DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday signed five bills into law to help Colorado's small businesses recover from the coronavirus pandemic at Racies Brewing in Denver.
The legislation creates what could become the country's largest small business loan program, according to State Treasurer Dave Young.
The bills include:
- HB20-1413, which authorizes the state treasurer to enter into a contract or contracts to establish a small business recovery loan program.
- SB20-222, which creates a small business COVID-19 grant program, financed by $20 million from the federal money allocated to the state pursuant to the federal "Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act", also referred to as the "CARES Act."
The bills will fill the void for businesses that were left out of the federal Paycheck Protection Program and make Colorado a model for other states to follow, Polis said.
"This will help Colorado be on the forefront of the private sector recovery from the economic impact of COVID-19," Polis said during the news conference.
"We're going to use state money, paired with money that Blair and his team raised — in order to provide the capitol for these loans," Young said during the news conference.
The loans will be offered to businesses at below market rates. The bill sponsors estimate that 40% of the state's workforce depend on a small business for their paycheck.
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