Dear Clients and Friends,
Below please find the sixth edition of Stearns Weaver Miller's COVID-19 Legal Compass, highlighting government updates, alerts on critical topics, and resources to help you navigate and adapt to this rapidly changing environment.
All actions described below have been ordered or updated between April 24, 2020 and April 30 2020. We have done our best to include significant, timely information, although new orders and actions are being introduced continuously.
View a comprehensive listing of the government actions pertaining to COVID-19 that we have collected to date.
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RECENT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACTIONS
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Review Procedure for Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP")
: The SBA
announced
the review of all loans in excess of $2 million, in addition to other loans, as appropriate, following the lender's submission of the borrower's loan forgiveness application. Regulatory guidance implementing this procedure will be forthcoming.
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Updated Interim Rule for PPP
: The SBA
released
an interim final rule related to the PPP requirements for corporate groups and non-bank and non-insured depository institutions lenders. This rule supplements previously posted interim final rules by limiting the amount of PPP loans that any single corporate group may receive, providing additional guidance on the criteria for non-bank lender participation, and requesting public comment.
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Main Street Lending Program Expanding
: The Federal Reserve
announced
the expansion of the Main Street lending program. The expansion allows businesses with up to 15,000 employees to apply (increase from 10,000), raises the revenue limit to $5 billion (from $2.5 billion), and provides additional types of loans.
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Food Supply Chain
: On April 28, 2020, President Trump signed an
Executive Order
directing the Secretary of Agriculture to take all appropriate action to ensure that meat and poultry processors continue operations consistent with the guidance jointly issued by the Centers for Disease Control and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Secretary of Agriculture shall issue orders and adopt and revise appropriate rules and regulations as may be necessary "to ensure that these plants are allowed to operate to produce the meat protein that Americans need." (Press Release No. 0234.20)
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RECENT STATE OF FLORIDA GOVERNMENT ACTIONS
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Phase 1: Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step. Plan for Florida's Recovery: Upon the expiration of the State Stay at Home Order, some business will be allowed to re-open with limitations to limit spread of COVID-19. Click for more.
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Florida Corporate Income Tax Due Date Extended: The due date for corporate tax returns for entities with fiscal years ending in late 2019 or early 2020 has been extended to August 3, 2020. Additionally, entities with a fiscal year ending in December, 2019 have an extra month to make their tax payments. Click for more.
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Extension of State Stay at Home Order and Vacation Rental Closures: The Stay at Home Order has been extended until May 4, to coincide with the beginning of the Phase 1 Recovery Order. Additionally, the Vacation Rental Closure order has been extended and will be extended into the Phase 1 Recovery. Click for more.
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Governor's Re-Open Florida Task Force: The final report of the Task Force has been released. Click for more.
View an easy-to-read matrix of the Florida government agency orders that we have collected to date. Highlighted actions are new (April 24-30) since last issue.
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RECENT COUNTY AND CITY GOVERNMENT ACTIONS
Our
comprehensive listing
includes the latest updates on the actions of 59 local governments throughout the state of Florida, as well as permitting information and virtual meeting databases. Grouped by region and with an easy-to-navigate table of contents, the listing is filled with digestible bullet points of each government's orders, organized by date.
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| Photo Source - Florida's COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard, Florida Department of Health, Division of Disease Control and Health Protection, May 1, 2020 |
LOCAL GOVERNMENT BEGINS REOPENING
Many local governments expressed support in the Governor's first phase of the "Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step" plan and took actions to align their emergency orders with the plan.
Phase one of allows local governments to continue meeting virtually and most have continued with government business through the use of communications media technology.
On April 22nd, our team presented a webinar wherein we discussed the practical and legal challenges presented in a virtual land use public hearing and the best practices to proceed in these virtual times. You can view the webinar here!
If you have questions about a local government order or an upcoming virtual public hearing,
email
us.
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