The Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia wishes to share that last night, Monday, December 21, Congress passed the next round of COVID-19 stimulus funding.  The funding package includes several provisions to aid small businesses.  Included here is a summary of these provisions, as well as a link to the most up-to-date FAQ document for the PPP program.

  1. PPP Second Draw Loans– The package creates a second round of PPP loans for businesses that (1) have no more than 300 employees; and (2) demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in gross revenue between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020. The loan size will again be 2.5x average monthly payroll, but will be capped at $2 million; however, accommodation and food services businesses will be permitted to draw up to 3.5x their average monthly payroll costs. Borrowers will receive full loan forgiveness if they spend at least 60% of the loan proceeds on payroll costs over a time period of their choosing between 8 and 24 weeks. $284.45 billion has been appropriated for this second round of PPP.
  1. PPP Improvements– The package makes several changes to the PPP program including allowable expenses now include supplier costs on existing contracts and purchase orders, including the cost of perishable goods at any time, costs related to PPE, and technology operations expenditures. Loans of $150,000 or less will have a much simpler application process for forgiveness and the package removes the requirement that EIDL advances be subtracted from PPP forgiveness.
  1. Existing SBA Programs– The package continues and expands man of the enhancements made to the SBA 7(a) loan program by increasing guarantees and removing fees associated with the program. Some SBA programs will continue to be able offer payment deferments in certain cases.
  1. Venue Support– The package establishes a $15 billion grant program for live venues, theaters, museums, and zoos that have experienced significant revenue loss.
  1. Additional Support– In addition to the above-mentioned programs, the package provides an additional $20 billion for the EIDL Advance program and $3.5 billion for continuing the Section 7(a) Debt Relief program.
  1. The latest PPP-FAQ’s was last update on December 9, 2020.  It will be updated frequently in the coming weeks to address new questions that come up with the changes to the PPP program included in this package. Here is the link to the December 9 version:

https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Final%20PPP%20FAQs%20%28December%209%202020%29-508.pdf

There are many other items that are included in the legislation passed last night. The Wall Street Journal Article includes some other points, please click here.