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Connecticut Lodging Association
Coronavirus Update 1/8/21
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YCLA Human Trafficking Prevention Training- open to all lodging employees.
1/15/21 at 1:00 p.m. See below for further details or REGISTER HERE
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Governor Lamont's Executive Order 9R Includes Tax Deferment Provision |
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Please contact your municipal tax collector for applications and guidance as each town will determine the process independently.
Suspension and Modification of Tax Deadlines and Collection Efforts for Tax Bills That Become Due and Payable on January 1, 2021. Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of Chapter 204 of the Connecticut General Statutes or of any special act, charter, home-rule ordinance, local ordinance or other local law, the two programs established under Executive Order No. 7S, Section 6, which programs offered relief to eligible taxpayers, businesses, nonprofits, and residents who had been economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and which applied to municipal tax payments that were due and payable from April 1, 2020 through July 1, 2020, shall apply to tax deadlines and collection efforts for tax bills that become due and payable on January 1, 2021 according to the provisions contained herein. Such programs shall remain titled the “Deferment Program” and the “Low Interest Rate Program.” Each municipality, as defined in section 7-148 of the general statutes, by determination of its local legislative body, or, in any town in which the legislative body is a town meeting, by a vote of the board of selectmen, shall participate in one or both programs and shall notify the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management on or before December 30, 2020, about which program or programs it is electing to participate in, provided that if a municipality elects to participate in the same program as it previously did pursuant to Executive Order No. 7S, Section 6, no approval by its local legislative body or board of selectmen shall be required. Each municipality shall be deemed to have adopted the same program as previously selected under Executive Order No. 7S, Section 6 unless notification of a different election is provided to the Office of Policy and Management on or before December 30, 2020.
a. Deferment Program. Municipalities participating in the Deferment Program shall offer to eligible taxpayers, businesses, nonprofits, and residents an extended grace period, through and including April 1, 2021, of any taxes on real property, personal property, motor vehicle, supplemental motor vehicle, or municipal water, sewer and electric rates, charges or assessments for such tax, rate, charge, or assessment. Eligible taxpayers, businesses, nonprofits, and residents are those that attest to, or document, significant economic impact by COVID-19 or that they are providing commensurate relief to those significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Guidance published by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management on April 17, 2020 and updated on April 24, 2020 shall be updated and republished within five days of the effective date of this order and shall be used by municipalities to determine which taxpayers, businesses, nonprofits, and residents shall be considered eligible for the Deferment Program for tax bills that become due and payable on January 1, 2021. Notwithstanding such Guidance, a participating municipality may, upon approval of its local legislative body, or, in any town in which the legislative body is a town meeting, by a vote of the board of selectmen, extend eligibility for the Deferment Program to other categories of taxpayers, businesses, nonprofits, and residents.
b. Low Interest Rate Program. For municipalities participating in the Low Interest Rate Program, notwithstanding Section 12-146 of the Connecticut General Statutes, the delinquent portion of the principal of any taxes on real property, personal property, motor vehicles, supplemental motor vehicle, or municipal water, sewer and electric charges or assessments or part thereof due on January 1, 2021 shall be subject to interest at the rate of three (3) per cent per annum from the time when it became due and payable until the same is paid through and including March 31, 2021, unless such delinquent portion is subject to interest and penalties at less than three (3) per cent per annum. The portion that remains delinquent as of April 1, 2021 shall be subject to interest and penalties as previously established.
c. Eligibility of Landlords. In order for a landlord, or any taxpayer that rents or leases to any commercial, residential, or institutional tenant or lessee, to be eligible for the Deferment Program, said landlord must provide documentation to the municipality that the parcel has or will suffer a significant income decline or that commensurate forbearance was offered to their tenants or lessees. Any taxpayer that rents or leases to any commercial, residential, or institutional tenant or lessee shall be eligible for the Low Interest Rate Program only if said landlord offers commensurate forbearance to tenants or lessees, upon their request.
d. Escrow Payments. Financial institutions and mortgage servicers that hold property tax payments in escrow on behalf of a borrower shall continue to remit property taxes to the municipality, so long as the borrower remains current on their mortgage or is in a forbearance or deferment program, irrespective of the borrower's eligibility for or participation in the Deferment Program or the Low Interest Rate Program.
e. Liens Remain Valid. Nothing in this order affects any provision of the Connecticut General Statutes relating to continuing, recording and releasing property tax liens and the precedence and enforcement of taxes, rates, charges and assessments shall remain applicable to any deferred tax, rate, charge or assessment or installment or portion thereof.
f. Application to Quasi-Municipal Corporations. Consistent with Executive Order No. 7W, the provisions in Section 1 of this order shall apply to all taxes and water, sewer, or electric charges for which a municipality, as defined in section 7-148 of the general statutes, collects for all other quasi-municipal corporations, whether created by statute, ordinance, charter, or special act, including but not limited to any town, city or borough, whether consolidated or unconsolidated, any village, school, sewer, fire, lighting, special services or special taxing districts, beach or improvement association, any regional water or resource recovery authority or any other political subdivision of the state or of any municipality having the power to make appropriations or to levy assessments or taxes (“quasi-municipal corporations”). Every quasi-municipal corporation that collects any taxes or water, sewer, or electric charges and is located wholly within a municipality shall offer the same program or programs that the municipality offers, must accept the status of the taxpayer as determined by the municipality, and shall not be subject to the notification requirement to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. Every quasi-municipal corporation that collects any taxes or water, sewer, or electric charges and is located in multiple municipalities shall make its own determination as to which program or programs it shall elect, which may be either uniform for the whole quasi-municipality or be the same as those chosen by the respective forum municipalities, and shall provide the notice to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management as required for municipalities. The provisions regarding tax deferral and interest-rate reduction programs to offer relief to eligible taxpayers, businesses, nonprofits and residents who have been economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic shall also apply to benefit assessments under Connecticut General Statute Section 16a-40g.
Read the Executive Order here.
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Coronavirus (COVID19) in Connecticut |
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Overall Summary Total**; Change Since Yesterday
COVID-19 Cases 202,758; +3,304
COVID-19 PCR Tests Reported 4,569,705; +52,633
Patients Currently Hospitalized with COVID-19; 1,087; +52
COVID-19-Associated Deaths; 6,287; +57
Daily Test Positivity; 6.28%
**Includes confirmed plus probable cases
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Travel Advisory Updated December 19, 2020
Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has signed an executive order revising the guidelines for the travel advisory he enacted earlier this year in Connecticut amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in order to streamline its operations and align with recently modified guidance on the virus from the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Effective at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, December 19, 2020, the revised Connecticut COVID-19 Travel Advisory will:
- Apply to all travelers – both foreign and domestic – entering Connecticut from any location, except for the neighboring states of New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island; and
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Require all affected travelers to complete the Connecticut Travel Health Form (available at ct.gov/travelform) and self-quarantine for a period of 10 days or until a negative COVID-19 test result.
There will be three exemptions from the requirement to self-quarantine:
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Testing alternative exemption: Applicable to any affected traveler who has had a negative test for COVID-19 in the 72 hours prior to their arrival in Connecticut, or subsequent to their arrival in Connecticut, and had submitted such negative test result to the commissioner of the Department of Public Health. This can be either a PCR test or a rapid antigen test.
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Essential worker exemption: Applicable to essential workers traveling for work-related purposes.
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Tested positive for COVID-19 exemption: Applicable to an affected traveler who has tested positive for COVID-19 within 90 days prior to his or her arrival in Connecticut and has clinically recovered, or has not been symptomatic for a period of 10 days since symptom onset or such positive test if not symptomatic, and has submitted such test result to the commissioner of the Department of Public Health.
For further information on the Connecticut COVID-19 Travel Advisory, including an extensive list of frequently asked questions (FAQ), visit ct.gov/Coronavirus/travel.
- Hotels Updated
- Indoor Recreation
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Event Guidance: Indoor Events | Outdoor Events
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Gatherings: Effective, November 6
- Indoor private gatherings at commercial establishment/places of business – 25 people
- Indoor private gatherings at private residents – 25 people
- Outdoor private gatherings – 50 people
Guidance On The Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce CISA's Identifying Critical Infrastructure During COVID-19 guidance and accompanying list are intended to support state, local, and industry partners in identifying the critical infrastructure sectors and the essential workers. Updated 8/18/20
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For COVID 19 Information Connecticut Residents Can Call 2-1-1 or text CTCOVID to 898211
NEWS
UK Coronavirus Variant Cases Detected In Connecticut patch.com
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AHLA Update - Interim Final Rules Released for Paycheck Protection Program
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The Small Business Administration (SBA) has released several interim final rules related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the second draw of PPP loans as outlined in the recently passed Economic Aid Act. This rulemaking provides details on the reactivation of PPP as well as the rollout of second draw loans for eligible businesses.
Generally, the eligibility and documentation requirements for new and second draw PPP loans are similar to the original program, with two major changes:
- Second draw PPP loans are available to businesses that can demonstrate a 25% loss in revenue compared to last year. This may be calculated by comparing the borrower’s quarterly gross receipts for one calendar quarter in 2020 with the corresponding quarter in 2019.
- To be eligible for a second draw loan, the borrower must have used, or will use, the full amount of the first loan on or before the expected disbursal date of the second loan.
- Eligible businesses can have a maximum of 300 employees. Like the original PPP loans, the second draw program retains the unique rules around businesses with a NAICS code beginning in 72, including hotels. This means that the 300-employee rule is evaluated on a per-location basis for businesses with more than one physical location. Additionally, the SBA affiliation rules continue to be waived for these businesses, allowing each hotel location to apply for a separate PPP loan using its unique EIN.
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- Both the maximum loan amount and the payroll amount calculation used to size the loan have changed.
- Hotels are now eligible to receive up to 3.5x their monthly payroll costs, up to $2,000,000, as the maximum of the loan, up from 2.5x in the CARES Act and compared to other businesses.
- Payroll for second draw PPP loans is calculated using either the 12-month period prior to the loan being made or the calendar year 2019.
- Businesses that are part of a single corporate group are limited to a maximum of $4,000,000 in aggregate second draw PPP loans. This applies to businesses that are eligible for the affiliation waiver and per-location employee test.
SBA also issued specific guidelines for minority, underserved, veteran, and women-owned employers. Among other steps, the agency plans to accept PPP loan applications only from certain lenders that focus on underserved and minority businesses and borrowers in distressed areas for at least the first two days of the program.
The SBA has not yet announced when it will begin taking applications that borrowers submit through lenders, but we expect the program to launch next week, beginning with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) as early as Monday, and other lenders as early as Wednesday. As soon as we receive official word on the program launch dates, we will share that information. Hoteliers considering a second draw of PPP are urged to contact their lenders and begin gathering the data and information necessary to complete the application process as soon as possible.
After months of effort by the entire hotel industry advocating for additional support, we are pleased to see this program move forward. AHLA will continue working with the new Congress and Administration on a longer-term stimulus package that ensures our industry survives and can help lead a national economic recovery.
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COVID-19 Precautions for Hotels, a new course! COVID-19 Precautions for Hotels, created in consultation with the AHLA's Safe Stay Advisory Council, presents united industry guidelines endorsed by all major U.S. hotel brands to help hotel operators achieve their top priority – protecting guests and employees against the coronavirus. REGISTER HERE for the course.
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Webinars
*Please login using your member ID to view the webinars.
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The Young Hoteliers Summit explores the growing trend of travel bubbles hospitalitynet.org
Can Hotels Claim Business Interruption Insurance Due to a Pandemic? hotel-online.com
Hospitality Financial Leadership – The Top 7 Front Office Controls hotel-online.com
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Lodging Reopening Guidelines and Resources |
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Guidelines:
CT Office of Tourism: New So Good to See You safety videos- These videos spotlight the many protocols businesses across the state have put in place to welcome visitors back safely. Each video includes interviews with a sampling of our restaurant, lodging and attraction leaders who showcase how well-prepared the entire Connecticut tourism industry is for the return of our residents and area visitors alike. To see all Tourism Safety videos CLICK HERE. Download Lodging Safety Video HERE.
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COVID19: What is the current situation? |
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Total cases: 21,259,997 +299,904
Total deaths: 359,849 +3,844
NEWS
The US reported more than 4,000 Covid-19 deaths in one day for the first time ever cnn.com
Coronavirus updates: People without symptoms make up 59% of virus spread; an American dies every 21 seconds in new daily record usatoday.com
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CDC Resources
COVID-19 Travel Recommendations
- The Department of State advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19.
- CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential international travel. CDC recommends that travelers avoid travel to Brazil, China, Iran, Most European Countries, United Kingdom and Ireland
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U.S. Travel: Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. Do not travel if you are sick, or if you have been around someone with COVID-19 in the past 14 days. Do not travel with someone who is sick. Protect yourself and others during your trip.
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World Health Organization Situation Report who.int
86 436 449; cases; +825 751
1 884 341; deaths; +14,626
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The Connecticut Lodging Association is a trade association representing and promoting the lodging industry in Connecticut. Want to know about CLA benefits and membership? Visit us at ctlodging.org/membership
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Connecticut Lodging Association
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