Quick Updates on PPP, DC Legislative Session

Good Afternoon Operator, 

We have received some additional PPP guidance from the SBA which released its first public version of the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application. Click here for the application and instructions. REMINDER: Today is the deadline for you to return PPP funds, if you decided PPP is not right for you. The application provides us with much clearer guidance on what supporting documents to gather as well as draft calculation forms to show the forgiveness calculations.  

The PPP Loan Forgiveness Application was not expected to codify major changes to the PPP forgiveness calculations or change the rules. These adjustments will likely be made through Congress or potentially directly from Secretary Mnuchin.  

Below is a quick breakdown of what we learned from the application. 

• FTE Calculation: The SBA decided the FTE calculation will be based on 40 hours per week, which is the best possible interpretation for small businesses, and you'll have to hire fewer people to get back to your FTE count.  
• Alternative Payroll Covered Period: For simplicity, the SBA is allowing you to align your forgiveness request with the nearest 8-week / 56 day period after receipt of the loan that corresponds with your payroll cycle, so you won't have to run off-cycle payrolls to get your payroll counted. 
• Utilities: the SBA has clarified that these will be for electricity, gas, water, transportation, telephone, and internet access.
• Owners/Partners: these individuals are not included in the FTE calculations (either before or after). The SBA has also provided clear space for guaranteed payments, etc, so owners do not need to have their pay run through a payroll system for you to be able to easily report it. 

In other PPP news, the HEROES Act, which directly addresses major issues with PPP such as extending the covered period, passed the House on Friday evening. With the HEROES Act passed as a Democratic led bill, it is unlikely the Senate will take a vote on it in its current form. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has endorsed the PPP changes and will seek to integrate them into anything moving in the Senate. We will keep you posted as we learn more. 

In DC, the Council will vote tomorrow on additional Emergency Legislation.  Chairman Mendelson noted today that the legislation mostly polishes previously passed bills that provide relief measures for the residents and businesses of the District.  The legislation has gone through many changes from when it was originally shared in its draft form 48 hours ago, but appears to clean up the provision of mortgage deferrals and rent repayment plans. We will share updates and details once it is available after tomorrow’s vote. 

And finally, over the weekend we shared the first phase of our multi-part marketing recovery campaign with operators across the region rooted in 1) Gratitude, 2) Public Trust & Best Practices, and lastly 3) Recovery & Dining Out. In collaboration with our great partners at Events DC, part one of the campaign kicked off today and includes a simple social media campaign with tools that your team can use to plug-in easily, post, and tag to be part of the gratitude messaging. There is also an opportunity to send in a short video to be considered for a PSA video we are producing and will share on many platforms including digital marketing, TV, paid advertising buys, and social media drivers with help from influencers in our market.  We hope your social media teams will join us in showing gratitude to diners this week for their loyal support and trust.  RAMW and Events DC will be sharing all of your messaging as we build visibility across the platforms. Please see details here. 

Stay safe. Stay kind. 

Best,

Kathy