Schools, businesses and Legislature updates

As I write today from my kitchen table, I want to thank all of you for doing all you can to stay informed and keep each other safe and well. Thank you to everyone continuing to do the hard work of caring for and serving our communities.

This week I want to share a number of information pieces to keep you up-to-date, as the changes at the State and Fed-eral level are happening quick-ly.

Recently Gov. Reynolds extended her recommendation for schools to remain closed until at least April 30. Prior to suspending the session, the Legislature waived missed school days up to April 13 and the Legislature gave the Gov-ernor authority to waive addi-tional missed days. She can do this on a Statewide or district-by-district basis.

Following the Governor’s recommendation regarding school closure, the Legislative Council, which consists of House and Senate leadership, announced the suspension of the legislative session will be extended until at least April 30.

COVID-19 Update

One of the most common questions the press consistent-ly raises is, “Why hasn’t the Governor issued a Shelter-in-Place Order?”

According to Gov. Reyn-olds, she is following the ad-vice of public health experts who say that such a measure is not necessary at this time. The Governor has already taken significant action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, such as non-essential business clo-sures, suspending non-essential surgeries, and encour-aging Iowans to stay at home and self-isolate. Many of the Shelter-in-Place Orders that have been implemented in other states cover what is already being done in Iowa. Given this, Iowa’s approach is both comparable and, in many cases, stronger.

Some of the reasons against a Shelter-in-Place Order in Iowa include:

• Iowa’s population density is much smaller than most states (The New York City metro area’s population density is nearly 100x larger than Io-wa’s)

• Iowa does not utilize mass public transit, which often spreads disease

• Iowa does not have large apartment buildings where thousands of people live

• A Shelter-in-Place Order would strain local law enforce-ment resources

Below are additional ques-tions of frequent concern. If you have other questions, please do not hesitate to con-tact me.

Who decides who gets a COVID test?

Clinicians, with guidance from CDC and public health, make these determinations. Positive test results are then communicated back to health care providers and the Iowa Department of Public Health. It is critical to note those who are experiencing symptoms should call ahead to their health care provider’s office in order to protect our medical community and general public.

Where can health care provid-ers find more testing resources?

The Iowa Department of Public Health has a number of ways to keep providers in-formed, including their webpage. In addition, health care providers can contact their hospital reference laboratory for testing availability.

For more information, visit https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus/Healthcare or contact your local public health department.

Where can local health care providers go to find personal protective equipment (PPE)? Providers in need of PPE should contact local public health agency or county emer-gency management agencies. They will make every effort to address the local needs.

What are the guidelines for making homemade facemasks?

Please follow this guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health on making homemade facemasks.

Where can I find the most up to date information on COVID-19 in Iowa?

The Iowa Department of Public Health issues daily sta-tus reports on its website, idph.iowa.gov. The state has also created a website, corona-virus.iowa.gov, with infor-mation and resources.

What sort of assistance is available for workers?

Iowa Workforce Develop-ment (IWD) has made unem-ployment benefits available to workers affected by COVID-19. Additionally, IWD recently announced that Iowans seek-ing unemployment will no longer be required to use up their sick time or paid leave before receiving unemployment benefits.

What sort of assistance is available for small businesses?

The Iowa Economic Devel-opment Authority has an-nounced multiple small business relief programs including:

• Small Business Relief Grants: Grant awards ranging from $5,000-$25,000 for busi-nesses between 2 - 25 employ-ees. (Application deadline has passed)

• Iowa Small Business Tax Deferral: The Iowa Department of Revenue is allowing sales/use and withholding tax deferral for businesses affected by COVID-19. (Application deadline has passed)

• Targeted Small Business Sole Operator Relief Fund: Grant awards ranging from $5,000-$10,000 for sole pro-prietorship or single member LLCs that are also certified as Targeted Small Businesses. The business must have been in existence for 12 months prior to April 10, 2020.

More information about how Iowa is assisting busi-nesses can be found at Iowa-BusinessRecovery.com.

Additional assistance has been made available through the Federal CARES Act. This includes an expansion of un-employment benefits to self-employed Iowans, business loans from the Small Business Administration, and tax defer-ral. More information can be found here.

Federal Response to COVID-19

This week I also participat-ed in a teleconference with Federal officials. As a follow-up to the call I received some additional helpful information, which I am including below. These links have some excel-lent information for Individuals and Small Business owners.

The Internal Revenue Ser-vice has setup a website https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus with up-to-date guidance to help taxpayers, businesses, and others affected by the coronavirus.

Distribution of economic impact payments to individuals will begin in the next three weeks and will be distributed automatically, with no action required for most people. Social Security recipients, who are not typically required to file a tax return, will automatically receive economic impact pay-ments, as well. For guidance, see Economic Impact Pay-ments: What You Need To Know https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/economic-impact-payments-what-you-need-to-know.

The Small Business Admin-istration is offering low interest federal disaster loans for work-ing capital to small businesses and private, non-profit organi-zations in all U.S. States and territories. Learn more at https://www.sba.gov/disaster-assistance/coronavirus-covid-19.

The CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program authorizes up to $349 billion for small businesses to be ap-plied towards job retention and certain other expenses. Small businesses and eligible non-profit organizations, Veterans organizations, and Tribal busi-nesses described in the Small Business Act are all eligible. Individuals who are self-employed or are independent contractors are eligible, as well, if they also meet program size standards.

Several of our local bankers are prepared to work with small businesses to utilize these pro-grams. Please contact your local financial institutions for any assistance you may need.

For a top-line overview of the program, visit https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP%20--%20Overview.pdf.

If you are a lender, use the following link https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP%20Lender%20Information%20....

Borrowers should use https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP--Fact-Sheet.pdf. Additionally, appli-cations for borrowers can be found at https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Paycheck-Protection-Program-A....

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published more guidance to provide infor-mation to employees and em-ployers about how each will be able to take advantage of the protections and relief offered by the Families First Corona-virus Response Act (FFCRA). Please visit https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20200328.

Absentee Requests to Iowa Voters

In response to concerns with the coronavirus, the Sec-retary of State’s Office plans to mail absentee ballot request forms to every active registered voter for the Primary Election on June 2nd. The request forms will be mailed mid-to-late April and will include prepaid postage to return the absentee ballot request to the voter’s county auditor.

Additionally, last week the Secretary of State extended the period for absentee voting from 29 days to 40 days. The first day for absentee voting will be April 23. Iowans will be able to request absentee ballots through May 22.

Iowans not registered to vote or who need to update their voter registration should do so as soon as possible to ensure the absentee ballot re-quest is sent to the correct address.

Please continue to follow the guidelines we have all heard so many times: practicing social distancing, washing your hands, covering your cough/sneezes, and staying home if ill. We can all do our part to help limit the spread. If you have any questions, you can reach me by email at lin-da.upmeyer@legis.iowa.gov or call my home at 641-357-8807. Stay well!