CONCORD â Gov. Chris Sununu spent much of his weekly news conference last Thursday detailing how he expects to spend many millions of dollars the state expects to recoup from businesses that received CARES Act Funds but didnât lose revenue because of COVID-19, plus the new funding from the American Rescue Plan.
The beneficiaries are expected to be small businesses even if they didnât lose revenue during the pandemic and the hotel and lodging industry, live venues, clean drinking water, broadband expansion, mental health services, and state parks. No final determinations have been made on specific programs.
Sununu said the state expects to recoup $50 million from businesses that accepted grants but didnât end up losing money and many new opportunities from the lastest round of federal funds that will bring almost $1 billion to the state of New Hampshire and another $450 million to municipalities and counties.
The cooperative at Seabrook Harbor grossed more revenue in 2020 than 2019, according to president Jim Titone.
Titone said he received a $270,000 grant through the state’s Main Street Relief Fund, via the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR), which distributed federal CARES Act funds. He said he is concerned the cooperative will have to return the grant partially or in full, because on paper, it appears as though they were more prosperous, despite the pandemic, even though many of the facilities and equipment are at least 30 years old and are due for replacement.
Titone said the pandemic closed a number of wholesale fisheries in New England and many new fishermen joined Yankee Fishermen’s Cooperative. He said because of space limitations at the cooperative, lobsterman would have to rotate the crates through the existing lobster tank to keep them fresh. He said he had to hire additional repairmen, truck drivers and other workers during the pandemic to k
Published: 3/5/2021 8:02:05 AM
New Hampshire businesses that received financial awards through the Main Street Relief Fund and the Self-Employed Livelihood Fund programs last year are being asked to return any excess profits. However, it isn’t clear how the state will use any of the money it recoups.
The programs, which were both funded through the federal CARES Act, awarded nearly $600 million to small- and mid-sized businesses through multiple rounds of grants. The money was awarded based on expected financial losses due to the pandemic.
Between March 1 and April 15, all recipients of either Main Street Relief Funds or SELF are required to report their 2019 and 2020 revenues to the Department of Revenue Administration.
Seacoast new businesses hope NH bill will bring COVID relief funds
Holly Ramer
CONCORD New businesses that opened just in time to be slammed by the coronavirus pandemic would be eligible for more help under a bill before a Senate committee Tuesday.
The state distributed more than $400 million in federal funding through its Main Street Relief Fund for small businesses, but only those that were established before May 26, 2019, were eligible. This cut out a large segment of new small businesses which fill new needs in our communities and create the most new jobs at a time when they were really struggling, said Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, D-Portsmouth. Her bill would remove the cutoff date for future funding.
From USA TODAY Network and wire reports
Alabama
Montgomery: Hospitals support an extension of a statewide face mask order, at least until more people become vaccinated against COVID-19, the head of the Alabama Hospital Association said Monday. Gov. Kay Ivey is expected to announce this week whether she will extend the face covering mandate and other health orders that are set to expire Friday. A spokeswoman for the governor expressed optimism about state coronavirus numbers. “All along, Gov. Ivey has made clear that she prefers personal responsibility to government mandates. We are optimistic that our state is heading in the right direction, and we still have some work to be done,” Gina Maiola said Monday. Alabama, like much of the nation, has seen a significant drop in daily COVID-19 cases, but medical officials cautioned that the virus has not gone away, and uncertainty remains about the impact of emerging variants and upcoming events like spring break gatherings. “It just