Re-Opening of California: Governor Newsom announced plans to allow hospitals and health systems to resume delayed medical care, which were deferred as the state’s health care delivery systems prepared for a surge of COVID-19 patients. The decision, he said, was based on progress toward preparing California hospitals and health systems for a surge in COVID-19 patients – one of the six critical indicators the governor unveiled last week as part of the state’s framework for gradually modifying California’s stay-at-home order.
Creating a Market for State and Local Securities: The Federal Reserve announced that it is creating the Municipal Liquidity Facility, a tool to help states and localities deal with budgetary stresses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility will purchase up to $500 billion in short-term notes from “eligible issuers” and the proceeds may be used to continue government operations and serve citizens.
Data Breech at SBA Loan Website: The personal information of up to 8,000 applicants to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program may have been exposed to other applicants. According to the Washington Post, the SBA issued a statement that said the SBA “immediately disabled the impacted portion of the website, addressed the issue, and relaunched the application portal.”
Volunteer Initiative Launched: Governor Gavin Newsom today announced California Volunteers’ #CaliforniansForAll service initiative to connect Californians with safe volunteer opportunities and encourage those unable to physically volunteer to think creatively about ways to make a difference in their communities. This initiative builds on other actions taken by the state to help stabilize individuals and families impacted by COVID-19 and the necessary measurers taken by the state to address the coronavirus emergency. https://californiavolunteers.ca.gov/get-involved/covid-19/
Poll Finds Small Business Hard Hit: Small Business Majority released a poll that found 92% of California’s small businesses have been harmed by COVID-19, with nearly half (46%) indicating a severe negative impact. The poll also found that a significant number of California’s small businesses have permanently laid off, furloughed, or reduced the hours/salary of their entire workforce. In California 4 in 10 businesses adjusted their entire staff, whereas nationally, 1 in 3 businesses did so. Further, the poll found 44% of small businesses in California have already closed or are planning to do so in the next two months. https://smallbusinessmajority.org/press-release/scientific-opinion-poll-92-california-small-business-owners-report-negative-covid-19-impacts-significant-demand-grant-assistance
OZ Deadlines Extended: The IRS extended the 45-day and 180-day requirements for investing in QOZs and like-kind properties. Concerns have been raised that given the current state of the country as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, meeting those deadlines was unrealistic. In recognition of this, the IRS extended the deadline to July 15, 2020, for several types of returns or other filing obligations which were due to be performed on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/irs-extends-like-kind-and-qualified-39588/
IRS Releases FAQ on Airline Bailout: The CARES Act authorizes the US Treasury to provide payments to passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, and certain contractors that must be exclusively used for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits (Payroll Support). Section 4117 of the CARES Act provides that the Treasury Department may receive warrants, options, preferred stock, debt securities, notes, or other financial instruments issued by a company receiving Payroll Support (Recipient) to provide appropriate compensation to the Federal Government for the provision of the financial assistance.
Payment Protection Program Loans: According to multiple news reports, PPP loans proceeds went to many publically traded companies, many of which were valued at over $100 million. An Associated Press report found that at least 75 companies that have received the aid were publicly traded and received a combined $300 million in low-interest, taxpayer-backed loans. CNBC is reporting that a Morgan Stanley report found that at least $243.4 million of the total $349 billion went to publicly traded companies.
Business Networking for Veterans: The US Veterans Administration is partnering with LinkedIn’s Military and Veterans Program to provide a one-year upgrade to LinkedIn Premium at no charge, including free access to LinkedIn’s online library of more than 12,000 learning courses. https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/resources/linkedin/
US Imports Fall: The West Coast Trade Report released its March 2020 report, which depicts a significant drop in port activity across the US, as compared to the prior year. Activity at the Northwest Seaport Alliance (Seattle/Tacoma) was down 28.8%, the Ports of Los Angeles down 25.6%, Savannah down 21.1%, Houston down 19.4%, Charleston down 18.1%, Oakland down 10%, and Long Beach down 5.%, https://files.constantcontact.com/3190e792601/5ce88ebe-aea6-4b1c-a3d4-aeb3b8ace1c3.pdf
Health of the Social Security Funds: The Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds. The combined trust funds are projected to become depleted in 2035, with 79% of benefits payable after that time. The OASI Trust Fund is projected to become depleted in 2034, the same as last year’s estimate, with 76% of benefits payable at that time. The DI Trust Fund is estimated to become depleted in 2065, extended 13 years from last year’s estimate of 2052, with 92% of benefits still payable. This analysis does not include the impact of COVID-19 on the Funds. https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases/2020/?utm_content=pressreleaseTrusteesReport&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#4-2020-5
CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES AND GRANTS
High Performance Computing Solicitation Coming Soon: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to issue a spring 2020 solicitation for high performance computing projects that improve manufacturing processes, address products’ lifecycle energy consumption, and increase the efficiency of energy conversion and storage technologies. This manufacturing program is one component of the High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) initiative, which is led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Eligibility for the program is limited to entities that manufacture products or operate systems in the U.S. for commercial applications and organizations that support them. Selected projects will be awarded up to $300,000 to support computing cycles and work performed by DOE National Laboratories, universities, and non-profit partners. All DOE National Laboratories are eligible to participate. The industry partner must provide a participant contribution of at least 20% of the total project funding.
Cannabis Equity Grants Program: The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), in partnership with the Bureau of Cannabis Control, announced the awarding of $30 million in grant funding through the Cannabis Equity Grants Program for local jurisdictions. The program’s mission is to encourage inclusion and support individuals in California’s legal cannabis marketplace who are from communities negatively or disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization. The program offers small business support services, including technical assistance to individuals, reduced licensing fees or waived fees, assistance in recruitment, training, and retention of a qualified and diverse workforce, and business resilience such as emergency preparedness. The grant announcement stated that at least $23 million of the funding, in the form of low/no-interest loans or grants, will be directly allocated to applicants and licensees specifically identified by local jurisdictions as being from communities most harmed by cannabis prohibition. To date, jurisdictions seeking to create this inclusive regulatory framework represent roughly a quarter of the state’s population.
EIDL Summary Report: As of April 19, 2020, California had: 114,980 approved Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advances for a total of more than $484 million and 6,820 approved Economic Injury Disaster Loans for a total of nearly $1.5 billion.
COVID-19 SBA Loan Tracker: A website has been established by, according to the website, a group of small business owners concerned about their businesses and the timeline it is taking to access federal COVID-19 small business loans through the SBA. https://www.covidloantracker.com/
CDBG Funding Details: The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development released program funding spreadsheets for federal FY 2020 budget, including the CARES Act supplemental funding for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
Updated from the Port of Los Angeles: The Port of Los Angeles is fully operational with all terminals and gates open. In addition, the Port of LA reports the following:
12 ships in port today: 7 container, 2 liquid bulk, 1 vehicle carrier, 1 cruise ship, and USNS Mercy.
The NCL Jewel is in port for fuel, ship stores, and the transfer of some crew to chartered coach and air transport home.
Number of blank sailings are: 2 for late April, 14 for May, 11 for June, and 3 for July.
Logistics Victory Los Angeles (LoVLA.org) is receiving a donation of 160,000 face shields from Apple Inc. (AAPL). Donated through Apple’s Giving program, the face shields will assist in L.A.’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like other areas across the nation right now, caregivers in Southern California are running low on certain supplies, including isolation gowns, examination gloves, face shields, medical ventilators, N95 masks, IV drip apparatus used on COVID-19 patients as the pandemic spreads in Southern California.
Suppliers of Personal Protective Equipment and entities in need of supplies during this health emergency are encouraged to register their resources and needs at www.LoVLA.org.
Port of LA website is updated daily during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Information includes the vessels in port, container terminal gate hours, the USNS Mercy, and void sailings https://www.portoflosangeles.org/covid-19
COVID-19 Resources to States: The National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL) is advocating before the US Congress to expand the allowable uses of the Coronavirus Relief Fund to include lost revenue to states. The US Congress is currently considering a fourth coronavirus stimulus bill, which could be voted on as early as Thursday.
No Sew Methods for Making Masks: The Center for Disease Control maintains this webpage with simple instructions, in English and Spanish, on how to make face masks. The instructions provide options for both sewing and non-sewing methods. The Inland Empire Economic Partnership provided the link with clear advertising of non-sewing methods. There are several other language options available. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
