(a)(1) Upon the Mayor's declaration of a public health emergency pursuant to section 5a of the District of Columbia Public Emergency Act of 1980, effective October 17, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-194; D.C. Official Code § 7-2304.01), the Mayor may, notwithstanding the Grant Administration Act of 2013, effective December 24, 2013 (D.C. Law 20-61; D.C. Official Code § 1-328.11 et seq.), and in the Mayor's sole discretion, issue a grant or loan to an eligible small business; provided, that the eligible small business:

(A) Submits a grant application in the form and with the information required by the Mayor; and

(B) Demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Mayor, financial distress caused by a reduction in business revenue due to the circumstances giving rise to or resulting from the public health emergency.

(2) A grant issued pursuant to this section may be expended by the eligible small business for any of the following:

(A) Employee wages and benefits. For the purposes of this subparagraph, "benefits" means fringe benefits associated with employment, including health insurance;

(B) Operating costs of the eligible small business including taxes and debt service; and

(C) Repayment of loans obtained through the United States Small Business Administration.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the term "eligible small business" means a business enterprise eligible for certification under section 2332, a nonprofit entity, or an independent contractor or self-employed individual determined ineligible for Unemployment Insurance by the Director of the Department of Employment Services.

(c) The Mayor may issue one or more grants to a third-party grant-managing entity for the purpose of administering the grant program and making subgrants on behalf of the Mayor in accordance with the requirements of this section.

(d) The Mayor, pursuant to section 105 of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1204; D.C. Official Code § 2-505), may issue emergency rules to implement the provisions of this section.

(e) The Mayor, and any third-party entity chosen pursuant to subsection (c), shall maintain a list of all grants awarded pursuant to this section, identifying for each award the grant recipient, the date of award, intended use of the award, and the award amount. The Mayor shall publish the list online no later than June 1, 2020, or 5 days following the end of the COVID-19 emergency, whichever is earlier.

(f) For the purposes of this section, the term "COVID-19 emergency" means the emergencies declared in the Declaration of Public Emergency (Mayor's Order 2020-045) together with the Declaration of Public Health Emergency (Mayor's Order 2020-46), declared on March 11, 2020, including any extension of those declared emergencies.

(Mar. 17, 2020, D.C. Act 23-247, § 202(b), 0 DCR 0.)