Florida Realtors® Coronavirus Update
During two press conferences, Governor DeSantis laid out information showing that the mean age of people testing positive has dropped to 37 (down from the 60s in March), meaning more young people are contracting the virus, possibly as a result of relaxing their own social distancing efforts. He mentioned clusters of cases in places such as factories and jails/prisons contributing as well.
During both press conferences, the governor remained adamant that rollbacks to parts of Florida's reopening were not being considered, but pointed out that all efforts will continue to be made to protect the most vulnerable, such as residents of long term care facilities. So what's the big takeaway of all this? Essentially, society needs to function, but we all need to remain vigilant and take every precaution necessary both on the job and in our personal lives. After all, if this pandemic has taught us anything, it's that it's up to each of us to be socially responsible in order to protect those around us, and in turn, allow those around us to protect us.
Florida Realtors® 2020 Legislative Priorities
Governor DeSantis received two Florida Realtors® priority bills this week. SB 1084 is the emotional support animal (ESA) bill we championed during session. The growing abuse of online ESA certificates has been presenting significant problems for many Realtors who are also property managers. The cumulative changes in the new law are intended to further legitimize what an ESA certificate is and its intended purpose. We have been in constant contact with the governor's office urging the signing of this bill.
The governor has also received SB 712, which was the big water quality bill we supported during session. It is a comprehensive bill that addresses septic tanks, municipal wastewater treatment, stormwater runoff, farm fertilizers and more. It also sets the blueprint for septic tank mitigation and replacement where available. Similar to the ESA bill, we are communicating our support of this bill to the governor's office.
Lastly, Governor DeSantis also received the budget this week. Contained in the budget are several of our priorities, such as full funding of the housing trust funds and significant amounts of environmental funding. During his press conference this week the governor pointed out that he would be making significant vetoes in the budget to help address the economic situation related to the COVID-19 crisis but did not provide specifics yet. We are in contact with his office and are expressing our strong support of the housing and environmental funding aspects of the budget. I will keep you updated on this issue as more information is released.
Vacation Rentals
As of June 16th, the list of approved county reopening plans remains at 55. The approved counties represent the vast majority of vacation rentals in the state so it is likely the list will remain at 55 for the time being. However, we continue to monitor the list and stand ready to assist local associations as issues pop up.
The full list of approved counties can be found on DBPR's Vacation Rental Status website. If you are in a county that has not been approved yet, 1) check with your county administrator to make sure a plan has been submitted to DBPR, and 2) if a plan has been submitted, check DBPR's website daily since they are moving very quickly on getting these reviews and approvals done.
For background purposes, as part of the governor's full phase 1 reopening of Florida, all counties may seek approval to operate vacation rentals with a written request from the County Administrator and the county’s safety plan for vacation rental operation submitted to DBPR. Accordingly, the County Administrator should submit his/her written request and the county’s safety plan to DBPR Secretary Halsey Beshears electronically at halsey.beshears@myfloridalicense.com.
New Executive Orders
The governor signed Executive Order 2020-149 this week, which primarily deals with the August 18th primary election and November 3rd general election. It includes things such as ensuring sufficient vote-by-mail procedures are in place, establishing proper social distancing and sanitary procedures at voting sites and the proper use of K-12 schools as voting sites.
For continued reference, Executive Order 2020-139 contains all the information surrounding Florida's move into phase 2 of its reopening and Executive Order 2020-123contains information regarding Florida's phase 1 reopening. Additionally, all of the governor's executive orders can be found here.
Federal Disaster Loan Applications Not Limited to Agriculture Anymore
Please note: the following information was reported by Forbes. Official information about the application process can be found on SBA's website.
On June 15, 2020, the SBA announced that it was again opening up its Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) grant and loan program. This means that independent contractors, freelancers, and gig workers are eligible to receive a $1,000 grant that does not have to be repaid. Small businesses and agricultural businesses also may apply for the grant, equal to $1,000 per employee of the business up to a maximum of $10,000. A loan for favorable terms from the SBA may also be available. There is some uncertainty as to the amount available, but up to $150,000 or $2 million has been reported.
SBA Rolls Out Major Updates to PPP
The Small Business Administration and U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday rolled out major updates to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), offering automatic forgiveness for certain independent contractors and creating a broader application form for forgiveness.
Specifically, the updated forms clarify that the “owner compensation” amount automatically forgiven for borrowers who use a 24-week covered period, as opposed to the original eight-week period, is equal to 2.5 times their average monthly net income. This means independent contractors with a 24-week loan can have the full amount automatically forgiven under the new guidelines. The amount of forgiveness for borrowers who choose an eight-week period remains unchanged.
Borrowers who received their PPP loans before June 5 can opt for either an eight- or 24-week period in which to use their loan; borrowers who received their loans after that date must use a 24-week period. The new forgiveness forms reflect a 60% requirement for payroll expenses, down from the original 75%.
Additionally, the agencies created a streamlined “EZ Forgiveness Application” for borrowers who:
Are self-employed and have no employees; or
Did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25% and did not reduce the number or hours of their employees; or
Experienced reductions in business activity as a result of health directives related to COVID-19 and did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%.
The deadline to apply for a PPP loan is June 30. The program still has funding available and will close at the end of the month unless Congress acts to extend it. More information:
Unemployment Benefits
More and more Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims are being paid to Florida's independent contractors, many of whom are Realtors® each week. According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) unemployment dashboard, as of June 18th, more than 196,000 independent contractors are receiving their unemployment benefits, representing nearly $168 million in PUA benefits.
For continued reference, here are the steps for applying for PUA in Florida.
If you applied for state benefits on or before April 4 you must:
Wait for DEO to deny you state benefits.
Once you get denied, check your CONNECT inbox for instructions about PUA.
If you applied for state benefits after April 4 you must:
Wait for DEO to deny you state benefits.
Once you get denied, check your CONNECT inbox for instructions about PUA.
In both of the above cases, you will not get access to the PUA application until DEO has processed your state benefits application and denied you state benefits. Only then will access to the PUA application appear in the CONNECT system.
Once Realtors® are denied state benefits and receive access to the PUA application, they can refer to this guide and/or this video for assistance as they fill it out. These resources, and much more can be found on DEO’s CARES Act website. You can also always refer to Florida Realtors® Q&A website on this topic.
Source: Florida Realtors® Updated 6/19/20