RELIEF for Main Street Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3742 To establish a program in the Department of the Treasury to allocate funds to States, units of general local government, and Indian Tribes to provide assistance to certain small businesses, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 14, 2020 Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. DAINES, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship A BILL To establish a program in the Department of the Treasury to allocate funds to States, units of general local govern- ment, and Indian Tribes to provide assistance to certain small businesses, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recharge and Em- 4 power Local Innovation and Entrepreneurs Fund for Main 5 Street Act’’ or the ‘‘RELIEF for Main Street Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS LOCAL RELIEF PROGRAM. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3742 IS (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi- 2 ness Administration. 3 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 4 ty’’— 5 (A) means a privately held business entity 6 or nonprofit organization that— 7 (i) employs— 8 (I) not more than 20 full-time 9 equivalent employees; or 10 (II) if the entity or organization 11 is located in a low-income community, 12 not more than 50 full-time equivalent 13 employees; 14 (ii) has experienced a loss of revenue 15 as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic, 16 according to criteria established by the 17 Secretary; and 18 (iii) with respect to such an entity or 19 organization that receives assistance from 20 a small business emergency fund, satisfies 21 additional requirements, as determined by 22 the State, unit of general local government, 23 Indian Tribe, or other entity that has es- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3742 IS tablished the small business emergency 1 fund; and 2 (B) includes an individual who operates 3 under a sole proprietorship, an individual who 4 operates as an independent contractor, and an 5 eligible self-employed individual if such an indi- 6 vidual has experienced a loss of revenue as a re- 7 sult of the COVID–19 pandemic, according to 8 criteria established by the Secretary. 9 (3) ELIGIBLE SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVIDUAL.— 10 The term ‘‘eligible self-employed individual’’ has the 11 meaning given the term in section 7(a)(36)(A) of the 12 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(36)(A)). 13 (4) ENTITLEMENT COMMUNITY.—The term 14 ‘‘entitlement community’’ means a metropolitan city 15 or urban county, as those terms are defined in sec- 16 tion 102 of the Housing and Community Develop- 17 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302). 18 (5) FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT EMPLOYEES.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘full-time 20 equivalent employees’’ means a number of em- 21 ployees equal to the number determined by di- 22 viding— 23 (i) the total number of hours of serv- 24 ice for which wages were paid by the em- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3742 IS ployer to employees during the taxable 1 year; by 2 (ii) 2,080. 3 (B) ROUNDING.—The number determined 4 under subparagraph (A) shall be rounded to the 5 next lowest whole number if not otherwise a 6 whole number. 7 (C) EXCESS HOURS NOT COUNTED.—If an 8 employee works in excess of 2,080 hours of 9 service during any taxable year, such excess 10 shall not be taken into account under subpara- 11 graph (A). 12 (D) HOURS OF SERVICE.—The Secretary, 13 in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 14 shall prescribe such regulations, rules, and 15 guidance as may be necessary to determine the 16 hours of service of an employee, including rules 17 for the application of this paragraph to employ- 18 ees who are not compensated on an hourly 19 basis. 20 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 21 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 22 section 102 of the Housing and Community Devel- 23 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3742 IS (7) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 1 income community’’ has the meaning given the term 2 in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 3 1986. 4 (8) MINORITY.—The term ‘‘minority’’ has the 5 meaning given the term in section 1204(c)(3) of the 6 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and En- 7 forcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1811 note). 8 (9) MINORITY-OWNED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘mi- 9 nority-owned entity’’ means an entity— 10 (A) more than 50 percent of the ownership 11 or control of which is held by not less than 1 12 minority; and 13 (B) more than 50 percent of the net profit 14 or loss of which accrues to not less than 1 mi- 15 nority. 16 (10) NONENTITLEMENT AREA; STATE; UNIT OF 17 GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 19 subparagraph (B), the terms ‘‘nonentitlement 20 area’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘unit of general local gov- 21 ernment’’ have the meanings given those terms 22 in section 102 of the Housing and Community 23 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3742 IS (B) STATE.—For purposes of subpara- 1 graphs (A)(ii) and (B)(ii) of subsection (c)(1), 2 the term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 3 United States. 4 (11) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 5 the Small Business Local Relief Program established 6 under this section. 7 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 8 means the Secretary of the Treasury. 9 (13) SMALL BUSINESS EMERGENCY FUND.— 10 The term ‘‘small business emergency fund’’ means a 11 fund or program— 12 (A) established by a State, a unit of gen- 13 eral local government, an Indian Tribe, or an 14 entity designated by a State, unit of general 15 local government, or Indian Tribe; and 16 (B) that provides or administers financing 17 to eligible entities in the form of grants, loans, 18 or other means in accordance with the needs of 19 eligible entities and the capacity of the fund or 20 program. 21 (14) WOMEN-OWNED ENTITY.—The term 22 ‘‘women-owned entity’’ means an entity— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3742 IS (A) more than 50 percent of the ownership 1 or control of which is held by not less than 1 2 woman; and 3 (B) more than 50 percent of the net profit 4 or loss of which accrues to not less than 1 5 woman. 6 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 7 Department of the Treasury the Small Business Local Re- 8 lief Program, the purpose of which is to allocate resources 9 to States, units of general local government, and Indian 10 Tribes to provide assistance to eligible entities and organi- 11 zations that assist eligible entities. 12 (c) FUNDING.— 13 (1) FUNDING TO STATES, LOCALITIES, AND IN- 14 DIAN TRIBES.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 16 available to carry out the Program under sub- 17 section (h), the Secretary shall allocate— 18 (i) $35,000,000,000 to States and 19 units of general local government in ac- 20 cordance with subparagraph (B)(i); 21 (ii) $15,000,000,000 to States in ac- 22 cordance with subparagraph (B)(ii); and 23 (iii) $500,000,000 to the Secretary of 24 Housing and Urban Development for allo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3742 IS cations to Indian Tribes in accordance with 1 subparagraph (B)(iii). 2 (B) ALLOCATIONS.— 3 (i) FORMULA FOR STATES AND UNITS 4 OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—Of 5 the amount allocated under subparagraph 6 (A)(i)— 7 (I) 70 percent shall be allocated 8 to entitlement communities in accord- 9 ance with the formula under section 10 106(b) of the Housing and Commu- 11 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 12 U.S.C. 5306(b)); and 13 (II) 30 percent shall be allocated 14 to States, for use in nonentitlement 15 areas, in accordance with the formula 16 under section 106(d)(1) of the Hous- 17 ing and Community Development Act 18 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(1)). 19 (ii) RURAL BONUS FORMULA FOR 20 STATES.—The Secretary shall allocate the 21 amount allocated under subparagraph 22 (A)(ii) to States, for use in nonentitlement 23 areas, in accordance with the formula 24 under section 106(d)(1) of the Housing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3742 IS and Community Development Act of 1974 1 (42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(1)). 2 (iii) COMPETITIVE AWARDS TO INDIAN 3 TRIBES.— 4 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 5 of Housing and Urban Development 6 shall allocate to Indian Tribes on a 7 competitive basis the amount allocated 8 under subparagraph (A)(iii). 9 (II) REQUIREMENTS.—In making 10 allocations under subclause (I), the 11 Secretary of Housing and Urban De- 12 velopment shall, to the greatest extent 13 practicable, ensure that each Indian 14 Tribe that satisfies requirements es- 15 tablished by the Secretary of Housing 16 and Urban Development receives such 17 an allocation. 18 (C) STATE ALLOCATIONS FOR NON- 19 ENTITLEMENT AREAS.— 20 (i) EQUITABLE ALLOCATION.—To the 21 greatest extent practicable, a State shall 22 allocate amounts for nonentitlement areas 23 under clauses (i)(II) and (ii) of subpara- 24 graph (B) on an equitable basis. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3742 IS (ii) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS.— 1 (I) DISCRETION.—Not later than 2 14 days after the date on which a 3 State receives amounts for use in a 4 nonentitlement area under clause 5 (i)(II) or (ii) of subparagraph (B), the 6 State shall— 7 (aa) distribute the amounts, 8 or a portion thereof, to a unit of 9 general local government located 10 in the nonentitlement area, or an 11 entity designated thereby, that 12 has established or will establish a 13 small business emergency fund, 14 for use under paragraph (2); or 15 (bb) elect to reserve the 16 amounts, or a portion thereof, for 17 use by the State under paragraph 18 (2) for the benefit of eligible enti- 19 ties located in the nonentitlement 20 area. 21 (II) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is 22 the sense of Congress that, in distrib- 23 uting amounts under subclause (I), in 24 the case of amounts allocated for a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3742 IS nonentitlement area in which a unit of 1 general local government or an entity 2 designated thereby has established a 3 small business emergency fund, a 4 State should, as quickly as is prac- 5 ticable, distribute amounts to that 6 unit of general local government or 7 entity, respectively, as described in 8 item (aa) of that subclause. 9 (iii) TREATMENT OF STATES NOT 10 ACTING AS PASS-THROUGH AGENTS UNDER 11 CDBG.—The Secretary shall allocate 12 amounts to a State under this paragraph 13 without regard to whether the State has 14 elected to distribute amounts allocated 15 under section 106(d)(1) of the Housing 16 and Community Development Act of 1974 17 (42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(1)). 18 (2) USE OF FUNDS.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State, unit of general 20 local government, entity designated by a unit of 21 general local government, or Indian Tribe that 22 receives an allocation under paragraph (1), 23 whether directly or indirectly, may use that al- 24 location— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3742 IS (i) to provide funding to a small busi- 1 ness emergency fund established by that 2 State (or entity designated thereby), that 3 unit of general local government (or entity 4 designated thereby), that entity designated 5 by a unit of general local government, or 6 that Indian Tribe (or entity designated 7 thereby), respectively; 8 (ii) to provide funding to support or- 9 ganizations that provide technical assist- 10 ance to eligible entities; or 11 (iii) subject to subparagraph (B), to 12 pay for administrative costs incurred by 13 that State (or entity designated thereby), 14 that unit of general local government (or 15 entity designated thereby), that entity des- 16 ignated by a unit of general local govern- 17 ment, or that Indian Tribe (or entity des- 18 ignated thereby), respectively, in estab- 19 lishing and administering a small business 20 emergency fund. 21 (B) LIMITATION.—A State, unit of general 22 local government, entity designated by a unit of 23 general local government, or Indian Tribe may 24 not use more than 3 percent of an allocation re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3742.IS S3742 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3742 IS ceived under paragraph (1) for a purpose de- 1 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii) of this para- 2 graph. 3 (C) OBLIGATION DEADLINES.— 4 (i) STATES.—Of the amounts that a 5 State elects under paragraph 6 (1)(C)(ii)(I)(bb) to reserve for use by the 7 State under this paragraph— 8 (I) any amounts that the State 9 provides to a small business emer- 10 gency fund under subparagraph (A)(i) 11 of this paragraph shall be obligated by 12 the small business emergency fund for 13 expenditure not later than 74 days 14 after the date on which the State re- 15 ceived the amounts from the Sec- 16 retary under clause (i) or (ii) of para- 17 graph (1)(A); and 18 (II) any amounts that the State 19 chooses to provide to an organization 20 under subparagraph (A)(ii) of this 21 paragraph, or to use to pay for ad- 22 ministrative costs under subparagraph 23 (A)(iii) of this paragraph, shall be ob- 24 ligated by the State for expenditure 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:58 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt [Text truncated for display. 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