NJ BUSINESS COALITION
Letter Urging Governor to Let New Jersey Reopen for Business
With coronavirus numbers in the state declining, the New Jersey Business Coalition, a collection of more than 100 business and nonprofit groups (including the Morris County Chamber + EDC), submitted a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy today urging him to end the “pause mode” of the reopening of New Jersey’s businesses.

The coalition’s Recovery and Reinvention Framework 2.0, a comprehensive update to the original framework issued in early May, points to improving numbers in reported cases, decreased hospitalizations and better capacity in the state’s healthcare facilities and strongly encourages a broader or regional reopening of New Jersey’s economy.
 
The letter states: “If ‘data determines dates’ relative to reopening, as Governor Murphy has consistently said, it is appropriate that as our COVID-19 cases continue to go down, New Jersey’s economic numbers should rise. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and we find ourselves and our economy in an unnecessary and extenuated ‘pause mode. With a rate of transmission of .98 and a positivity rate of 1.6%, there is no reason not to proceed to reopen our economy. Decisive action is needed immediately so businesses will know whether to plan for a further reopening now or a prolonged limit on their business, necessitating greater government support,” the coalition explained.

To read the complete letter, click here.
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NJEDA TO PROVIDE $15 MIL IN NEW FUNDING
TRENTON, N.J. (August 11, 2020) – The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) today announced that its Board has approved the use of $15.3 million in Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Emergency Security (CARES) Act funding to provide grants through the Authority’s Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program to businesses located in 12 New Jersey counties that did not receive direct allocations of CARES Act funding from the federal government. The funds will be added to the more than $100 million the NJEDA is currently administering to support COVID-19-impacted businesses.
 
“Helping small businesses and their employees withstand the immediate economic impact of COVID-19 and prepare for a safe and strong recovery is central to the NJEDA’s pandemic response,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “Using this additional CARES Act funding to expand our Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program will allow us to provide much-needed relief for business owners who have been struggling and employees whose jobs have been at risk. Focusing on counties that did not receive direct federal aid will also help to ensure resources are distributed fairly to businesses in all regions of the state.”
 
The additional $15.3 million will go toward fulfilling Phase 2 grant applications from businesses located in the 12 NJ counties that did not receive direct CARES Act allocations from the federal government: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren.
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Comprehensive information about NJ’s coronavirus response is available at NJ's COVID-19 Business Information Hub
NEWS & INFORMATION RELATED TO COVID-19
Update for NJ Businesses from the NJ Chamber of Commerce

President Trump Bypasses Congress on Coronavirus Relief
President Trump, acting to break a stalemate with congressional Democrats, signed an executive order he says would provide $400 a week in supplemental unemployment benefits – with states covering $100 a week of the extra payments.(nj.com) 

Is it Really Relief?
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called President Trump's executive actions – which include the supplemental unemployment benefits at a reduced rate, an eviction moratorium, a student loan repayment freeze and a suspension of the payroll tax – “illusions.” (The Hill) 

Grants for Small Landlords
A newly created ‘Small Landlord Emergency Grant Program,’ to be administered by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, will use $25 million to provide emergency grants to small property owners for COVID-19-related decreases in rent revenue during a four-month period between April and July 2020, the Murphy administration announced Friday. 
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