The COVID-19 Edition for Thursday, July 23, 2020

To view this edition of Impact online, click here.

 

 

Welcome to your COVID-19 Impact newsletter!
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.
Do you have a question? ASK THE EXPERTS.	We are here to help in any way we can!

 

 

Dana Connors: Shipbuilding Makes Maine Work

The BIW strike is making it even harder for Maine to recover from the pandemic. Compromise is crucial.

Earlier today, the Portland Press Herald published this Special Feature from Dana Connors, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. We are sharing an excerpt from it below, but encourage you to read it here in its entirety.

As one of our state's largest employers, with a $375 million annual payroll, BIW has provided good-paying jobs for thousands of Mainers for more than 130 years. And the company's operations have a ripple effect on our economy, as it buys goods and services from almost 300 suppliers across the state. BIW has invested more than $700 million in its facilities since 1996 and spent $125 million on direct goods and services from Maine suppliers in 2018 and 2019 alone. Those are vital investments for the business and for sustaining many Maine families and communities.   BIW's operations have been particularly important to Maine's economy during this pandemic. While many other businesses were shuttered, BIW remained open because of its role in the nation's essential defense infrastructure. That meant paychecks continued to go out to BIW workers and orders continued to go out to suppliers. In fact, to encourage social distancing at the yard, the company purchased more than 250,000 meals for its employees from local restaurants, keeping many of those businesses from going under when no other customers were coming through their doors.   BIW also helped Guilford-based Puritan Medical Products speed up production of its COVID-19 sterile testing swabs, which are facing a nationwide shortage. The company built and delivered 30 machines to speed up swab production. BIW's unique combination of skilled employees and manufacturing facilities has delivered a critical component needed to increase nationwide COVID-19 testing capacity.

 

Maine Employers Could Be Taxed By State On Federal Emergency Loans

Businesses and nonprofits will owe state income tax on the forgiven portion of Paycheck Protection Program loans unless legislators change state law.

Yesterday, the Portland Press Herald reported that Maine businesses and nonprofits could be saddled with heavy tax bills for taking forgivable federal emergency loans in the early days of the pandemic unless legislators act to bring the state's tax laws in line with federal statutes. Maine employers have taken out more than $2.2 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans since April, with many expecting the loans would be forgiven - converted into grants - if they met program rules.   Forgiven portions of loans are not subject to federal income tax under the CARES Act, which created the loan program. But employers still will have to pay Maine income tax - up to 7 percent - on the forgiven portion of the loans unless lawmakers pass an amendment to state law.   More than 27,000 Maine employers took out loans for as much as $10 million and as little as a few thousand dollars through the program. Its intent was to keep workers on the payroll and basic business needs covered until pandemic conditions eased and normal business resumed. If employers spend at least 60 percent of the loan on payroll and meet worker retention and other benchmarks, the full amount of the loan will be forgiven. But an unexpected tax payment next year on the proceeds of forgiven Paycheck Protection Program loans could further damage small businesses crawling their way out of the recession triggered by the pandemic.

 

 

MDOL to Update Benefits for Self-Employed and Other PUA Recipients

On July 23, the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) announced that it is ready to update the weekly benefit payments for Maine people currently enrolled in the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. This involves matching current tax information to individual claims to pay Maine people their full benefit, retroactive to the date of their PUA eligibility. This will happen in two phases.   Launched in Maine in May, PUA is one of three new federal unemployment programs created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers workers previously ineligible for unemployment, such as the self-employed, and is available through the week ending December 26, 2020.   To expedite payments to Mainers during COVID-19, MDOL approved the minimum state PUA benefit of $172 per week for all those eligible for PUA, pending the matching of updated tax information. The PUA minimum benefit amount is federally required to be half of the state's average weekly benefit.   Self-employed individuals whose net income, or other PUA recipients whose gross wages in 2019 were below $15,224 will continue to receive the minimum benefit of $172 a week, and do not need to upload any information. Individuals with higher earnings are eligible for a maximum benefit under the PUA program of up to $445 or $462 per week, depending on whether their claim was filed before or after June 1.   Reminder: The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, or the additional weekly $600, ends with benefit payments for the week ending July 25, 2020.

 

Maine Department of Labor Releases Unemployment Compensation Claims Data For Week Ending July 18

For the week ending July 18, the Maine Department of Labor recorded about 2,200 initial claims filed for state unemployment insurance, and 1,600 initial claims filed for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). These claims represent about 2,300 individuals filing an initial claim. About 59,900 weekly certifications, or continued claims, were filed last week for state unemployment. In addition, about 25,000 weekly certifications were filed under PUA. Weekly certifications must be filed by claimants every week in order to continue to receive unemployment benefits.   Between March 15 and July 18, the Maine Department of Labor has paid out over $1.17 billion in federal and state unemployment benefits. By comparison, the Department paid out less than $74 million in unemployment benefits in all of 2019. The Department has handled approximately 174,600 initial claims for the state unemployment program and 81,900 initial claims for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. There have been about 1.77 million weekly certifications filed. Claims data is preliminary and subject to revision.   Fraud Update: The Maine Department of Labor continues its careful review of all claims as it investigates unemployment imposter fraud. During the week ending July 18, the Department cancelled about 1,300 initial claims and 195 weekly certifications that were determined to be fraudulent. To date, the Department has received about 20,000 unique reports of unemployment imposter fraud. This number does not include the duplicate reports that had been included in previous weeks. The Department has also reinstated almost 15,000 claims to legitimate claimants that had been flagged for potential fraud.   The Department encourages anyone who believes that someone else has used their or their employees personal information to file a fraudulent unemployment application to notify the Department immediately. The investigation is ongoing, and new incidences of potential fraud are identified every day.

 

Thursday, July 23 | The Bottom Line Podcast
with Carl Carlson and Steve Cox, owners of ServiceMaster of the Lakes Region
	Carl Carlson and Steve Cox, owners of ServiceMaster of the Lakes Region, were this week's special guest on The Bottom Line podcast. They joined The Bottom Line co-host John Williams of Williams Broadcasting to discuss the challenges of owning and sustaining a small business during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, while also providing essential services to homes and businesses throughout their area of coverage, while trying to maintain a functioning workforce.   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.

 

Maine DHHS Announces Four Additional "Swab and Send" COVID-19 Testing Sites

Department also awards $1 million to boost rural hospital lab capacity and opens second round of Keep Maine Healthy grants for municipalities

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced earlier this week that four additional COVID-19 "swab and send" testing sites, the award of $1 million in federal funding to rural hospitals to increase their labs' capacity to process COVID-19 tests, and a second round of grants to municipalities under the Keep Maine Healthy Plan to support local COVID-19 public health, education, and prevention efforts.   DHHS is finalizing agreements this week with four additional "swab and send" sites, in addition to the 18 sites announced last week, bringing the statewide total to 22. The sites - City of Westbrook; Redington-Fairview General Hospital, Skowhegan; Penobscot Valley Hospital, Lincoln; and, York County Community Action Corp. / Nasson Health Care, Sanford - will send samples to the Maine CDC's Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL) for testing, strengthening access to safe and accessible testing for residents, tourists, seasonal workers, and other visitors to Maine. They will offer specimen collection free of charge to any individuals who believe they may have COVID-19 or could have been exposed to the virus, with or without symptoms, as defined under the DHHS Standing Order. The sites operate under several models, including drive up, drive through, mobile, and office settings. They typically require an appointment.   Some of the swab and send sites are already in operation while others are coming online. As part of the Administration's vast expansion of testing capacity announced last month, DHHS formally invited applications that will use federal grant funding to support the establishment of these specimen collection sites and testing of their samples at HETL.

 

King, 36 Senators Push for Significant, Flexible Funding for State and Local Governments in Upcoming Coronavirus Relief Package

U.S. Senator Angus King and 36 of his Senate colleagues urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to support the funding levels for state and local governments that were included in the HEROES Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives over two months ago, as well as the legislation's funding flexibility provisions. The HEROES Act included $500 billion for states, $375 billion for local governments and $20 billion each for territories and tribal lands.   "Providing additional funds to state and local governments will ensure that jurisdictions have the financial resources to fund first responders, and the life-saving work done in our public hospitals and by public health departments in communities large and small. Existing funding is not enough for jurisdictions grappling with these extraordinary shortfalls. Governors of both parties may be forced to balance their budgets by cutting education funding for thousands of school districts and slashing funding to support the millions of Americans who reside in nursing homes or receive care in home and community-based settings," the Senators wrote in the letter. "It is essential that the federal government provide fiscal support for those who are responding directly to and are most affected by this unprecedented health and economic crisis."   As state and local governments report enormous deficits and anticipated cuts to their budgets, this will invariably affect such services as public schools, social services and health departments, with widespread economic consequences. Local and state governments expect cuts in services to local health departments which employ essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as child welfare workers, social workers, firefighters and more employees. Many county and state governments have been forced to furlough workers due to the pandemic, and without funding, these furloughs could become permanent job losses. Decreased local government spending may lead to a $344 billion decrease in economic output and 4.9 million fewer jobs.

 

Collins, Golden Propose Bipartisan Plan to Help Loggers, Timber Haulers Weather COVID-19 Economic Crisis

Under lawmakers' bill, logging & hauling businesses that have experienced losses of 10 percent or more would qualify for direct payments from USDA   In Maine, timber harvest expected to be down over 20 percent in 2020 due in large part to COVID-19, Androscoggin Mill explosion

Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Congressman Jared Golden, Congressman David Rouzer (NC-07), and Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to provide relief to family logging and log hauling businesses that have been seriously impacted by COVID-19 and the resulting economic crisis. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is a co-sponsor of the bill. The lawmakers' bipartisan bill would establish a new program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide direct payments to timber harvesting and hauling businesses that can demonstrate they have experienced significant economic hardship compared to the previous year. The logging industry has experienced a steep decline in demand for wood fiber since the coronavirus pandemic began, leading to an estimated 20 percent or more drop in the timber harvest this year.   "Throughout Maine's history, our forest products industry has created good-paying jobs, driven local economies, and sustained rural communities," said Senator Collins. "This industry was already facing significant headwinds due to a changing 21st century economy and unfair trade practices, as well as the explosion at the Androscoggin Mill in Jay and the shutdown of the paper machine at Sappi in Westbrook. COVID-19 has only compounded these challenges. Maine's family logging and log hauling businesses need our support. Our bipartisan bill would provide critical financial assistance to the skilled professionals who work in this industry to help them get through this difficult period."   "Logging has provided good jobs and supported rural communities in Maine for generations," said Congressman Golden. "But today, our loggers and truckers face two major challenges they have no control over: sinking demand from the coronavirus recession and a disruption in the market following the accident at the mill in Jay. Congress has recognized the unique role farmers and fishermen play in their rural communities, and taken action to provide relief funds to those industries. Loggers are taking a serious hit and deserve the same support. I'm proud to work across the aisle with Congressman Rouzer, Senator Collins, and Senator Smith to help our loggers and log haulers make it through these difficult times."   The program envisioned in Collins and Golden's bill is modeled after the USDA's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which has been providing direct relief to growers and producers experiencing dramatic drops in prices and overall business activity due to the pandemic. Specifically, the legislation would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide payments to eligible logging businesses that have experienced at least a 10 percent loss in revenues from January through July 2020 as compared to the same timeframe last year. Those who qualify would receive direct payments equal to 10 percent of their gross revenue from January through July of last year, and would only be permitted to use the funds for operating expenses, including payroll.

 

 

To advertise in the COVID-19 Impact, please contact Melody Rousseau by emailing melodyr@mainechamber.org, or by calling (207) 623-4568, ext. 102.
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