Ohio House Economic & Workforce Development Committee — Senate Bill 108 (April 21, 2021)

Summary

Letter dated April 21, 2021, from Christopher J. Ferruso, Ohio Legislative Director, to Representative Jay Edwards, Chair of the Ohio House Economic & Workforce Development Committee. It supports Senate Bill 108 on behalf of 21,000 members and reports a member survey in which 77% took some sort of government loan and 30% were required to close because of executive orders. It states that Senate Bill 108 builds upon the Bar and Restaurant Assistance Fund by providing an additional $100 million in grants to bars and restaurants, plus $25 million in grants to the lodging industry.

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Full text

April 21, 2021

Representative Jay Edwards
Chair, Ohio House Economic & Workforce Development Committee
77 South High Street, 12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215

Dear Chairman Edwards:

I am writing on behalf of our 21,000 members in support of Senate Bill 108. Thank
you for the opportunity to provide comments on this important bill. We are
grateful to Senators Huffman and Romanchuk for their sponsorship of this
legislation aimed at providing financial relief to bars, restaurants, and the lodging
industry. We offered similar proponent testimony on companion legislation House
Bill 169. We applaud this committee for their favorable support.

By way of background, a typical NFIB member in Ohio employs 20 or fewer and
does less than $2 million in annual receipts. Our members come from all industry
types and each of the 88 counties. Our members range in size from sole
proprietors to large operations employing hundreds.

At the onset of the COVID pandemic, our team was fielding hundreds of inquiries
from members seeking clarification on what steps they needed to take to keep their
businesses in operation and their employees working. Unfortunately, many of our
members in the bar and restaurant industry were unable to remain open at the
onset of the pandemic. We worked to allow these industries to reopen for carryout
and supported the liquor buyback program. Unfortunately, some of these
businesses were unable to survive and have shut their doors. Today, those that are
still in operation, are doing so in a restricted manner with limited customer capacity
and thus reduced revenue. The lodging industry has also experienced a substantial
financial downturn as individuals traveled less and restrictions implemented by
many businesses on employee travel because of the pandemic.

The COVID pandemic had and continues to have a significant financial impact on so
many small businesses. Below are the results of a survey we conducted of our
members late last year on the impacts of the pandemic. The data demonstrates
why Senate Bill 108 is needed.

      •   77% of our members took some sort of government loan (PPP, EIDL, etc.)
      •   88% of those that took a loan had used it up by late Q3 of 2020
      •   70% said they would take advantage of a state program, like the Small
          Business Relief Grant Program
      •   50% of our members indicated a need of $25,000 or greater
      •   The greatest need was for wages and compensation, closely followed by
          utility costs
      •   30% of our members were required to close because of executive orders
      •   94% of our members were opened within 3 months
      •   55% percent of our members experienced a year-over-year revenue loss of
          at least 20%
      •   15% of our members experienced year-over-year revenue loss greater than
          50%

We know significant resources came in the form of loans from the federal
government. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was a lifeline for businesses
throughout Ohio and the country. Round one of PPP delivered over $18.5 billion to
nearly 150,000 Ohio businesses, an average loan size of roughly $123,000.1 As of
February 28, 2021, round two of PPP in Ohio has brought an additional $4.85 billion
to over 64,000 businesses, an average loan size just under $76,000.2 As our
members indicated, and as demonstrated by the large number of businesses that
availed themselves of round two of PPP, the need for financial relief remains great.

The state of Ohio also allocated resources late last year through the Small Business
Relief Grant program as proposed by Governor DeWine’s administration and
approved through the quick action of the Controlling Board, putting $125 million
into the hands of many small business owners. Additionally, Ohio implemented the
Bar and Restaurant Assistance Fund making available $2,500 to all on-premises


1
    https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/PPP_Report%20-%202020-08-10-508.pdf
2
    https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/PPP_Report_Public_210228-508.pdf
liquor permit holders with an active license as of October 23, 2020, irrespective of
whether the establishment was open. Senate Bill 108 builds upon this program by
providing an additional $100 million in grants to bars and restaurants. Further,
Senate Bill 108 will provide $25 million in grants to the lodging industry. The size of
the grants will be based upon factors like revenue loss, employee count, and
occupancy rates. On behalf of our members and all businesses in these industries,
we appreciate the special recognition of the severe impact these entities continue
to experience during the pandemic.

We urge the members of the Ohio House Economic & Workforce Development
Committee to move expeditiously to pass Senate Bill 108 to provide financial relief
for bars, restaurants, and the lodging industry.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Christopher J. Ferruso
Ohio Legislative Director


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