I
n this issue of the
Monday Morning Messenger
, read our
Top Story
, to find out how Texas is easing renewals of vehicle title, vehicle registrations, and vehicle inspections.
Additionally, the federal government has allocated billions of dollars for business relief. In the second story of the day, TPGA gives you a status update on where we are on funding and another opportunity.
Additionally, over
650 logged onto industry COVID webinars hosted by NPGA & PERC several weeks ago. Back by popular demand, the two have teamed up again, and are inviting the industry to tune in and get propane industry related updates on COVID and answer the industry's FAQ's.
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MEMBERS ONLY
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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- In Brief
- Waivers & Exemptions
- COVID Funding Update
- Propane COVID Webinar
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Calendar
April 20-29, 2020
April 20-26, 2020
April 22, 2020
Earth Day
April 22, 2020
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Vehicle Titling, Registration & Inspection Waiver
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In an effort to reduce the need for in-person transactions, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) worked with Governor Abbott to temporarily waive certain requirements for vehicle registration and vehicle titling. On March 16, 2020, the Governor issued a statement granting a temporary extension to obtain initial vehicle registrations, the renewal of vehicle registrations and titling.
Per TxDMV, this temporary waiver will remain in effect until 60 days after TxDMV notifies the public that normal vehicle registration, vehicle titling and related services have resumed. Although TxDMV will continue to process registrations online, to date, normal operations have not restarted.
TxDMV has informed law enforcement agencies and the offices of the county tax assessor-collectors of the temporary waiver.
TX DPS reported that it realizes that Texans may have limited access to vehicle inspection stations and has issued the following statement:
“Even if your registration will be expiring in the near future, it is not necessary to have your vehicle inspected until after TxDMV notifies the public that normal registration and related services have resumed.”
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COVID Business Relief Funding Update
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Small Business Administration (SBA) Update
The federal government allocated $349 million to help employers retain and pay employees with a forgivable first come, first serve loan through the Payroll Protection Program (PPP). Funding was exhausted by April 16, 2020, 14 days after its launch.
134,737
PPP Loans were approved in Texas
totaling $28B for Texas businesses.
SBA has also reported they are not accepting any
new
loans for the
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)-COVID-19 related assistance program (including EIDL Advances) based on available federal appropriations funding.
Congress is under negotiations on the Hill to possibly provide additional funds to some of the above-mentioned loan programs if they can agree on legislation.
SBA Debt Relief
The SBA is still providing a financial reprieve to businesses through debt relief.
- The SBA will automatically pay the principal, interest, and fees of current 7(a), 504, and microloans for a period of six months.
- The SBA will also automatically pay the principal, interest, and fees of new 7(a), 504, and microloans issued prior to September 27, 2020
- For current SBA Serviced Disaster (Home and Business) loan - in "regular servicing" status on March 1, 2020, the SBA is providing automatic deferments through the end of the calendar year.
NEW! U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Assistance
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, more agencies are offering financial assistance to help small businesses. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has established the Save Small Business Fund initiative offering $5,000 short-term relief grants to small employers in the United States.
The short-term grants are funded by corporate and philanthropic partners as a collective effort to financially assist small businesses. To qualify, a small business must employ 3 to 20 people, be located in an economically vulnerable community, and have been harmed financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. The application process will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and businesses need to provide their W-9 form. Grants will be awarded on a weekly basis and small businesses only need to apply once to be eligible for funding. The application will go live April 20, 2020 at 2pm CST.
Stay tuned for further funding updates. Feel free to call us at (800)325-7427 with your funding questions or to discuss more funding options.
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Sign Up for An Informative COVID Webinar by
National Propane Organizations
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The propane industry is invited to register for a new webinar on Wednesday, April 22, 10:00 AM CST to continue the conversation about the impact of COVID-19 on the propane industry.
Join the Propane Education & Research Council, the National Propane Gas Association, and the World LPG Association to discuss updates on customer servicing issues, guidance for consumers, regulatory information and more.
They want to hear from you and answer any new questions you have. Please submit your questions ahead of the webinar to
editor@propane.com
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Coronavirus
Resource Pages
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