On February 9, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 113, approving additional economic relief for the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill passed with strong bipartisan support, with a vote of 68-0 in the State Assembly and 27-0 in the State Senate.
SB 113 makes federal grants received through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund exempt from state tax liability. This means that businesses that received these grants will not have to pay California state taxes on the grant amounts.
Additionally, SB 113 will provide $150 million in grants to the state's Small Business COVID-19 relief program. The program’s website indicated that applications were closed as of February 15, 2022, but we expect that these grants will open up in the next month. Grants under the program range from $5,000 to $25,000.