experienced negative economic impacts includes the following enumerated uses:
✓ Loans or grants to mitigate financial
hardship, such as by supporting payroll
and benefits, costs to retain employees,
and mortgage, rent, utility, and other
operating costs
✓ Technical assistance, counseling, or other
services to support business planning
Disproportionately Impacted Small Businesses
Treasury presumes that the following small businesses are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic:
8 15 U.S.C. 632.
22 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Overview of the Final Rule U.S. Department of the Treasury
✓ Small businesses operating in Qualified
Census Tracts
✓ Small businesses operated by Tribal
governments or on Tribal lands
✓ Small businesses operating in the U.S.
territories
Assistance to disproportionately impacted small businesses includes the following enumerated uses, which have been expanded under the final rule:
✓ Rehabilitation of commercial properties,
storefront improvements & façade
improvements
✓ Technical assistance, business incubators &
grants for start-up or expansion costs for
small businesses
✓ Support for microbusinesses, including
financial, childcare, and transportation costs