Update on Local, State and Federal Updates - March 30 - A Message from Your Chamber President - WINTER HAVEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Update on Local, State and Federal Updates - March 30 - A Message from Your Chamber President

3/30/2020

Good evening. As we started the week, thankfully, many subject matter experts have scheduled conference calls and put out written guidance regarding the assistance programs available. Below you will find information on some additional calls and resources. Additionally, below is an update on local, state and federal actions, including a lengthening of the school district online and distance learning at least through May 1. It's a lot of information to digest daily and we hope these emails help to make it a little easier to navigate. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly with questions so we can try to get as many of the answers for you as we can. If you have the question, likely someone else does too! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, we are here for you so we can all get through this together.

Business Assistance:

Banks across the country were on conference calls today regarding the newly passed SBA Paycheck Protection Program and what their role will be. While today was about educating them on what the program is they are still awaiting exact guidance on how you will apply and they will process it. We will share this info as soon as we have it. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced today that all FDIC banks and credit unions can apply to be lenders under this program if they are not currently a SBA 7A Loan lender. So it is very likely your normal banking institution would be able to help you so please check with them. He said today he would like the applications to be able to be taken as early as Friday of this week.
- Two questions many of you have contacted us about:
  - I took out/applied for a bridge loan through my state, am I eligible to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program?
    - Yes, you can take out a state bridge loan and are still be eligible for the PPP loan. Remember the bridge loan is a loan and while it's interest free for 12-months it is not forgiven and must be paid back. The PPP can be forgiven if certain requirements are met.
  - If I have applied for, or received an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) related to COVID19 before the Paycheck Protection Program became available, will I be able to refinance into a PPP loan?
    - Yes. If you received an Economic Injury Disaster Loan loan related to COVID-19 between January 31, 2020 and the date at which the PPP becomes available, you would be able to refinance the EIDL into the PPP for loan forgiveness purposes. However, you may not take out an EIDL and a PPP for the same purposes. Remaining portions of the EIDL, for purposes other than those laid out in loan forgiveness terms for a PPP loan, would remain a loan. If you took advantage of an emergency EIDL grant award of up to $10,000, that amount would be subtracted from the amount forgiven under PPP.

For our non-profit 501(c)3 members, there are provisions in the CARES Act that apply to you and can help you. I encourage you to watch this webinar we sat through with the US Chamber of Commerce that dissects what this legislation means to you. There are some provisions of the bill that if you take advantage of one portion, you are disqualified from taking advantage of another. We will also work on getting a summary of this up on the blog. The US Chamber is hosting another call on this on Wednesday, April 1 at 1 p.m. and you can register here.

There are a couple of phone calls from partner organizations you may be interested in sitting in on this week. We will be attending as well and taking notes:
- GrowFL is hosting "Your Guide to the NEW SBA Stimulus Loan (CARES Act)" on Tuesday, March 31, 2PM - Everything You Need to Know About the New SBA Stimulus Loan. This loan is different from the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan already available directly through the SBA. Click here to register.
- Chamber member CertiPay will host a call on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 01:00 PM regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Rachel Comella with CertiPay will present an overview of this new bill and discuss the specific details of the new legislation, including paid sick leave, emergency family medical leave, the payroll tax credit and the health plan mandate. This call is limited to the first 150 people who dial in. If you are unable to join the call, we have asked CertiPay that it be recorded so we can share it with you on our blog. We plan on having multiple calls like this over the coming weeks so do not worry if you try to join but it is full. To Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/120306715 Meeting ID: 120 306 715, Dial by phone: +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
- Small Business Development Center will host a call on the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loans (Florida specific loan). Call is Thursday, April 2 at 9AM. Register for this webinar

Local:

There have been a lot of rumors and inaccurate information circulating around social media about the County issuing stay-at-home, lock down orders, or business mandates. The County Commission Chair Bill Braswell put out a statement today. You can read the entire statement here. An excerpt is below:
- "Polk County has not issued a “stay at home” order and there is no related curfew. As always, the best place to effect change is in your own home. We expect our citizens to follow CDC guidelines staying home as much as possible. Be smart and try to consolidate trips away from your home. For business owners who do not provide essential services, please consider closing your business, decreasing your hours, offering online services or curbside pickup. The goal is to slow the infection rate so we do not need to take more drastic action."

The City of Winter Haven has also not issued any such mandates.

State:

In a call with superintendents today, Florida's Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran directed school districts to communicate to their parents, students and staff they will remain closed until May 1st. Polk County did this evening. Online and distance learning will continue. Districts were also informed they should be prepared to extend their educational calendars through June 30, 2020, to the extent necessary and feasible.

Governor DeSantis issued stricter stay-at-home guidelines for South Florida (Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach) in order for them to be consistent across the area which accounts for 60% of the state's COVID-19 cases to-date.

On a call with the Governor and Chamber of Commerces across Florida today, he stated he has no intention to issue a statewide stay-at-home order.

He also issued an executive order allowing recently retired law enforcement and healthcare personnel to immediately return to the workforce.

Federal:

No updates from the federal level during the Presidential briefing, but incase you missed it on First Thing newsletter this morning, CDC guidelines for social distancing, including no gatherings over 10 people and work from home recommendations, were extended through April 30 nationwide.

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Update on Local, State and Federal Updates - March 30 - A Message from Your Chamber President

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