JEDE COVID-19 Weekend Update for September 11, 2020
REMEMBERANCE OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
Governor Newsom issued a proclamation in recognition of September 11 as Patriot Day. For the past nine years, the US has observed this day to honor both the nearly three thousand individuals who lost their lives on that tragic day and the men and women who bravely responded to the attacks. “We remember those who lost their lives, the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for others, and those who have been forever marked by this moment in history. We also recognize the debt we owe to the first responders – continuing to ensure that they are provided with care for the ongoing health impact of their service during the fateful recovery period. On this somber anniversary, I urge Californians to give meaning to the phrase ‘Never Forget,’ to mourn for those we lost and continue to support those who rushed toward danger that day. I have ordered all flags on state buildings to be flown at half-staff.” https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/11/governor-newsom-issues-proclamation-declaring-patriot-day/
Statewide Fire Declaration and Federal Assistance: Governor Newsom declared a statewide emergency due to the widespread fires and extreme weather conditions. A Presidential Major Disaster Declaration is approved for the Northern California wildfires. California has also secured Fire Management Assistance Grants to support the state’s response to fires burning in Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Napa, Nevada, Lake, Solano, Yolo, Monterey, Fresno, Madera, San Bernardino, Siskiyou, Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/08/18/governor-newsom-declares-statewide-emergency-due-to-fires-extreme-weather-conditions-2/
Extension of the Surface Transportation Act: The US Chamber of Commerce and the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, were among the 88 trade associations, labor groups, and other organizations who submitted a joint letter calling on the US Congress for a one-year extension of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, $37 billion in emergency cash for state transportation departments, $32 billion for public transit agencies, and other actions to ensure solvency of the Highway Trust Fund for the duration of the extension. The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act expires on September 31, 2020. https://subscriber.politicopro.com/f/?id=00000174-7443-d59c-a174-745f30d80001
Climate is a Risk to the US Financial Markets: The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission released a report, Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System. https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8234-20 Key statements and findings from the report include, but are not limited to:
Climate change poses a major risk to the stability of the US financial system and to its ability to sustain the American economy.
A major concern for regulators is what we don’t know. The central message of this report is that US financial regulators must recognize that climate change poses serious emerging risks to the US financial system, and they should move urgently and decisively to measure, understand, and address these risks.
This report begins with a fundamental finding—financial markets will only be able to channel resources efficiently to activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions if an economy-wide price on carbon is in place at a level that reflects the true social cost of those emissions.
A central finding of this report is that climate change could pose systemic risks to the US financial system.
The report finds that, in general, existing legislation already provides US financial regulators with wide-ranging and flexible authorities that could be used to start addressing financial climate-related risk now.
The disclosure by corporations of information on material, climate-related financial risks is an essential building block to ensure that climate risks are measured and managed effectively.
Seafood Trade Relief Program: The US Department of Agriculture announced that $530 million will be available to support the US seafood industry and fisherpeople impacted by retaliatory tariffs from foreign governments, including China. The funding will be awarded by the Farm Service Agency through the Seafood Trade Relief Program using funding provided by the Commodity Credit Corporation. According to the announcement, fisherpeople can sign-up for the program from September 14 to December 14, 2020. https://www.fsa.usda.gov/news-room/news-releases/2020/usda-supports-us-seafood-industry-impacted-by-retaliatory-tariffs
Wildfire Preparedness Fact Sheet: The US Small Business Administration released an updated Wildfire Preparedness Fact Sheet for small businesses. The fact sheet includes activities to undertake in order to reduce risks and expedite reopening and recovery. https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-09/WildfirePreparednessSBA.pdf
GOOD NEWS ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRIENDS
Small Business Month:
New California Small Business Initiative: The California Office of the Small Business Advocate is launching a Grow with Google initiative, which includes a series of free webinars designed to build resilience with online tools to help small businesses adapt to the new marketplace. The four-part small business workshop takes place September 22 - October 7, 2020 - perfect timing to help businesses prepare to compete in the online marketplace leading up to the holiday shopping season. Registration and more information is available at: https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/3490778303472781327.
National Small Business Week to Kick-off September 22-24: The US Small Business Administration rescheduled Small Business Week from May 2020 to September 22 through 24, 2020. This year’s virtual events will recognize the national award winners, including the naming of the National Small Business Person. https://www.sba.gov/national-small-business-week?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
October is Women Business-Owner Month: If your organization is planning events that you think the small business community should know about – send Ben and I an email: benjamin.warheit@asm.ca.gov and toni.symonds@asm.ca.gov. We can help spread the word.
FEDERAL AND STATE LEGISLATION RELATED TO COVID-19, MARCHES FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Expansion of Paid Sick Leave: Governor Newsom signed AB 1867 (Assembly Budget Committee), which extends paid sick days to workers in businesses with more than 500 employers; public and private employers of first responders and health care employees who opted not to cover their employees under federal law; and establishes a Small Employer Family Leave Mediation pilot (contingent upon SB 1183 being enacted). The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provides up to two weeks of paid sick leave to all employees of employers of 500 or less employees for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The FFCRA also authorizes a health care or emergency responder employer to exclude certain health care providers and emergency responders from these provisions. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billAnalysisClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1867
DATA, SURVEYS, AND ANALYSES
Women-Owned Businesses Hardest Hit in Pandemic: The US Chamber of Commerce released Special Report on Women-Owned Small Businesses During COVID-19, which found that women-owned businesses have been the most impacted during the pandemic as compared to male-owned businesses. The report also found that women-owned small businesses have less optimistic revenue, investment, and hiring plans compared to male-owned small businesses. The report is based on a poll conducted between July 9-16, 2020, with a sample of roughly 500 small business owners and operators age 18+ from the continental US, Alaska, and Hawaii interviewed online in English. https://www.uschamber.com/report/special-report-women-owned-small-businesses-during-covid-19
IE Business Index: The UC Riverside School of Business released its quarterly Inland Empire Business Activity Index. According to the Index, business activity in the Inland Empire contracted further in the second quarter of 2020, moving from an annualized decline of -0.2% in the first quarter to an annualized decline of -26.5% in the second. Regional employment and consumer spending collapsed in the second quarter as Riverside and San Bernardino Counties became two of California’s top five counties with respect to total cases of COVID-19. The UCR Center for Economic Forecasting and Development used a wide range of economic data including employment, economic output, income, real estate, and other indicators at the national, state, and metropolitan level. https://ucreconomicforecast.org/index.php/services-for-business/publications/quarterly-business-activity-report/
State Unemployment Benefit Numbers Released: EDD released unemployment insurance data for California for the week ending September 5. https://www.edd.ca.gov/About_EDD/pdf/news-20-46.pdf Unemployment Benefits include Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PAU), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, and FED-ED. Among other information, the weekly Unemployment Benefits report stated:
647,011 Unemployment Benefit claims were filed for the week ending September 5.
Between March 14 and September 5, EDD received 10.4 million Unemployment Benefit claims.
$81 billion has been paid to out-of-work Californians since the start of the pandemic.
National Unemployment Data Released: The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released national unemployment figures for August 2020, showing total US nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.4 million and the unemployment rate fell to 8.4%. These numbers reflect 13.6 million unemployed people in the US with a labor participation rate of 61.7%. The largest increase in employment was in the government sector, which accounted for one-fourth of the over-the-month gain in total nonfarm employment. Among other data, August shows a significant drop in the number of individuals temporarily laid off (decrease of 3.1 million for a total of 6.2 million). However, the number of individuals who permanently lost jobs increased by 534,000 for a total of 3.4 million. For comparison, the number of individuals who have permanently lost jobs has risen by 2.1 million since February 2020. National data for September 2020 will be released Friday, October 2, 2020, and state-level data for August 2020 will be available on or around September 15.
GO-Biz Weekly Newsletter: On Friday afternoons, GO-Biz emails fact-packed newsletters providing highlights and links to important small business actions taken by the state. You can sign-up to receive these newsletters at https://business.ca.gov/gobiz-newsletter-signup/
Safely Making Website: California manufacturers who produce PPE, including face masks and gloves, can advertise their wares on https://www.safelymakingca.org/. The website is a joint effort by the California Manufacturers and Technology Association (CMTA) and the State of California. A manufacturer does not have to be a member of CMTA to participate. To apply, manufacturers should complete this form. At his September 9, 2020, press conference, Governor Newsom announced that the web platform currently includes 450 California manufacturers.
Extension of Federal Food Program: US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will be extending several food program flexibilities through December 31, 2020. These program flexibilities allow summer meal program operators to continue serving free meals to all children into the fall months. https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-item/wtas-usda-extends-free-meals-kids-through-december-31-2020
Individuals and Businesses Impacted by Fires: The Employment Development Department is accepting Federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance applications for workers, business owners and self-employed individuals who lost their jobs or businesses or had their work hours substantially reduced as a result of the wildfires that began in several California counties on August 14, 2020. https://www.edd.ca.gov/About_EDD/pdf/news-20-43.pdf Individuals can receive up to $450 per week in benefits for a maximum period of 27 weeks. Applications can be submitted through this webpage: https://www.edd.ca.gov/unemployment/UI_Online.htm
The Main Street Lending Program is now fully operational and is accepting submissions of eligible loans to nonprofit organizations, submitted by registered lenders. The Federal Reserve has released a new FAQ for nonprofits: https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/mainstreetlending.htm
COVID-19 PPP Aggregate-Level Data Update: The US Small Business Administration released program utilization information for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). As of August 8, 5.2 million PPP loans have been approved in the US for a total of $525 billion. In California, 623,360 PPP loans have been approved for a total of $68.6 billion.
SBA Weekly Lending Reports: The US Small Business Administration (SBA) released its weekly lending report for the week ending August 28, 2020 (still the most recent). Information includes race, ethnicity, gender, and veteran participation in the SBA 7(a), 504, and Advantage Loan Programs. https://www.sba.gov/document/report-2020-weekly-lending-reports
CA Small Business Loans: The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services received updates from the US Small Business Administration on small businesses that are utilizing the two federal disaster loan programs, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program.
Wildfire - SBA Disaster Assistance
CA Loans (EIDL) Approved (as of 9/10)
1
Dollar Amount of CA Loans (EIDL) Approved (as of 9/9)
$11,600
CA Home Loans Approved (as of 9/9)
19
Dollar Amount of CA Home Loans Approved (as of 9/9)
2,615,900
Total Dollars Approved (as of 9/9)
$2,173,600
COVID - SBA Disaster Assistance
CA Loans (EIDL) Approved (as of 8/15)
533,876
Dollar Amount of CA Loans (EIDL) Approved (as of 8/15)
$33,022,133,987
CA Loan Advances (EIDL) Approved (as of 7/15)
809,792
Dollar Amount of CA Loan Advances (EIDL) Approved (as of 7/15)
$2,666,662,000
Payment Protection Plan (as of 8/8)
5,212,128
Payment Protection Plan Approved (total) (as of 7/31)
*Data received from Great Plates Data Portal updated twice per week.
FREE WEBINARS
JEDE maintains a list of on-demand webinars on our website. You can access this list at https://ajed.assembly.ca.gov/content/demand-webinars-available-24-7. Webinars cover a range of topics, including federal disaster programs, marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and accessing international markets.
