Dear Friend,

A lot has happened in the last 48 hours and I wanted to provide you with a quick COVID19 update as we approach the New Year. Scroll down to see some of the latest news for Central Florida, and feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Yours in Service,

Representative Anna V. Eskamani

VACCINATIONS IN ORANGE COUNTY

As of Dec. 28, Florida is vaccinating three priority groups: Health care workers, long-term care facility staff and residents and people 65 or older. The health care group includes EMTs and paramedics as well as Department of Health staff. As the state receives more doses, more individuals will qualify among the first vaccine priority groups. Next up should be frontline workers, such as grocery store employees and teachers. The vaccine is not expected to be available to the general population, including younger residents or non-frontline workers, until late spring.

Yesterday Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings announced the county’s vaccine distribution plan for those 65 and older. He said that the Moderna vaccine will be given to residents with appointments at the Orange County Convention Center. To register, visit OCFL.net/vaccines and click on the link to the registration site. Read more specifics about Orange County’s Vaccine roll out plan here. 

Not in Orange County? Check out your County’s government website to see what details they’ve made available.

CONGRESSIONAL RELIEF PLAN

Late Sunday night President Trump signed into law a major government spending bill that included $900 billion for COVID19 relief. You can see a full breakdown of what is in this newest COVID19 relief bill at this link. We unpack some key issues below, but also encourage you to do your own research on the relief programs.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

The COVID19 relief bill extends by 11 weeks both Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). It also restores the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) supplement to all state and federal unemployment benefits at $300 per week, starting after December 26 and ending March 14, 2021.

Now that the bill has been signed into law, the US Department of Labor will have to craft official rules for state’s Labor Departments (in our case, DEO) to sign onto. DEO has told us that they are working as fast as they can to implement these new extensions. Right now, many Floridians have an “expired” status in their CONNECT account. Remember that both PUA and PEUC were set to expire on December 26th and since the COVID19 relief bill was only just signed on Sunday, it will take a few more days for DEO to implement these extended programs. We are also pushing for the ability to backdate newly extended claims, so Floridians will not miss the first $300 FPUC payment.

Want to read more about unemployment benefits? Check out our updated blog post here.

Need help with unemployment? Please fill out our escalation form here.

STIMULUS CHECK

The provision also provides a refundable tax credit in the amount of $600 per eligible family member. The credit is $600 per taxpayer ($1,200 for married filing jointly), in addition to $600 per qualifying child. The credit phases out starting at $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($112,500 for heads of household and $150,000 for married filing jointly) at a rate of $5 per $100 of additional income. Learn more here.

Unfortunately adult dependents do not benefit from this.

HOUSING SECURITY

The Congressional relief bill extended the federal eviction moratorium to January 31, 2021.

Though this is essential relief for struggling renters, it merely postpones evictions – it doesn’t prevent them. When the moratorium expires on January 31, 2021, back rent will be due, and many renters will be unable to pay. In the meantime, small landlords who rely on rental income to maintain and operate their properties will increasingly struggle to pay their bills

The Congressional bill also included $25 billion in rental assistance. Here is an estimation of how much money each state will receive. At this time we are still waiting for funds to be disbursed. Note that Orange County’s COVID19 Eviction Diversion Program is still open and the application deadline has been extended to January 29, 2021. Click here to learn more. 

Please click here to read our full update for Florida residential renters and for those who are precariously housed.

SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF

There are several additions within the COVID19 relief bill that focus on small businesses. It creates a second loan from the Paycheck Protection Program, called a “PPP second draw” loan for smaller and harder-hit businesses, with a maximum loan amount of $2 million. The deadline for all new loans is March 31, 2021 and those who have already received a PPP loan before can likely apply for another one, too. Click here to learn more.

The bill gives the Small Business Administration (SBA) 10 days to implement the new rules, so more specific rules could be coming. Until then, borrowers should turn to their lenders for guidance.

The act added $20 billion for certain grants pursuant to the SBA’s Economic Disaster Injury Loan (EIDL) program. Eligible businesses, independent contractors, gig workers, and self-employed individuals are eligible for up to $10,000 in grants (not required to be repaid) if (1) they are located in a low-income community; (2) they suffered an economic loss of greater than 30% during an 8-week period between March 2, 2020, and December 17, 2021, relative to a comparable 8-week period immediately preceding March 2, 2020, or during 2019; (3) they employ not more than 300 people; (4) they are a qualifying business, such as a small business, private non-profit, sole proprietorship, or independent contractor; and (5) they were in operation by January 31, 2020. Read more here.

Finally, $15 billion in aid has been allocated for live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions. The aid will come in the form of SBA grants intended to maintain building expenses such as rents and mortgages, and to keep arts workers employed with paycheck protection loans. More updates to come on how organizations will be able to apply for this funding.

Click here to read a recent blog post focused on small business relief.