Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Photo: Shutterstock

Following is a listing of legislative and executive action for the week of March 16. Both houses of the General Assembly were in recess, subject to being called back into session on 12 hours' notice.

Small Businesses

Gov. Tom Wolf on March 18 asked the U.S. Small Business Administration to make a declaration of disaster caused by the coronavirus outbreak, in order to enable it to provide assistance in the form of Economic Injury Disaster Loans for businesses and eligible nonprofits in Pennsylvania.

"The impact of financial losses related to COVID-19 will be felt for years to come," Wolf said. "But these low-interest loans can help bridge the gap between economic losses now and economic recovery in the future."

The SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance and can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.

These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can't be paid because of the disaster's impact.

In a related move, the Commonwealth Financing Authority took the first step in providing relief to Pennsylvania small businesses impacted by COVID-19 by authorizing the transfer of $40 million to the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, announced.

The funding transfer will ultimately be combined with existing funds in PIDA's Small Business First Program, and will be used to provide zero interest loans to small businesses, a Pennsylvania Senate GOP statement said. Over $60 million for loans will be available to businesses with 100 or fewer full-time employees.

"Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities and of our commonwealth," Scarnati said. "The current public health emergency resulting from COVID-19 has left many businesses facing hardship. It is imperative that we do all that we can to help these establishments weather this storm."

Scarnati explained that based on the recent actions taken by the CFA, as early as this week, PIDA will have the ability to launch the expanded loan program.

Loans of up to $100,000 will be available to small businesses to use as working capital. Interest rates are being dropped from approximately 3% to 0%.

COVID-19 Mitigation

On March 16, the Wolf administration strongly urged "nonessential" businesses across the state to close for at least 14 days to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Wolf's request was aimed at protecting employees, customers and suppliers and limiting the spread of the virus through personal contact and surfaces.

"New Jersey, New York and Connecticut imposed similar restrictions, and I thank the residents of these states for joining Pennsylvania in working together to halt the spread of COVID-19," Wolf said. "I know the next few weeks will be challenging. There is no reason to be fearful, or to panic, but we need to take this disease seriously. Please, stay home. Make as few in-person contacts as you can."

The move followed previous designations of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties as "mitigation counties."

According to the administration statement, "nonessential" businesses include public-facing industries such as entertainment, hospitality, and recreation facilities, including but not limited to community and recreation centers; gyms, including yoga, barre and spin facilities; hair salons and barber shops; nail salons and spas; casinos; concert venues; theaters; sporting event venues and golf courses; and retail facilities, including shopping malls, except for pharmacy or other health care facilities within retail operations.

The mitigation efforts became effective at 12:01 a.m. March 17.

Wolf also ordered all restaurants and bars to close their dine-in facilities at that hour, and offer only take-out and delivery options.

Other businesses, including but not limited to legal services, business and management consulting, professional services and insurance services are encouraged to have employees work remotely or telecommute. If that is not possible, they should employ social distancing best practices and be aware of the Trump administration's guidance to avoid gatherings of 10 or more people.

The administration directed Pennsylvania residents to use the following website to access the most up-to-date COVID-19 information: www.governor.pa.gov and www.doh.pa.gov.

Special Elections

Republicans are claiming victory, and Democrats conceding defeat in three special elections March 17 to fill empty seats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, The Associated Press reported.

All three seats had been held by Republicans who vacated them after winning elections to county offices last November, and the election maintains the 110-93 Republican majority in the state House.

Eric Davanzo won in a Republican-leaning district in Westmoreland County, and Tim Bonner won in a Republican-leaning district based in Mercer County, while K.C. Tomlinson won in a district in politically divided Bucks County.

Democrats had criticized the decision by House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, to hold the special elections apart from the April 28 primary, and then they criticized his decision not to postpone the special elections after Gov. Tom Wolf ordered a shutdown of nonessential government services to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, called the elections a "disgraceful power grab" by Republicans and Turzai, and said the results don't reflect fair elections. In a statement, state GOP chairman Lawrence Tabas said the elections show the strength of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania and have fortified the party's majority in the state House.

Tax Suspension

Two Republicans in the state House of Representatives announced March 19 their plan to introduce legislation to suspend the personal income tax and state sales tax to protect working families adversely impacted by mitigation efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.

Reps. David Rowe, R-Union, and Frank Ryan, R-Lebanon, said in a joint statement that "the governor's emergency declaration and measures to prevent further spread of COVID-19, while necessary to protect public health and safety, is having an immediate financial impact on working families."

They said a prolonged emergency period would threaten the lives of the majority of Pennsylvanians who live paycheck to paycheck.

"While access to loans is helpful, it is much more important to reduce costs for our constituents and afford them the financial wherewithal to recover as soon as possible after the emergency has passed," the lawmakers said. "That is why we are introducing legislation to suspend the imposition and collection of the 3.07% personal income tax and the 6% state sales tax until the emergency declaration is lifted."

Rowe and Ryan said they plan to introduce their bill during the week of March 23.

Unemployment Compensation

With the current statewide mitigation causing extreme distress for Pennsylvania small businesses, state Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne, said March 19 he would soon be introducing legislation aimed at requesting a waiver from the federal government for self-employed individuals to be able to collect unemployment compensation during emergency situations like the current one involving COVID-19.

"Unfortunately, our small, family-owned businesses are experiencing a major hardship due to the current COVID-19 pandemic," said Kaufer. "It is my goal to work with our federal partners to assist our small business owners, who have been affected by this pandemic, and would have these benefits last during the length of this emergency."

Under current law, self-employed individuals are not able to collect unemployment compensation.