Joan Hartley

Hartley Leads Passage of Legislation to Grow Connecticut Small Medical Businesses

Bill will allow small medical practices to participate in Connecticut’s Small Business Express Program

Senator Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury), led the overwhelming, bipartisan passage in the state Senate of legislation that will help small medical practices in Connecticut grow and create jobs. Senate Bill 820 seeks to promote physicians and physician offices to participate in the Small Business Express program. This program is designed to provide capital to small businesses so that they can expand in Connecticut and hire new employees.

“Connecticut has a highly advanced and growing health and medicine sector, and we need to do everything we can to support them,” said Senator Hartley, Co-Chair of the Commerce Committee. “Hundreds of Connecticut businesses have already benefitted from the Small Business Express Program, as have the thousands of employees employed as a result of it. This bill brings that same record of success to our state’s small medical practices, who have stated a need for additional access to capital in order to pursue plans to grow and expand.”

At a public hearing on Senate Bill 820, the Connecticut State Medical Society testified that access to capital is often difficult for physicians. This has made it difficult for new medical practices to form and for existing ones to grow. SB 820 would remedy this situation by making low interest loans available to small medical practices.

Established in 2011, the Small Business Express Program has been highly successful at creating and retaining jobs across the state. This program offers grants and loans that can be used to purchase or lease machinery, expand operations, relocate within Connecticut, or for use as working capital. These funds are provided to businesses that are able to create new jobs and retain existing ones while growing their business.

To date, 1,690 companies have qualified for more than $267 million in grants and loans through the Small Business Express Program. Those companies have stated that they expect the funding through Small Business Express has will allow them to retain 18,687 jobs while creating an additional 6,805 jobs.

Now that Senate Bill 820 has passed the Senate, it moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.