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Dear Clients and Friends,

Below please find the twenty-fourth 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 changing environment.  

As businesses and individuals adapted to the "new normal", noteworthy federal, state, and local government mandates have slowed down a bit but we will continue to update you if significant actions that can affect your business are introduced.

Please email our team with any questions regarding the below information or any local government actions. Additionally, you can view a comprehensive listing of the government actions pertaining to COVID-19 that we have collected to date.


RECENT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACTIONS
  • SBA Re-Opening Paycheck Protection Program to Small Lenders: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department, will re-open the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan portal to PPP-eligible lenders with $1 billion or less in assets for First and Second Draw applications on Friday, January 15, 2021. The portal will fully re-open on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 to all participating PPP lenders to submit First and Second Draw loan applications to the SBA.

    First Draw PPP Loans are for borrowers who have not received a PPP loan before August 8, 2020. The qualifications and loan amounts for the First Draw PPP Loans are the same as they were in the initial round of loans in 2020.

    Second Draw PPP Loans are for eligible small businesses with 300 employees or less, that previously received a First Draw PPP Loan and will use, or have used, the full amount only for authorized uses, and that can demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020. The maximum amount of a Second Draw PPP loan is $2 million.

    The SBA has already granted dedicated PPP access to Community Financial Institutions (CFIs) which include Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Certified Development Companies (CDCs), and Microloan Intermediaries as part of the agency's ongoing efforts to reach underserved and minority small businesses.

    The SBA will continue its emphasis on reaching smaller lenders and businesses by opening to approximately 5,000 more lenders, including community banks, credit unions, and farm credit institutions. The agency also plans to have dedicated service hours for these smaller lenders after the portal fully re-opens.
View a comprehensive listing of Federal Government Actions that we have collected to date.

On Thursday, January 21 at 12pm, we will be hosting a webinar to discuss the changes to the PPP and the Employee Retention Credit program. 

RECENT STATE OF FLORIDA GOVERNMENT ACTIONS
  • Civil Liability for Damages Relating to COVID-19: Bills have been filed in the Florida Legislature to address civil liability for businesses due to COVID-19. Click for more.
View a comprehensive listing of State of Florida Government Actions that we have collected to date.

View an easy-to-read matrix of the Florida government agency orders that we have collected to date.  Highlighted actions are new (December 17 - January 15) since last issue.
RECENT STEARNS WEAVER MILLER COVID-19 UPDATES
About Stearns Weaver Miller
  
Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson is a full service law firm with offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Tallahassee, and Coral Gables, Florida. We offer multidisciplinary solutions with a focus on Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Business Restructuring, Corporate & Securities, Government & Administrative, Labor & Employment, Real Estate, Real Estate Finance, Commercial Finance and Loan Restructuring & Workouts, Land Development, Zoning & Environmental, Marital & Family Law and Tax. For more information, please visit stearnsweaver.com.

  

The information provided in this update email does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; it is for general informational purposes only. Information in this email may quickly become outdated. Readers of this email should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular matter. No one should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information in this email without first seeking legal advice from counsel. Only your attorney can provide assurance that the information contained in this email, as well as the reader's interpretation of that information, is appropriate to any particular situation.