Chris Cole was Mike McBunch's first customer since reopening his barber shop Tuesday, May 12, 2020, in Tupelo Mississippi.(Thomas Wells/Via AP)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi legislative leaders said Thursday that they expect Republican Gov. Tate Reeves to sign a bill that will create grants for small businesses by using part the state’s coronavirus relief money.
The governor’s staff was involved in negotiations that led to a bill that the Republican-controlled state House and Senate passed with broad bipartisan support late Wednesday. The cooperation came days after Reeves and legislative leaders set aside a feud over whether the governor or legislators have the power to spend the $1.25 billion that Mississippi is receiving from the federal government for virus relief.
“We were motivated by the needs of the people of Mississippi, and not by anything else,” Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said Thursday.
The price tag for the grants would be $300 million.
“We felt great urgency to get help to our small businesses,” Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn said Thursday. “I think small businesses are the backbone of the state.”
A $60 million program would provide $2,000 grants for businesses that were forced to closed by government orders, including barbershops, salons, dance studios, gyms and child care centers.
The other $240 million would be for grants ranging from $1,500 to $25,000 to cover expenses for virus response. For the first 21 days, the only applications considered would be from businesses that did not receive aid from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. And for the first 60 days, $40 million of this money would be reserved for minority-owned businesses.
The programs would be for businesses that existed before March 1 and have 50 or fewer employees. Businesses that work in partisan politics or in lobbying are not eligible to apply.
The state Health Department said Thursday that Mississippi — with a population of about 3 million — had at least 10,483 confirmed cases and 480 deaths from the coronavirus as of Wednesday evening. That was an increase of 393 cases and 15 deaths from the numbers reported a day earlier.
The number of coronavirus infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.
The Health Department said Thursday that at least 105,326 coronavirus tests had been conducted in Mississippi as of Wednesday. The department said at least 1,345 cases of the virus had been confirmed in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, with at least 224 virus-related deaths in those facilities.
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Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
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