Gov. Phil Murphy will decide on adding another $235 million of COVID-19 relief for businesses, after a package of six bills was approved by the state Legislature during a June 3 voting session.

The aid is meant to hold businesses over as they navigate these latest pandemic reopenings and set their sites on the recovery.

And the New Jersey Economic Development Authority – an arm of the Murphy administration that oversees such funds – is already letting businesses pre-register for the application process for this new money.

“We’ve seen tens-of-thousands of small business owners in New Jersey benefit from this grant program offered by the NJEDA since it was initially launched in April of last year, so we’re very grateful to receive this additional funding that will help us fulfill many more requests for financial assistance,” reads a May 26 statement from NJEDA head Tim Sullivan.

The state agency is in the midst of an $85 million round of grant funding to help businesses stay afloat.

Sullivan said on Twitter that there have so far been more than 5,000 approvals totaling $60 million as of the morning of June 4. There were already 30,000 businesses that pre-registered for grants, and they would not be required to do anything to qualify for this new round of funding.

Good news heading into the weekend: more than 5,000 small businesses have gotten approvals for $60m+ of Phase 4 grants with lots more to come – part of @GovMurphy’s commitment to supporting small biz thru to the end of this pandemic

— Tim Sullivan (@timsullivan510) June 4, 2021

This new round of pre-registration, which runs through 5 p.m. on June 30, means businesses “that missed the previous deadline to apply have another chance,” the NJEDA said in a statement.

Grants are capped at $20,000, and the total amount awarded varies based on the number of full-time employees. Business owners have to show that their operations have suffered because of these past 15 months of pandemic closures and restrictions.

Who gets what

Under the agreement between Murphy and top state Democrats, the NJEDA would set aside $20 million for bars and restaurants, $120 million for micro-businesses, $10 million for child care providers, and $50 million for businesses with up to 50 employees.

There would be $25 million for startups, and $10 million for the “Sustain and Serve NJ” program, which effectively pays restaurants to prepare meals for some of the state’s most in-need residents. But those two programs will be separate from these new grants, according to an NJEDA spokesperson.

Amid COVID-19 pandemic business closures and ensuing restrictions, businesses have relied on billions of dollars in state and federal aid, mostly grants, or forgivable or low-interest loans.

Under the federal Paycheck Protection Program, the U.S. Small Business Administration approved 157,405 forgivable loans totaling $17.3 billion in 2020, and in 2021 approved 134,362 loans totaling roughly $8 billion.