Indiana small businesses struggling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic could be seeing more relief on the way, the News and Tribune reported.
“Later or in the near future, the governor is going to be announcing a small business program that will help bridge the expenses,” Cris Johnston, the director of the Office of Management & Budget, told the News and Tribune. “This program we’re going to look at is going to be complementary to [the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program].”
So far, the U.S. Small Business Administration had issue $9.4 billion in forgivable loans to 73,430 Indiana businesses, the News and Tribune reported. The money can be used for employee salaries or fixed expenses such as mortgage and rent payments.
Indiana will receive $2.4 billion from the federal government for coronavirus-related expenses between March and December of 2020 and municipalities are set to receive $300 million of that for public health expenses.
Funding for education programs and transit authorities brings the total to approximately $5 billion, Johnston told the News and Tribune. The state also applied for $61 million to fund remote learning.