Name: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf wants to make $145 million available as grants for coronavirus-ravaged businesses
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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf wants to make $145 million available as grants for coronavirus-ravaged businesses

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AdvertisementBy The Morning CallDec 23, 2020 at 5:40 pmPennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced a plan to make $145 million available to help businesses ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing the money as a bridge that could aid struggling restaurants, hotels and gyms until more federal relief arrives.Wolf wants to transfer $145 million from the state Workers’ Compensation Security Fund, which he said has a surplus, into the state’s general fund. The plan, which requires approval from the Republican-controlled Legislature, calls for the money to then be used to dole out grants to businesses.Advertisement“Clearly, we need to get this money into the hands of the businesses and the employees that need it, and we need to do it quickly,” Wolf said.John Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, said $145 million in funding is not enough on its own, though he took the announcement as a sign that Wolf recognizes how the virus and shutdown orders have decimated the restaurant industry.Advertisement“Anything at this point in time will help save some of the restaurants,” Longstreet said.Many details of the potential grant program were unclear Wednesday. When asked about a timeline, how the money would be distributed and what a business application process would look like, Wolf said he didn’t have those answers but hoped the Legislature would move quickly to appropriate the funds for a program to aid the hardest-hit industries.If and when that happens, Wolf spokesperson Lyndsay Kensinger said, the administration would work with the Legislature on the program’s design. She noted the state has administered several grant and loan programs during the pandemic, likening the new plan to the process that was used for the COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Grant Program that was created in June and approved $192 million in grants to more than 10,000 businesses.While Longstreet and one Lehigh Valley lawmaker viewed Wolf’s proposal as a step in the right direction, they said more is needed and noted it could take weeks to come to fruition since lawmakers don’t begin the 2021-22 session until next month.Many businesses are in need of an immediate cash infusion, especially those hit by an to help slow the virus’ spread. That shutdown, which went into effect Dec. 12 and is set to expire at 8 a.m. Jan. 4, bans indoor restaurant dining, high school sports, casinos and gyms.Many Lehigh Valley businesses were upset by the restrictions, confused about how the state government could expect them to shut down without providing financial relief to make sure they survive into 2021. Some decided to defy the order, prompting the , including several in or near the Lehigh Valley, for not following the indoor dining prohibition.In a statement about Wolf’s business assistance plan, House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, a Centre County Republican, blamed the governor for the struggles of restaurants and other small businesses, arguing they were “unfairly targeted by his administration.”When asked about shortening or extending the current shutdown, Wolf said Wednesday: “I haven’t been thinking about making any changes.”AdvertisementSen. Lisa Boscola, a Northampton County Democrat, called Wolf’s plan innovative, but noted it will take time to implement, considering state lawmakers aren’t sworn in until Jan. 5. She had hoped the governor’s office would incorporate some ideas for more immediate business assistance, such as the idea she and Rep. Gary Day, R-Lehigh County. floated last week to let Pennsylvania restaurants keep the 6% sales tax they collect to help offset the huge financial losses they’ve incurred during the pandemic.“These businesses need our help today, and not a month from now,” said Boscola, noting it will take more than one pot of money to help build back restaurants and other businesses. “His plan is not enough right now.”Sen. Pat Browne, a Lehigh County Republican and chairperson of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said there is “significant support” among lawmakers for measures aimed at helping struggling businesses.He said Wolf’s proposed $145 million transfer is worthy of consideration when lawmakers are in session. As part of that process, Browne said, the Legislature needs to ensure the financial solvency of the workers’ compensation fund, which lawmakers tapped for $185 million in November to balance the 2020-21 budget. The fund provides claim payments to workers entitled to benefits in the event the original insurer becomes insolvent.Even after the potential transfer, Kensinger said, the fund would still have at least $500 million, the balance it must maintain by law. Insurance Department spokesperson Thaisa Jones said the $145 million Wolf wants to transfer represents the majority of the fund’s available surplus.AdvertisementLongstreet echoed the thoughts of many restaurants that criticized Pennsylvania elected leaders for using $1.3 billion in federal coronavirus emergency money — originally intended to go to virus-ravaged businesses, organizations and people — The Legislature approved the budget Nov. 20 and Wolf, a Democrat, signed it.Now, Longstreet is hoping restaurants can hang on until Wolf’s plan comes to fruition. His association’s latest survey, which was conducted in November, found that 45% of Pennsylvania’s restaurants will be out of business in six months if they don’t receive financial relief.But, he noted, that survey was done before the latest restrictions were announced ― a shutdown that has dealt a big blow to many restaurants heading into the typically slow month of January.DailyThe daily update for the Lehigh Valley business person. &gt; Longstreet said his association is enthusiastic about the restaurant-specific provisions included in the federal stimulus package that Congress quickly approved Monday night and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature. Trump, however, has called the bill a “disgrace,” pointing to provisions concerning foreign aid and other matters in the nearly 5,600-page spending plan that also funds the government through September.The bill would replenish the Paycheck Protection Program with $284.5 billion for eligible small businesses and nonprofits. The program, which ran this year from April 3 to Aug. 8, provides loans that can transform into grants if businesses use the funds for eligible payroll costs, rent or utilities.AdvertisementIn the first round of PPP, in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Lehigh and Northampton counties along with the southern portion of Monroe County. The total of those loans was $1.03 billion, which saved more than 103,000 jobs.While Wolf said his plan to make $145 million available to businesses won’t be enough on its own — calling it a “down payment” — he hopes it will be enough to carry over many struggling entities until federal money starts to flow.Further, he noted, it will be months before most people have access to a COVID-19 vaccine, so the focus needs to be on trying to help people and businesses make it to that point.“What we need to do is figure out how we survive, how we thrive between now and then, and that’s what I’m trying to do with this $145 million,” Wolf said.Morning Call reporter Jon Harris can be reached at 484-280-2866 or at . Advertisement

AdvertisementBy The Morning CallDec 23, 2020 at 5:40 pmPennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced a plan to make $145 million available to help businesses ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing the money as a bridge that could aid struggling restaurants, hotels and gyms until more federal relief arrives.Wolf wants to transfer $145 million from the state Workers’ Compensation Security Fund, which he said has a surplus, into the state’s general fund. The plan, which requires approval from the Republican-controlled Legislature, calls for the money to then be used to dole out grants to...

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf wants to make $145 million available as grants for coronavirus-ravaged businesses

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