***Survey Alert***
We are asking each organization to have one individual fill out our newest survey. Your answers will not be shared individually, but the survey results will be shared with our local elected officials as they look to how they can support the business community with new legislation or regulations, and will give us an update on the status of Dutchess County employers. You can find the surveyHERE
·Governor Andrew Cuomo today (Thursday) confirmed that the Hudson Valley Region will enter Phase 2 on June 9th.
·Restaurants will be allowed to have outdoor dining when our region enters Phase 2. You must still review the summary guidelines, complete the affirmation and Safety Plan prior to reopening. They can be found HERE.
·Additionally, the New York State Liquor Authority has released guidance on how establishments with a license to serve alcoholic beverages can continue to do so outdoors, but still on premise. The guidance will be in effect until July 3rd but can be extended. The guidance can be found HERE.
·The U.S. Senate and U.S. House has passed a bill that makes changes to the Paycheck Protection Program. The bill will now be sent to President Donald Trump for his signature. The changes are as follows:
1.Extends the PPP loan forgiveness period to include costs incurred over 24 weeks after a loan is issued or through Dec. 31, whichever comes first. Businesses that received a loan before the measure is enacted could keep the current eight-week period.
2.Extends to Dec. 31 from June 30 a period in which loans can be forgiven if businesses restore staffing or salary levels that were previously reduced. The provision would apply to worker and wage reductions made from Feb. 15 through 30 days after enactment of the CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27.
3.Maintains forgiveness amounts for companies that document their inability to rehire workers employed as of Feb. 15, and their inability to find similarly qualified workers by the end of the year. Under the modified measure, companies would be covered separately if they show that they couldn’t resume business levels from before Feb. 15 because they were following federal requirements for sanitization or social distancing.
4.Extends the deadline to apply for a PPP loan to Dec. 31 from June 30.
5.Requires at least 60% of forgiven loan amounts to come from payroll expenses.
6.Repeals a provision from the CARES Act that barred companies with forgiven PPP loans from deferring their payroll tax payments.
7.Allows borrowers to defer principal and interest payments on PPP loans until the SBA compensates lenders for any forgiven amounts, instead of the current six-month deferral period. Borrowers that don’t apply for forgiveness would be given at least 10 months after the program expires to start making payments.
8.Establishes a minimum loan maturity period of five years following an application for loan forgiveness, instead of the current two-year deadline set by the SBA. That provision would apply to PPP loans issued after the measure is enacted, though borrowers and lenders could agree to extend current loans.
Wednesday, June 10 at 1:00PM: Have a Facebook Page/Instagram Profile, but you’re wondering… now what? Chat with Dutchess Tourism Director of Communications Whitney Bowers and Arts Mid-Hudson Marketing & Development Coordinator Melissa Dvozenja-Thomas about the best ways to schedule, create, and analyze your posts to enhance your social media presence. RSVP HERE.