Ohio Senate passes $180 Million funding bill for small business pandemic relief

COLUMBUS, Ohio - State Senators Michael Rulli and Nathan Manning announced the Ohio Senate's unanimous passage of Senate Bill 109, providing an additional $300 million of combined state and federal funding to businesses across Ohio for COVID-19 pandemic-related expenses.
"I am proud to sponsor this important bill, which will ensure our businesses, who have greatly suffered this year, have all the available resources to recover in a timely fashion," said Rulli.
Here's the how the $300 million allocation will be directed:
- $20 million for indoor entertainment businesses who lost revenue due to canceled events and closures.
- $10 million for new businesses that opened their doors after January 1, 2020.
- $150 million for small businesses who have already been approved for aid but have yet to receive funding due to lack of program funding
- $120M for Ohio's fairs, veterans' homes and child care services, including:
- $4.7 million for Ohio's county and independent fairs
- $3.7 million for Ohio's two Veterans' homes
- $112.2 million to reimburse child care providers for pandemic-related expenses
"This pandemic relief bill is vitally important to ensuring our small businesses receive much-needed relief as quickly as possible," added Manning.
To date, over $2.5 billion in funding has been approved by the General Assembly to be distributed to Ohio's communities as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senate Bill 109 will now be sent to the Ohio House for further consideration.