On May 18, 2020, the New York Federal Reserve released additional information regarding the Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF) program, including (i) a sample application to the MLF program and (ii) multiple form documents including a note purchase agreement, a note purchase commitment, a continuing disclosure undertaking, and Eligible Issuer certifications.

On May 20, Governor Phil Scott announced his proposal for a $400 million economic relief and recovery package, using funds from the $1.25 billion the state received from the Federal CARES Act. The two-phase proposal will start with $310 million for immediate relief to the most impacted sectors and businesses to be followed by $90 million for long-term recovery efforts.

Employers that qualify for the CARES Act's employee retention credit may treat health plan expenses paid to furloughed employees as qualified wages for purposes of the retention credit. Qualified employers that do not pay wages to laid off or furloughed employees but continue health coverage for those employees may treat the associated health plan expenses as qualified wages, the IRS said.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced a bill that aims to help restaurants ride out the pandemic as they face a future of limited dining capacity, public fear and rising costs to cover masks, gloves, and cleaning products. The Restaurants Act would create a $120 billion grant program to help independent restaurants survive a potentially long period when they may earn only a fraction of their former revenue.

U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) along with Representatives Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD) introduced the Farming Support to States Act, to provide state departments of agriculture with access to immediate, flexible funding to aid in responding to urgent and emerging issues in the food and agriculture supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

GameAbove Capital is a new $50 million private venture fund focused on minority and women-operated businesses engaged in sustainability-related products and services. This gap-closing fund is being launched in part to provide further stability for companies during these uncertain times due to the impacts of the coronavirus and to add further value to enterprises successfully engaged in environmental solutions and sustainability.

As financial disruptions from COVID-19 grow, federal government agencies have announced new sources of financial assistance for the agricultural industry. This includes $19B allocated in the CARES Act to assist farmers and ranchers maintain the integrity of the United States food supply chain and ensure consumers have access to food.

In PPP Small Business Loans, Insider Intelligence looks at how different lenders fared at implementing the PPP during its first round by examining the available data on PPP lenders' approval patterns and providing insights into how loans were spread across top lenders, geographies, and industries.

CDFA-PFM Capital Markets Webinar Series: Impacts of COVID-19 on the Bond Market
Thursday, June 4, 2020 - 3:00 - 4:30 PM Eastern

CDFA-Bricker PACE Webinar Series: PACE Program Efficiency - Managing An Effective PACE Program
Tuesday, June 9, 2020 - 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Eastern

CDFA-ARI Rural Finance Webinar Series: Building the Road to Recovery
Wednesday, June 10, 2020 - 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Central