Updated Oct. 21, 2021
The Texas Legislature has passed pro-business legislation that will help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 economic downturn and facilitate the expansion of broadband service to rural communities. Senate Bill 8 won unanimous approval in the Senate and passed the House on a vote of 145-0 with one legislator marked as present not voting.
NFIB State Director Annie Spilman earlier testified before the Senate Finance Committee in support of the measure.
“Senate Bill 8 is exactly what Texas’ small business community needs right now. It includes $180 million in grants for businesses in the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors and $7.2 billion to help shore up the state’s unemployment insurance fund.
“It’s been a rough year and a half for small businesses, and a new report from the NFIB Research Center shows a record 51% of owners have positions they can’t fill because they can’t find enough qualified job applicants. Senate Bill 8 is a big step in the right direction toward helping small businesses recover from the COVID-19 economic downturn.”
