A Western New York state lawmaker is asking the governor to relieve small business owners of their sales tax burden for three months.

Republican state Senator Chris Jacobs wrote a letter to Governor Cuomo and has launched a petition to show support for the measure.

He said many small business owners have little to no revenue coming in right now and if they don't have to worry about paying the state sales tax, they can use that money for other bills.

While Jacobs admitted it will affect the state budget, he said it's worth it in the long run.

"We know that we'll get through this eventually, but we want to make sure that the businesses are still in existence when we get through it so they can rehire employees and contribute back to the economy," he said.

Jacobs said he believes the governor can take action unilaterally without the Legislature passing a bill.