SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BILL

FOR THE UNEMPLOYED

■ $300 per week in expanded unemployment benefits through Sept. 6 — on top of what beneficiaries get through their state unemployment insurance program. Additionally, the measures provides a 100% subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums through September.

STATE, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

■ $350 billion to state and local governments and tribal governments for costs incurred up until the end of 2024.

SCHOOLS

■ $130B to schools for K-12 students, to reduce class sizes and modify classrooms to enhance social distancing, install ventilation systems and purchase PPE.

■ $40B for colleges and universities, to defray an institution’s pandemic-related expenses.

BUSINESSES

■ $25B for restaurants and bars to cover operational expenses. ■ $7.25B for the Paycheck Protection Program, allowing more nonprofits to apply for forgivable loans to meet operating costs.

TESTING AND VACCINES

■ $46B to expand federal, state and local testing and to enhance contract tracing capabilities.

■ $14B to speed up the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines.

RENTERS, HOMEOWNERS

■ $30B to help low-income earners, unemployed afford rent; to assist the homeless.

■ $10B for states and tribes to help with mortgage payments.

The state’s restaurant industry took a $5 billion hit in 2020 as diners stayed home to avoid contracting COVID-19, said Karen Bremer, president of the Georgia Restaurant Association. That forced the closure of 3,800 eateries and cost 100,000 employees their jobs.

So cocktails are in order, she told a Georgia Senate committee.

Bremer was speaking in support of Senate Bill 236, which would allow restaurants to sell two cocktails per entree to go in sealed containers.

The Senate voted in support of the measure.

Cocktails offer the highest profit margins for restaurants that sell them, Bremer said, and “would be something that would bring back hope to some of the restaurants that are teetering right now.”

Speaking against the bill was Mike Griffin, a longtime lobbyist for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, who said it seems as if the alcoholic beverage industry wants to continually erode any restrictions.

“It’s like we’ll never be satisfied from the industry side unless it’s sold 24/7 and from every lemonade stand,” he said.

AJC FILE