There’s immediate relief for small businesses affected by COVID-19 under the CARES Act. New loans are available through the Paycheck Protection Program beginning today, Friday, April 3, for small companies and sole proprietors experiencing financial difficulty due to the pandemic. Independent contractors and self-employers can begin submitting applications April 10. Several other business relief programs offer loans or tax credits for impacted businesses.

Paycheck Protection Program
The Paycheck Protection Program provides 100% federal guaranteed loans to small businesses to maintain their payroll during this emergency. These loans will be forgiven if the employer continues to employ their workers or rehires their workers when they reopen for business.

How to Apply:
You can apply for a loan through your local bank or non-bank lender. Contact your local lender to find out whether they are participating in the program. Lenders may begin processing loan applications as soon as today, April 3, 2020.

More Information:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Guide to the Paycheck Protection Program

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SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans
Colorado small businesses and non-profits can apply for low-interest disaster loans through the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Eligible companies can receive loans up to $2 million, with interest rates no higher than 3.75%.

As a part of EIDL, you can also access up to a $10,000 loan advance within three days of your application being accepted. This advance will act as a grant and does not need to be repaid.

Businesses can apply for both the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, but you cannot use the loans for the same purpose.

More Information:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Guide to SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program

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SBA Express Bridge Loans
The Express Bridge Loan Pilot Program allows small businesses who currently have a business relationship with an SBA Express Lender to access up to $25,000 with less paperwork.

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Employee Retention Tax Credit
The Employee Retention Tax Credit is available to employers who are closed, partially closed, or experiencing significant revenue losses as a result of COVID-19. Employers who receive a Paycheck Protection Loan are not eligible for the tax credit.

More Information:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Guide to the Employee Retention Tax Credit

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Colorado Supreme Court Decides State Legislature Can Extend the Session

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision on Wednesday that the state’s legislative session does not need to end on May 6, as originally scheduled. The issue for consideration was whether the General Assembly was able to count legislative days non-consecutively. The court’s ruling said that the state constitution is ambiguous on this question, but the General Assembly sufficiently resolved that ambiguity in their adoption of Joint Rules 23 and 44. The rules work together to count the legislative days consecutively during a regular session (Joint Rule 23), except during a declare public health emergency disaster (Joint Rule 44).

Read the court’s full opinion here.

While we don’t know yet when the legislature will reconvene, we expect they will wait until after Colorado’s statewide stay at home order is lifted. Right now, that is scheduled for April 13, but Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has already extended Denver’s order until April 30 and we expect the Governor will do so as well.

The one thing we know for sure is that state lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass the budget by June 30.

The CBSA team will continue to monitor developments at the State Capitol and keep our life sciences community updated as decisions are made.