Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Aug. 5
Your Chamber advocacy team is working to share legislative updates and continue to advocate for your business in Washington, D.C., Harrisburg, and Philadelphia. We’ve created a round-up of recent activity including Key Takeaways for Your Business and a Detailed Legislative Update. This represents our best knowledge of the situation as of 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2020.
Chamber members are invited to join weekly legislative update calls hosted by our Advocacy team to hear the latest on COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts at the federal, state, and local level as well as other legislative matters concerning our community.
We also have a COVID-19 Information Hub with up-to-date resources to support your business.
VISIT THE COVID-19 INFORMATION HUB
KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Federal
- Congressional Democrat leaders and the White House continue to negotiate the prospects of a Phase 4 emergency relief and assistance package with slow but encouraging progress recently reported.
- The Chamber and its CEO Council for Growth continue to communicate to our regional congressional delegation to highlight key priorities important to our regional economic recovery.
- These priorities include funding for testing and contact tracing, state and local governments, education, destination marketing organizations, forgivable loans and grants fo small businesses, rehiring and reskilling initiatives, liability relief provisions, tax incentives to help offset safety-related expenses, and reforms to the Paycheck Protection Program.
- Chamber members are encouraged to reinforce these priorities in their communications and interactions with regional congressional members.
- Pennsylvania’s Department of Revenue reported that July’s State General Fund revenues were better than expected and show improvement over July 2019 results. This is potentially due to pent-up demand from virus-related business closures, other COVID-19 mitigation policies, and federal stimulus dollars.
- Governor Tom Wolf is dedicating approximately $28 million to post-secondary institutions and adult basic education providers to assist them in implementing public health and safety plans and to help them resume operations in the fall.
- The Wolf Administration announced on Tuesday that state Education Secretary Pedro Rivera will be leaving the administration on October 1 and will be replaced by Pennsylvania Education Department Deputy Secretary of Postsecondary and Higher Education Noe Ortega.
- Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Philadelphia are approaching 31,000 with nearly 1,700 deaths.
- Mayor Kenney announced that the City will not authorize the opening of indoor dining before September 1.
- The Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention will convene on August 11 to address Philadelphia’s enduring plague of gun violence by facilitating coordination among stakeholders and formulating a comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy.
- The Chamber will host a virtual event with Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley on August 11.
Federal: Updates from Washington D.C.
Phase 4 Relief Debate Continues
This week, Congressional Democrat leaders and the White House continue to negotiate the prospects of a Phase 4 emergency relief and assistance package following the release of the Senate Republican’s proposal last week and the passage of the House Democrats proposal in May. Initial negotiations were slow to start, but more recently have reported encouraging progress even though both sides remain far from reaching a deal.
Key Regional Priorities
For several months now, the Chamber and its CEO Council for Growth (CEO Council) have advocated for an additional legislative package to build upon previous emergency funding measures and further address the remaining hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our most recent position identified priorities for a relief package that we continue to communicate to our regional congressional delegation.
As negotiations between congressional leaders and the Administration continue, the Chamber and its CEO Council specifically highlight the following key priorities important to our regional economic recovery, in addition to our previously stated items, that we urge our members to echo in their communications and interactions with regional congressional members:
An additional $75 billion for COVID-19 testing and contacts tracing. These dollars would support the development and build-out of the appropriate infrastructure for testing and contact tracing to include advisory services, project management, and data analytics which could also be used as the mechanism to distribute a vaccine once available. This structure could also be used to assist employers to develop and deploy their integrated systems with state governments.
Flexible and direct assistance is urgently needed for state and local governments to address the rising costs associated with the response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the lost revenues due to the economic slowdown. States, counties, and municipalities face drastic spending cuts to programs that are critical to public health and safety, economic security, education, and social services. Specifically, Congress should provide $375 billion in flexible funding to county and city governments.
Adequate funding to Education Stabilization Fund for elementary and secondary education and higher education should include $60 billion in emergency relief funds for K-12 educational institutions, distributed to the local level by Title I formula, and $46.6 billion in flexible funding for higher education.
Timely, targeted, and temporary liability relief provisions contained in the “SAFE TO WORK Act,” which provides temporary protections for businesses, higher education institutions, and health care providers against liability claims. This week, the Chamber together with the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce sent a joint letter to the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation urging support for these important reforms in Phase 4.
Passage of the Continuing Small Business Recovery and Paycheck Protection Program Act, which reforms the Paycheck Protection Program to help small- and mid-sized businesses and nonprofits by providing additional funding to PPP, a second draw of loans to hard-hit small businesses, equitable access to loans for the smallest businesses and those in distressed communities, and expanded borrowing eligibility to chambers of commerce and destination marketing organizations. In addition, the Chamber urges expansion of the CARES Act employer retention credit for businesses that keep workers on their payrolls.
Support community-based economic recovery by providing $10 billion in Economic Development Administration grants for Destination Marketing Organizations and small businesses to promote healthy travel practices and encourage visitation to businesses, attractions, and communities where it’s safe to travel.
Inclusion of the Senator Pat Toomey – Representative Dwight Evans bicameral, bipartisan Helping Entrepreneurs Access Loans (HEAL) Act in the Phase 4 package, which would provide an $80 million appropriation for partially forgivable loans and advance grants to small businesses damaged during recent civil unrest.
Establishment or expansion of tax incentives to help offset expenses for small and mid-sized businesses related to employee and customer safety and reopening compliance, including testing for COVID-19, personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, and capital improvements or workplace reconfiguration expenses. In addition, Congress should establish tax credits to manufacturers that construct, expand, and retrofit factories to meet increased PPE demand.
Rehiring and reskilling initiatives, especially for population groups that have consistently faced significant barriers to employment, including tax breaks to employers that hire individuals that had previously been receiving unemployment benefits and $15.6 billion funding for the nation’s workforce development system, including programs authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act that are designed to serve adults, dislocated workers and opportunity youth, as well as Wagner-Peyser and Adult Education and Family Literacy and the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.
Questions? Contact Anselm Sauter (asauter@chamberphl.com) for more information about federal legislative affairs.
State: Updates from Harrisburg
State General Fund Revenues Better Than Expected
This week, Pennsylvania’s Department of Revenue reported that July’s revenue collections were $4.1 billion, $1.6 billion of which can be attributed to extending the tax due date as a result of the pandemic. According to the state Independent Fiscal Office (IFO), the July monthly collections exceeded those of July 2019 by $154.8 million, or 6.6 percent.
State personal income tax (PIT) revenue totaled $2.31 billion in July, which is an increase of $1.29 billion, or 126.1 percent, above the July 2019 collections, which is also attributed to the extension of the PIT due date. The same is true for corporate net income tax (CNIT) collections which totaled $236.7 million, or 154.3 percent, more than was collected in July 2019.
The IFO suggested that pent-up demand from virus-related business closures and other COVID-19 mitigation policies implemented by the Wolf administration, as well as federal stimulus dollars, are likely responsible for the monthly revenue collection improvement over last year.
Pennsylvania’s five-month budget began in July. Legislators are working now to address the remaining seven months of the fiscal year; making assumptions about the future of the Commonwealth’s fiscal impacts as a result of COVID-19 and subsequent business closures.
For a full report, visit ifo.state.pa.us.
Governor Announces CARES Act Funding for Higher Ed
Governor Tom Wolf is dedicating approximately $28 million to post-secondary institutions and adult basic education providers to assist them in implementing public health and safety plans and help them to resume operations in the fall. The funding will be used to help keep students, faculty, and staff safe and assist institutions in meeting the unique challenges of providing instruction during COVID-19.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act authorizes governors to determine the educational use of Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Funds.
GEER funds can be used toward the safe reopening of schools in light of COVID-19. This may include, but is not limited to, purchasing protective equipment and hand sanitizer/cleaning products; equipment or technology to take classrooms online; installation of barriers or other protective devices in building structures; or purchasing health apps to assist in contact tracing and monitoring of students.
Pennsylvania is home to nearly 300 post-secondary institutions including 14 community colleges, 14 state-owned institutions, four state-related universities, as well as two Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Additionally, there is a robust sector of private, independent colleges and universities.
PA Ed Secretary to Step Down, Replacement Announced
The Wolf Administration announced on Tuesday that state Education Secretary Pedro Rivera will be leaving the administration on October 1 to become president of Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
Pennsylvania Education Department Deputy Secretary of Postsecondary and Higher Education Noe Ortega will replace Rivera when he leaves. Ortega joined the department in 2017 after spending eight years with the University of Michigan.
Questions? Contact Liz Ferry (lferry@chamberphl.com) for more information about state legislative affairs.
Local: Updates from Philadelphia’s City Hall
COVID-19 Case Data
On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health reported the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Philadelphia has reached 30,877. This brings the number of residents who have succumbed to the virus in Philadelphia to 1,695. Of the total deaths, 860 (51%) were long-term care facility residents.
According to Mayor Kenney, last week, Philadelphia had an average of 123 cases/day — down from 166 cases/day the week before and 141 cases/day the week before that. Last week’s positive rate was 4.7%, the city’s lowest weekly rate to date.
Indoor Dining Delayed
Last week, Mayor Kenney also announced that the City will not authorize the opening of indoor dining before September 1.
City Council Stated Meetings
City Council’s latest Stated Meeting took place on Thursday, June 25, 2020. The next stated meeting of Council will take place on Thursday, September 10, 2020. View confirmed meeting dates and agendas »
Upcoming City Council Hearings
- Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention
Resolution 170609 – Resolution authorizing the creation of a “Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention” to address Philadelphia’s enduring plague of gun violence by facilitating coordination among stakeholders and formulating a comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy.
Upcoming City Hall Connectors Events
The City Hall Connectors series seeks to improve Philadelphia’s business atmosphere and promote inclusive growth by offering exclusive engagement opportunities for Chamber members with the City’s elected and administrative officials. Attendees have a chance to hear from, interact with, and build relationships with these important decision-makers, as well as offer input on how Philadelphia can further enhance its economic climate.
- August 11 – City Hall Connectors: Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley »
Questions? Contact William Carter (wcarter@chamberphl.com) for more information about local legislative affairs.
WE’RE HERE FOR YOU, YOUR TEAM, AND YOUR BUSINESS
The constantly changing nature of this public health crisis requires continued engagement with public policy developments. We invite you to reach out to our advocacy team directly with your questions:
- Anselm Sauter, Federal Affairs – asauter@chamberphl.com
- Liz Ferry, State Affairs – lferry@chamberphl.com
- William Carter, Local Affairs – wcarter@chamberphl.com
We also have a COVID-19 Information Hub with up-to-date resources to support your business.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
Alerts Sign-up