Gov. Jared Polis, joined by lawmakers and philanthropist Kent Thiry, announced the launch of a new program — Energize Colorado — that will provide up to $35,000 in grants and loans for small business.

The application process for the program opens on Monday, and Polis said it will be available to businesses with less than 25 employees. It’s targeted toward those small businesses, including those that are veteran or woman-owned, owned by people of color or in rural Colorado.

The legislation establishing the program is funded with $20 million from CARES Act money plus donations from the Anchor Point Foundation, Gary Community Investments, Gates Family Foundation, Infocu5, Larissa Herda, Pinnacol, The Colorado Health Foundation, Thiry-O’Leary Foundation, Wendy Lea and Zoma Capital.

In a legislative session where few major bills won bipartisan votes, Senate Bill 222 won rare unanimous support from both chambers of the General Assembly.

Democratic Sen. Faith Winter of Westminster, one of the bill’s sponsors, said she was motivated by comments she got from business owners trying to get paycheck protection program (PPP) loans from the federal government. Some called her expressing gratitude when they got the loan, but others called in tears because they lacked the relationship with a bank or the application process was too complicated.

“We had to create something easy to use” and that was focused on small businesses owned by veterans, women, people of color or those located in rural Colorado. Best of all, Winter said, the application will be easy and should take only about 15 minutes to complete.

As introduced, Senate Bill 222 prohibited business owners who had gotten PPP loans from applying for this program. Democratic Sen. Jeff Bridges of Greenwood Village explained that based on conversations he had with Republican Sen. Jim Smallwood of Parker, the bill was changed to allow those who didn’t get as much as they had applied for to seek funding from the new program. “PPP left some folks behind.” This program is an opportunity to fill in some of that gap, he added.

As signed into law, the program gives a preference to those who didn’t get PPP loans but businesses that did get the loans can still apply. It also is intended to help small businesses in Colorado’s tourism industry, hit hard by the pandemic.

The funding is a maximum of $15,000 in grants and $20,000 in low-interest loans per business. 

“This is a fantastic way of how we do things right in Colorado,” Bridges said in a Wednesday news conference.

Thiry said the four populations served by the program suffered from challenges even prior to the pandemic. “This is equality of opportunity, and a sacred concept of democracy and a free society” but one of the most difficult to accomplish, he said.

According to a statement from Energize Colorado, on Monday, Aug. 31, the official application will be posted on www.energizecolorado.com/gap-fund and will include frequently-asked-questions and additional information about eligibility. “The application process is not first-come first-serve and will be distributed in phases,” the statement said. Energize Colorado also will provide interested applicants with assistance during the process through a mentorship program.

Polis announced Wednesday the release of new guidelines for those who want to have indoor visits with loved ones in nursing homes and other senior living facilities. Visitors must have a negative test result to make those indoor visits. Some counties may have more leeway on visitations based on low COVID case counts, he explained. 

However, the website for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says the guidelines are still in draft form and they are still accepting feedback on those proposed rules through Friday.

The guidelines have six criteria:

• The facility must be in a county with 25 or fewer new active cases per 100,000 people during the past 14 days unless otherwise exempted by the CDPHE;
• The facility must have conducted at least two rounds of 100% baseline testing of all residents and staff;
• The facility must have ongoing COVID-19 testing for its staff;
• The facility cannot have an active outbreak of COVID-19;
• The facility must have at least a 14-day supply of personal protective equipment, without relying on state or local supplies; and 
• A facility must have adequate staffing without having to rely on contingency staffing.

The guidelines allow for something else valuable to people in an extended care facility: those who meet criteria two through six can allow in barbers, beauticians, podiatrists, dentists and physical, speech and occupational therapists who agree to be screened.

The governor also addressed new guidance on COVID-19 testing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reportedly that they no longer recommend asymptomatic people be tested for COVID-19 unless they are in a special at-risk category. Critics have claimed this is a political move by the Trump administration, intended to drive down the number of positive COVID cases and despite the fact that 40% of COVID cases come from contact with those who don’t show symptoms.

Polis said the advice had been misconstrued, and was intended to address a shortage of testing equipment. Colorado doesn’t have that problem, he said. “We have plenty of tests” and anyone who has been in close contact with someone with the virus but is asymptomatic can still be tested and is encouraged to do so. “Those who are exposed should take advantage” of the myriad of free testing sites around the state, he said.