JEDE COVID-19 Update for June 26, 2020

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

• State Budget Goes to the Governor: The California Legislature sent a revised 2020-21 budget to the Governor on June 26, 2020.

  • Analyses for Budget Trailer Bills:  https://abgt.assembly.ca.gov/sites/abgt.assembly.ca.gov/files/June%2026%20Trailer%20Bill%20Analyses%20Packet.pdf

  • JEDE 2020-21 Budget PowerPoint with Economic, Workforce, and Business Development Highlights:   Attached

• Safely Making California:  Governor Newson officially launched the state’s new partnership with the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA) and Autodesk to create the "Safely Making California” Marketplace to help fill a critical gap for all sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic.  According to the announcement, the program is intended to assist manufacturers and other employers in locating and purchasing non-medical grade personal protective equipment.  https://www.safelymakingca.org/

• Declaration of Budget Emergency:  Governor Newsom issued a proclamation declaring a budget emergency to make additional resources available to fund the state’s ongoing emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  These funds, according to the announcement, will be used to ensure the availability of funding for personal protective equipment, medical equipment, and other expenditures that may become necessary to support a potential hospital surge and provide necessary services to vulnerable populations.  Today’s proclamation is a key step in allowing the Legislature to pass a bill that (1) suspends for one fiscal year the transfer of moneys from the General Fund to the Budget Stabilization Account required by the Constitution, and (2) returns a certain amount of funds that have been transferred to the Budget Stabilization Account to the General Fund for appropriation to address the budget emergency.  https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/6.25.2020-Budget-SOE-Proclamation-text.pdf

• State Quarantines:  New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey implemented mandatory 14-day quarantines for visitors from states with high coronavirus infection rates.

• Texas Slows Re-Opening:  Texas Governor Abbott issued an executive order limiting certain businesses and services as part of the state’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. According to the announcement, this decision is in response to the increasing number of people testing positive for COVID-19 and rising hospitalization rates.  https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-takes-executive-action-to-contain-spread-of-covid-19

• Reductions in Auto Premiums:  Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that California drivers saved $1.21 billion on auto insurance premiums as a result of Department of Insurance Notice 2020-3.  According to the announcement, the $1.21 billion includes $1.03 billion in premium relief for more than 18 million policyholders for the months of March, April, and May and an additional $180 million in future rate increases that insurance companies reduced in response to the Commissioner’s orders.

  • Announcement:  http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2020/release056-2020.cfm

  • Insurance Notice 2020-3:  http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0300-insurers/0200-bulletins/bulletin-notices-commiss-opinion/upload/Bulletin-2020-4-Premium-Refunds-Credits-and-Reductions-in-Response-to-COVID-19-Pandemic.pdf

• CalCAT – Finding Out What is Going On:  Governor Newsom released new open-source data portal, the California COVID Assessment Tool (CalCAT), in an effort to ensure all 58 counties make decisions based on the same data. The portal includes models which will hopefully be used to inform policy decisions and reduce the current rates of spread.  https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/06/25/governor-newsom-unveils-california-covid-assessment-tool-an-open-source-model-of-models-that-will-allow-scientists-researchers-and-public-to-access-the-most-current-covid-19-data/

• Bank Dividends Capped:  The Federal Reserve Board released the results of its stress tests for 2020 and additional sensitivity analyses that the Board conducted in light of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of this testing, the Board capped dividends and banned share buybacks by big US banks until at least the fourth quarter of this year.   https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200625c.htm

• Out Smart Disaster:  California, in partnership with JP Morgan Chase and other stakeholders, launched Out Smart Disaster, a statewide awareness campaign focused on providing California businesses with key resources to help them prepare for and recover from all types of disasters, including pandemics.  https://outsmart.honeywork.space/

DATA, SURVEYS, AND ANALYSIS

• New UI Claims Down:  The US Department of Labor released data on new UI claims for the week ending June 20.  For the report period, 1.48 million people in the US filed first time claims, which is down from 1.54 million in the prior week.  While positive news, the drop in new claims is smaller than anticipated.  In California, 190,926 claims were filed, including 95,816 UI claims and 95,110 PUA claims.  Since March 14, more than 5.7 million claims have been filed in California with more than $33.5 billion paid out.  https://www.edd.ca.gov/About_EDD/pdf/news-20-28.pdf

• Impact of COVID-19 on Global Economy:  The International Monetary Fund released its World Economic Outlook Update, which forecasted that the global economy will contract -4.9% this year and downgraded its 2020 forecast for all major economies, including: US (-8%); Euro-area (-10.2%); Brazil (-9.1%); Mexico (-10.5%); UK (-10.2%); and China (+1%). 

  • Press Conference Transcript:  https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/06/25/tr062420-transcript-of-the-press-conference-on-the-release-of-the-world-economic-outlook-update

  • World Economic Outlook Report Update:  https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/06/24/WEOUpdateJune2020

• Annual Survey of Manufacturing:  The US Census Bureau released its most detailed statistics on the US manufacturing sector in more than two years.  These data are from the 2018 Annual Survey of Manufactures (most recent), which is the most current information available.  According to the report, Transportation Equipment had the greatest total value of shipments in the manufacturing sector with over $1 trillion – the first manufacturing subsector to surpass the $1 trillion mark.   https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/asm.html

• CRA Eligible Communities:  The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced the availability of the 2020 list of distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies. These are geographic areas where revitalization or stabilization activities are eligible to receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration under the community development definition.  According to the announcement, the federal agencies apply a one-year lag period for geographies that were listed in 2019 but are no longer designated as distressed or underserved in the current release.

  • Announcement:  https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200624a.htm

  • List of CRA Eligible Communities:   https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/files/bcreg20200624a1.pdf

• Personal Income in May:  The US Bureau of Economic Analysis released May 2020 data, which finds that personal income decreased -4.2% while consumer spending increased 8.2%.  Disposable personal income in May decreased -4.9% and personal consumption expenditures increased 8.2%.  https://www.bea.gov/news/2020/personal-income-and-outlays-may-2020

GRANTS

• Small Business Grants:  Opportunity Fund is offering small businesses a chance to apply for $5,000 grants through the Small Business Live Restart Grant Fund.  The grants are for businesses that have been financially challenged due to COVID-19. The grant application opened Tuesday, June 23rd, and will close Monday, June 29 at 9:59 pm PST.  https://us.accion.org/small-business-live-restart-grant-fund/

UPDATES ON COVID-19 PROGRAMS

• Small Businesses Speak Out:  Every year, the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, in collaboration with the Latino Business Action Network, surveys thousands of Latino business owners across the country to measure the critical impact Latino entrepreneurs have on the US economy. This year, the survey will include non-minority business owners.  According to the announcement, information from non-Latine\x business owners will be used to draw comparisons from the unique experiences of the Latino-owned businesses.  All survey responses will be anonymized and remain completely confidential.  https://stanforduniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2cpOe8EVpJ4e5bT

• Rapid Response Webinar:  The California Entrepreneurship Task Force, with support of the Office of the Small Business Advocate, hosted a rapid response session entitled, "Capital and Connections Part II - Startup Success for Communities of Color."  This is the first of a two-part session on accessing capital, including discussions on resources, strategies, partnerships and opportunities with a focus on access for diverse founders and small businesses.

  • Hear the June 26 Podcast:  https://zoom.us/rec/play/6ZV8d-qor243GofEsgSDBKN-W9TuLqqs0nQd-_UPmh29WncLMVHyb7AUZuWXp879GocIHF9qYb2vf6rw?startTime=1593194419000&_x_zm_rtaid=bgC9mpRGRKOv0eiTl17nNg.1593200158490.ff2647495808950c5356afbc6798b821&_x_zm_rhtaid=800

  • Sign-up for Receiving Notice of Future Webinar:  https://business.ca.gov/advantages/small-business-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/help-us-advance-entrepreneurship/

  • Check-Out Previous Webinars Hosted by the California Entrepreneurship Task Force:   https://business.ca.gov/advantages/small-business-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/help-us-advance-entrepreneurship/

• GO-Biz Podcast:  In its most recent podcast, GO-Biz takes listeners on a virtual road trip, visiting California small businesses to learn what they are doing to keep their customers and employees safe as they work to reopen.  Not surprisingly, a main part of this conversation is about accessing personal protective equipment, a vital part of reopening our economy.  To listen, click here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-926344289/made-in-california-safelymakingcaorg

• CA Small Business Loans:  The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services receives updates from the SBA on small businesses that are utilizing the two federal disaster loan programs, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program.

• Great Plates Delivered:  The Great Plates Delivered program provides three meals a day to qualifying seniors.  FEMA just granted a 30-day extension to allow the program to continue to July 10.  As shown in the chart below, the demand for meals far exceeds the number of businesses under contract.  Interested restaurants and food providers are encouraged to fill out this form: https://state-of-california-agency.forms.fm/great-plates-delivered-food-provider-interest-form/forms/7917