(1) If a qualifying event occurs, the department shall establish a grant program to provide financial assistance to eligible businesses that have experienced a significant loss of revenue as a result of such qualifying event. An eligible business shall be considered to have experienced a significant loss of revenue if its gross revenue over a period of one month or more has declined by at least fifty percent from the amount of gross revenue received over the same period in the prior year.

(2) Whenever such a grant program is established, an eligible business may submit an application to the department with sufficient documentation to show the loss of revenue required under subsection (1) of this section.

(3) If the applicant is an eligible business and meets the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, the department shall approve the application and shall notify the applicant of such approval.

(4) The department shall consider applications in the order in which they are received and may approve applications within the limits of available appropriations.

(5) Each grant approved under this section shall be no more than twelve thousand dollars.