This week, the House conducted business under a temporary rule that permits members to vote remotely during the governor’s emergency declaration. Roughly half of our members voted on key legislation from their homes or offices in observance of state-ordered mitigation practices that encourage all of us to stay home.

On Wednesday, we approved a bill to provide relief to businesses and their employees impacted by mitigation efforts to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. House Bill 68, which was signed into law, will make temporary changes to Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation (UC) law to ease requirements for both employers and their workers seeking unemployment relief.

The bill waives job search and registration waiting periods required of all claimants and relieves employers of charges they pay into the Unemployment Compensation Fund. This includes employers who pay UC taxes and nonprofits and public employers who choose to pay a solvency fee into the UC Trust Fund. The original intent of the bill is maintained to extend the 15-day appeal period to 21-days and provide automatic relief for benefit charges paid out during the emergency period.

For employers who do not participate in the state’s UC program, the bill extends the repayment period from 30 days to 120 days, and an additional 60 days may be granted to employers claiming a financial hardship. No interest would be charged on late payments nor would it accrue on unpaid balances until Jan. 1, 2021.

This week, many employers were dealt a severe blow when the governor ordered all "non-life-sustaining" businesses closed until further notice. To help businesses impacted by the coronavirus mitigation efforts, two loan programs were announced this week:

• The COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program provides loans of up to $100,000 for working capital with a 0% interest rate. Funds are limited and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified businesses employing 100 or fewer full-time employees. This includes businesses in the agricultural, service and hospitality sectors.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance and can provide vital economic support to qualified small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. The program is not open to businesses with access to credit elsewhere. These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other expenses stemming from the disaster declaration. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses unable to secure credit elsewhere. For nonprofits, the rate is 2.75%. For information and loan applications, call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955. Loan applications can also be downloaded at www.sba.gov/disaster.

This week, we voted to move the primary election to Tuesday, June 2, to give counties more time to prepare contingency plans for Election Day. One of the major challenges has been the need for poll workers. Many poll workers are senior citizens, the group most vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus. Even if the COVID-19 disaster declaration were lifted in time for an April 28 primary, it would not give counties enough time to train new poll workers. Senate Bill 422 also permits counties to consolidate polling places under certain situations with proper notice. The governor signed that bill into law.

This will be the first election in which Pennsylvania voters will be permitted to vote by mail-in ballot without an excuse to do so. Previously, absentee ballots were only permitted for people unable to make it to their polling place on Election Day for very specific reasons. If you are interested in voting by mail for the June 2 primary visit www.votespa.com

With Pennsylvania schools closed through at least April 6, the House acted to pass an emergency Education Code bill that would ensure local school districts develop plans to continue teaching students during the closure and make those plans available for parents to review. Senate Bill 751 also eliminates the 180-day instruction requirement on all public and non-public schools; allows the state to increase the number of allowable flexible instruction days and waives the timeline regarding those days. The Department of Education has canceled all PSSA testing and Keystone exams for the 2019-20 school year. This includes the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment.

While my district office in Gettysburg is currently closed to walk-in service, we remain ready to assist you by calling 717-334-3010. Visit my website www.repmoul.com for links to important resources, including the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.