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The COVID-19
Edition for Monday, July 6, 2020 |
To view this edition of Impact online,
click here. |
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Welcome to
your COVID-19 Impact newsletter! |
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As a valued member of
the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, we plan to stay in touch with you
several times each week through emails like this one and on Facebook and Twitter, until the pandemic passes. We
intend to provide you with the latest state and federal information, as well
as highlighting the creativity and innovation that is occuring here in Maine
during this unpredictable and rapidly changing time. To assist you in
navigating the uncertainties ahead, we have created a diverse and
comprehensive collection of web-based resources to help you take care of yourself and your family, your employees, your business, and your community. |
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Do you have a question? ASK THE EXPERTS. |
We are here to
help in any way we can! |
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Dana Connors call-in to
discuss the "This is ME Counting on You" public awareness campaign and
Maine's reopening |
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With New England states faring relatively well in controlling the spread of the coronavirus, and as Maine's economy is reopening, Maine State Chamber President Dana Connors joined George Hale and Ric Tyler this morning to discuss Maine's reopening progress, its ranking in the national pandemic lists, and the Maine State Chamber's newest public awareness campaign, "This is ME Counting on You." |
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Legislation Co-Sponsored
by Collins to Extend PPP Application Deadline to August 8th Signed into Law |
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Previously, small businesses had until June 30th to apply
for a PPP loan |
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U.S. Senator Susan
Collins, the co-author of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and a member
of the Small Business Task Force, announced on July 4 that the President has
signed into law a bill she co-sponsored giving
small business owners more time to apply for a PPP loan. The legislation
extends the U.S. Small Business Administration's authority to approve PPP
loans through August 8, 2020. Last week, Senator
Collins spoke on the Senate floor to outline
her priorities for the next phase of the Paycheck Protection Program,
including allowing employers with fewer than 300 employees that have
seen their revenues decline by more than 50 percent apply for a second PPP
loan. In Maine, nearly 27,000 small employers have received loans
totaling more than $2.2 billion, with translates to an average business size
of approximately seven employees. The PPP is helping to sustain nearly
200,000 jobs in Maine alone. |
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Senators Collins, King
Announce More than $1.1 Million for Maine Hospitals to Combat COVID-19 |
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U.S. Senators Susan
Collins and Angus King announced
today that the Maine Department of Health and Human Services has been
awarded $1,122,202 to support their ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19
pandemic. "This investment will provide critical support to Maine's dedicated medical professionals who are on the front lines working to keep our communities safe and healthy during this difficult time," said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement. "We will continue our efforts to help provide health care providers throughout Maine with the resources they need to respond to COVID-19 and treat patients." This funding, awarded
through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services" Hospital
Preparedness Program, will support hospitals and other health care providers
to train their workforce; expand telemedicine and the use of virtual health
care; procure supplies and equipment; and coordinate effectively across
regional, state and jurisdictional, and local health care facilities to
respond to COVID-19. In addition, this funding will advance the mission of
the National Special Pathogen System to enhance national capacity and
capability to respond to highly infectious diseases now and in the future. |
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Golden, Kelly Introduce
Bill to Create Successor to PPP Program, Provide Flexible, Long-Term Relief
for Hard-Hit Small Businesses |
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On
July 2, Congressman Jared Golden and Congressman Mike Kelly (PA) introduced
the bipartisan Reviving the Economy
Sustainably Towards a Recovery in Twenty-twenty (RESTART) Act, a
bill to provide America's small businesses with the flexible, targeted relief
they need to survive a prolonged economic downturn and provide jobs. The RESTART
program created by the legislation would target small businesses
hardest-hit by the COVID-19 crisis, offering loans for periods up to one
year. Those loans would be partially forgivable for a broad array of
expenses, including payroll, mortgage interest, rent and utility payments,
PPE, and payments to independent contractors. The RESTART Act creates a small
business relief program under the Small Business Administration, which
would: * Offer partially
forgivable loans to small businesses that had a greater than 25 percent drop
in their total income compared to the period before the coronavirus pandemic; * Set
the loan period between six months and one year depending on severity of
income losses; * Allow
loan forgiveness for a wider range of expenses, including payroll costs (not
forgivable for businesses with more than 500 employees); mortgage interest,
rent, and utility payments; interest on existing debts; and, personal
protective equipment (PPE); * For
loan amounts that are not forgiven, defer principal payments for up to four years; * Allow
applicants for PPP to submit a modified PPP application to apply for RESTART; * Require
publicly traded companies to repay the full loan amount; and, * Report
on identities and any loan forgiveness amounts of all recipients of the
RESTART loans who have 50 or more employees. |
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Maine's Primary Election is July 14 |
Request Your Absentee Ballot HERE |
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A YES vote on Questions 1 and 2
- expanding broadband and investing in transportation improvements -
will help us get there! |
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Before each election, the Secretary of State's office
provides information about the questions appearing on each ballot. Currently
two referendum questions will appear on the July 14, 2020, Special Referendum
Election Ballot. Each question is discussed in detail in the Maine Citizen's Guide to the Referendum
Election (PDF / Word) and a Treasurer's Statement, which includes the referendum questions; the legislation each question represents; a
summary of the intent and content of the legislation; an explanation of the
significance of a "yes" or "no" vote; an analysis of the debt service on the
bond issues; and, an estimate of the fiscal impact of each referendum
question on state revenues, appropriations and allocations.
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Question 1: Bond
Issue Do you favor a $15,000,000 bond issue to invest in high-speed internet infrastructure for unserved and underserved areas, to be used to match up to $30,000,000 in federal, private, local or other funds? |
Question 2: Bond
Issue Do you favor a $105,000,000 bond issue for improvement of highways and bridges statewide and for multimodal facilities or equipment related to transit, freight and passenger railroads, aviation, ports, harbors, marine transportation and active transportation projects, to be used to match an estimated $275,000,000 in federal and other funds? |
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Commentary: A
vote for universal broadband in Maine is a vote for equitable education In a special column to the Portland
Press Herald, Leigh Peake, chief education officer for the Gulf of Maine
Research Institute in Portland, noted that lack of equitable broadband
service is widening the gap between children of privilege and children in
Maine's vulnerable and underserved communities - but we all have an
opportunity to address this unjust trend. |
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A yes on
Question 1 is a vote for rural Maine In his recent op-ed to the Bangor Daily News,
Kyle Leathers, vice chairman of the East Millinocket Board of Selectmen and a
social studies teacher at Stearns Jr./Sr. High School in Millinocket, noted
that broadband is a driving force for any economy in the 21st century. Considering
that a growing workforce sector in East Millinocket is employees who work
from home, and all of these jobs, from medical
transcriptionist to call center worker, require high-speed broadband. |
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Our View: A
vote for Question 1 is a vote for the future of rural Maine In an editorial by the Portland Press Herald's Editorial Board yesterday, it was noted that the lack of high-speed internet is leaving parts of the state behind: "The internet is integrated into everything we do. It's no longer something you log onto here and there, but a constant feature - a portal through which nearly every part of our lives is organized and operated." |
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Thursday, July 9 | The Bottom Line Podcast |
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with Mark McInerney of the
Center for Workforce Research and Information |
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Mark McInerney,
director of the Center for Workforce Research and Information (CWRI) at the
Maine Department of Labor, will be this week's special guest on The Bottom Line
podcast. He joins The Bottom Line
co-hosts Dana Connors of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and John
Williams of Williams Broadcasting to discuss the work of the CWRI during the
COVID-19 pandemic as it provides state and area labor market information to
employers, job seekers, and others. To
listen live,
please visit Williams
Broadcasting and
scroll down to "Listen Online" at the bottom of the homepage. To listen to the archived recordings,
please visit The Bottom Line page on the Maine State Chamber's
website. In addition, The Bottom Line
podcast can be heard on iTunes, iHeart Radio, Soundcloud, Stitcher Radio,
Spotify and radio.com. |
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Don't Miss the Final Legislative
Summary 2020! |
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The outbreak of the pandemic sent many parts of
"normal" life into a tailspin. The legislative session was no exception. Now
that the dust is settling a bit, our team has assembled our annual Legislative
Final Summary. We are pleased
to present it to you here. The Final Summary
represents months of work by our team. Inside, you will find legislation
that made its way through the process and legislation whose progress was cut
short by the pandemic. We share your anxiety in coping with all the
unknowns in our personal and professional lives. However, the Maine State
Chamber is open for business. Whether we are working from the office or
remotely, we are here to
help you face the challenges ahead. Our team is up to the task and
remains committed to being the "Voice of Maine Business" in Augusta, now more
than ever. |
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Understanding Communications: Tuesday, July 14, 2020 |
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In
this webinar, we will discuss how messages and marketing need to change in
order to successfully connect with target audiences. We'll look at how brain
chemistry influences decision making and simple but effective ways to
communicate. Hosted
by: Maine State Chamber of Commerce | Presented
by: Paula Mahony, President & Chief Strategist, Words@Work |
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Additional
webinars will be forthcoming, and sponsorship
opportunities are available. Registration or general questions can be
directed to Angela Arno, director of programs and events for the Maine State
Chamber of Commerce, by emailing aarno@mainechamber.org or
calling (207) 623-4568, ext. 104. |
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To advertise in
the COVID-19
Impact, please contact Melody Rousseau |
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Thank you for doing your part!
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