California State Budget Update: The California Association of Realtors reports that Gov. Newsom announced that “he has shelved his initial budget plan and will pursue a “workload” budget. The stripped-down spending plan will work as a stopgap, as the economy weathers the COVID-19 crisis, and will allow California to meet its constitutional deadline for passing a budget.
Newsom’s Department of Finance sent letters to the Legislature and to government agency secretaries advising them that the normal schedule for state budgeting is on hold and that the goals the governor described in January are up for renegotiation.
The letter to the agency secretaries and department directors warned them that they “should have no expectation of full funding for either new or existing proposals and adjustments. The only exception to this new evaluation criteria will be proposals or adjustments necessary to support the emergency response to COVID-19. New requests, which fall outside these parameters, will not be reviewed.”
Phase III of Federal Disaster Assistance: The San Diego Regional Chamber prepared one the best summaries of the pending federal bill - S. 3458/H.R 748 The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (The CARES Act). It is accurate, according to the website, as of 10:00 am today (March 26). https://sdchamber.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CARES-Act-Review-3.26.10.pd
Federal Defense Production Act Invoked: On Friday (March 27), President Trump deployed the government’s powers to compel General Motors to make ventilators needed to help healthcare providers treat patients with coronavirus, as the number of US cases continues to grow.
California is Buying: Businesses that would like to offer a product or service that can help during the COVID-19 emergency can use the GO-Biz Service Desk to identify next steps: https://gobiz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Federal Regulators and Small Dollar Loans: Five federal financial regulatory agencies issued a joint statement encouraging banks, savings associations and credit unions to offer responsible small-dollar loans to consumers and small businesses in response to COVID-19.
The statement of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recognizes that responsible small-dollar loans can play an important role in meeting customers' credit needs because of temporary cash-flow imbalances, unexpected expenses, or income disruptions during periods of economic stress or disaster recoveries. Such loans can be offered through a variety of structures including open-end lines of credit, closed-end installment loans, or appropriately structured single payment loans.
In addition to today's statement, the agencies are working on future guidance and lending principles for responsible small-dollar loans to facilitate the ability of banks, credit unions, and saving associations to more effectively meet the ongoing credit needs of their customers, members, and communities. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200326a.htm
US Navy Hospital Ship Arrives: The Port of Los Angels (POLA) welcomes the USNS Mercy’ to the Port of Los Angeles.
The Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds will be used for non-coronavirus patients in Southern California, to help relieve the strain on inland hospitals treating COVID-19 individuals.
The Mercy will not be accessible to the public and persons in need of medical care should seek medical attention per the direction of public health advisories.
In order to prepare for the ship’s arrival, POLA coordinated with Navy and FEMA officials.
New or Recently Updated COVID-19 Websites and Webpages
New Small Business COVID-19 Website: Jesse Torres and Sid Voorakkara have Launched a website to aggregate federal, state, and local resources available to small businesses. https://www.covid19biztools.com/.
Economic Development COVID-19 Webpage: CALED is hosting a webpage to support economic development professional, including local government and nonprofit EDCs. One unique feature is the sharing a best practices. As an example, the City of Riverside mapped essential businesses on an interactive geospatial platform to help consumers in the region know where to shop. The site also includes a listing of tech companies who are working with small businesses to work remotely. https://caled.org/economic-development-resources-for-the-novel-coronavirus-and-covid-19/
US Chamber of Commerce Webpage: The US Chamber of Commerce is developing a number of COVID-19-related resources to help businesses benefit from the disaster response legislation recently passed by the US Congress. The first product is a guide and checklist, which is a useful link for businesses that want more information before the programs are actually rolled out. https://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/023595_comm_corona_virus_smallbiz_loan_final.pdf
Other News and Actions
CalOZ Vision and Action Plan: CalOZ spent the last several months gathering feedback on how we can collectively build a thriving Opportunity Zone ecosystem in California. Based on feedback from 300 stakeholders, they published the CalOZ Vision and 2020 Action Plan. https://www.caloz.org/vision-and-2020-action-plan
Select USA - Is Open for Business: US Dept of Commence sent a reminder today that the Select USA global network of experienced investment specialists remain hard at work helping our clients develop international business plans. Our specialists are relying significantly on emails, conference calls, Skype sessions, and video conferences to stay connected with client businesses all around the world. To learn more about how we can help your business or EDO during this time, please contact us at SelectUSA@trade.gov.
