a) To be eligible to receive financial assistance under MPCP, applicants must meet the following conditions:

1. 1) The applicant must be:

   1. A) A USDA licensed, State licensed, or custom exempt slaughter and/or processing facility; or
   2. B) A slaughter and/or processing facility that submitted an application for licensure to USDA or the State prior to the MPCP application deadline;
2. 2) The applicant must employ no more than 60 total employees;
3. 3) The applicant's license must be registered and in good standing with the Illinois Secretary of State;
4. 4) The applicant's proposed or existing facility must be located in the State of Illinois;
5. 5) Expenses for approved projects must be accrued and all required documentation for reimbursement must be received by DOA by the date indicated on the application; and
6. 6) An entity/facility is only permitted to submit one application for reimbursement under MPCP.

b) Financial assistance received under MPCP may be used for:

1. 1) Costs related to expansion or improvement of an existing facility;
2. 2) Fixtures or equipment necessary to expand animal throughput, processing capacity, the amount or type of products produced, or processing speed;
3. 3) Engineering controls/barriers to reduce disease spread, including, but not limited to, plexiglass barriers/partitions, expansion of work spaces and breakrooms/cafeterias, and ventilation improvements to improve airflow;
4. 4) Development of administrative controls (policies, procedures, training and workplace practices) to reduce disease spread, including, but not limited to, development of masking, screening and disinfection policies, standard operating procedures, and additional training. This may also include the resources necessary to execute these policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, facial coverings, facial shields, thermometers, hand washing stations and supplies, hand sanitizers and dispensers, environmental disinfection supplies, multilingual signage, videos and/or infographics on COVID-19 related information, and policies and procedures; and
5. 5) Equipment necessary for compliance with the federal hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plan.

c) Financial assistance received under MPCP cannot be used for:

1. 1) Wages or salaries;
2. 2) Travel costs;
3. 3) Any part of a project that has already been reimbursed by another federal or State grant program;
4. 4) Purchase of a building/facility; or
5. 5) Land acquisition or associated fees.

d) Financial Assistance under MPCP will be issued under the following conditions:

1. 1) An applicant, including any parent company, affiliate, and subsidiary, is eligible to receive up to $25,000.
2. 2) Eligible payments will be made after the applicant provides DOA with documentation demonstrating that expenses for eligible projects have been accrued.
3. 3) If an applicant is located in a disproportionately impacted area, the amount of financial assistance will be increased by 10%.

e) Applicants for MPCP shall submit the following documentation:

1. 1) Completed application;
2. 2) IRS Form W-9; and
3. 3) Certification from the applicant verifying eligible expenses, as set forth in subsection (b), and attesting that no part of the project has been reimbursed by another federal or State grant program.