States and localities across the United States are facing an uncertain economic future as the coronavirus pandemic has ground economic activity to a halt across the country and cut off revenue streams that these governments rely on, such as sales and income taxes. Unanticipated state budget expenditures, like emergency funding packages, are also forcing states to reconsider how resources are allocated in their budgets.

Wisconsin held its in-person election on April 7, despite numerous primary postponements and some public criticism. Former Vice President Joe Biden won with 62.93% of the vote, bringing his delegate count to 1,293 (1,991 delegates are needed to secure his nomination).

On April 14, ABC sent an action alert to ABC members asking them to call on their member of Congress to quickly authorize additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, which was created under the CARES Act to provide forgivable loans to small businesses. With nearly $350 billion in small business aid estimated to run out this week, ABC is asking Congress to pass a clean bill to increase funds for the PPP, which has been a priority for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) and the White House.

The New York State Legislature took action to include an expansion of prevailing wage in the state’s budget for fiscal year 2020-21, which was signed into law on April 3 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). The provision expands the view of what projects are considered “public works” and applies prevailing wage to private projects of $5 million or above in project cost that receive at least 30% of their financing from public assistance. This assistance goes beyond direct public investment to include loan and grant programs and certain tax incentives, greatly increasing the number of projects required to pay prevailing wages.

The recently passed CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, provided aid for small businesses and affected industries across the country. However, the bill does not include assistance for 501(c)(6) organizations such as trade associations that are, in some cases, experiencing the same operational challenges that large and small businesses are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Labor continues to issue compliance assistance materials on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which went into effect on April 1.

In response to the current shortage of N95 respirators, OSHA has released guidance regarding the enforcement of its respiratory protection standard.

ABC Votes 2020, the one-stop-shop for all voter questions, information and priority issues surrounding the 2020 election cycle, is now live at abcvotes.com.

The Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Treasury confirmed ABC’s interpretation of the IFR and addressed this issue in a release of FAQs for lenders and borrowers. Importantly, this document clarifies that businesses do not have to qualify as both a small business concern and have 500 or fewer employees. ABC continues to urge eligible members in need to apply for PPP loans.

On March 16, as a result of COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, Office of Apprenticeship, released Bulletin 2020-51 to provide flexibility regarding the requirements for approval for related instruction and reiterate that related instruction may be delivered electronically.