Dear Neighbor,
The Legislature conducted a one-day special session this week and the main thing we accomplished was passage of a $216 million business relief package designed to help small businesses and workers impacted by Gov. Tim Walz’s restrictions on businesses.
This bill buys us some time and, hopefully, keeps our businesses afloat until the vaccine becomes more readily available. This bill isn't perfect but will get needed funds out to various types of businesses before the new year if all goes well. And, for those bars and restaurants that don't qualify for the grants from the Dept. of Revenue right away, they can still qualify for grants through their respective counties.
The business relief package includes direct grants to businesses, license and other fee relief, and a 13-week extension of unemployment insurance for workers.
The grants are broken into three categories aimed at prioritizing speed. The first category will be $88 million in grants administered automatically by the Department of Revenue to restaurants, bars, gyms, bowling alleys, and other businesses who have seen losses of more than 30 percent compared with last year.
The second category is approximately $14 million administered by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for movie theaters and large convention centers, and the third pot is $112 million in grants that will be administered at the county level.
The county-based grants are intended to help additional businesses impacted by the recent closures that do not qualify for the first two grant categories, however businesses which receive grants from the DOR are not precluded from receiving county-based grants. Preliminary estimates for counties in District 12B provided around $255,000 for Pope, $750,000 for Douglas and just north of $3 million for Stearns.
Check the Minnesota Department of Revenue website for details on business relief payments.
I had hoped the governor would follow the Legislature’s move to provide relief by relaxing some of his executive orders and allowing business to start getting back to normal. Instead, on Wednesday, the governor announced he will extend shutdowns and restrictions of Minnesota businesses into the new year, with some moderate easing. This simply is not enough for our businesses that have been beaten and battered by the governor’s restrictions.
For example, bars and restaurants will remain closed to indoor dining until at least Jan. 10. Presenting outdoor dining in Minnesota during the winter as some sort of advancement is the ultimate insult to the bars and restaurants his shutdowns already have impacted so deeply. The governor's own data shows that less than 1 percent of COVID-19 cases are linked to those entities. We all know that COVID-19 is serious, but the governor is still picking winners and losers and doesn't seem to be following the data.
Look for more from the Capitol soon and, as always, your input is welcome.
Sincerely,
Paul