Senators HARPOOTLIAN and CLIMER proposed the following amendment (5201R009.KMM.RAH):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Part II, SECTION 5, by adding an appropriately numbered new subsection to read:

/( _) Section 50 of Part IB of Act 91 of 2019, relating to the Department of Commerce, which was extended pursuant to Act 135 of 2020, is amended by adding an appropriately numbered new proviso to read:

(CMRC: Small Business Relief Fund) There is established at the Department of Commerce the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program. The program shall award grants of five thousand dollars to qualifying small businesses to provide monetary relief for business interruptions resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency. The source of funds for the program is fifty million dollars from the department's carry forward balance. To qualify, a business must employ ten or fewer employees and must have been operating in South Carolina for at least six months prior to the Governor's initial COVID-19 state of emergency declaration on March 13, 2020. Grants shall be awarded in the order received until the program's funds are exhausted. /