During the August 2020 special session, the Legislature passed 20 pieces of legislation on a range of issues, including providing Utahns and Utah businesses financial relief by waiving state income tax on PPP loans and CARES Act money, modifying the 2020 general election process, addressing issues related to public education funding and adjusting the state budget to further address the impacts of COVID-19.
H.B. 6004, School Emergency Drill Amendments
Amends laws requiring emergency drills at the beginning of the school year to help prevent the congregating and crowding conducive to the spreading of COVID-19.
S.B. 6005, Income Tax Amendments
Exempts federal stimulus money an individual receives from state corporate and income taxes, including a forgiven loan under the Paycheck Protection Program, an individual recovery rebate, and a grant or funds provided by the state or a local government using federal funds.
S.B. 6007, Amendments to Elections
The bill prepares the state to conduct the November General Election in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic by making temporary changes to the Election Code. The bill affirms that Utah’s elections will be conducted by mail and that in-person voting options will be available, as they have in the past. It also gives election officers the ability to provide outdoor polling locations and flexibility to change processes, policies and procedures to protect the health and safety of poll workers and voters. Finally, the bill prohibits ballot harvesting, requiring that a ballot must be returned by a voter or a member of the voter’s household.
H.B. 6002, Supplemental Budget Balancing and Coronavirus Relief Appropriations
This bill continues to address budget issues resulting from the pandemic. It also appropriates federal and state funds to respond to the pandemic.
Federal CARES Act Funds
The bill finishes appropriating the state’s $688 million share of the federal CARES Act money, including the following notable appropriations:
$25 million for broadband internet access in eastern and northern Utah.
$4 million for WiFi access to residences in San Juan County.
$15 million more for classroom supplies, equipment, and enhancements.
$40 million for several economic recovery items listed in S.B. 6009 (see below).
$15 million to add equipment and expanded capacity for the state medical lab.
$750,000 to add intensive care unit beds in smaller communities.
Unemployment Benefits
In light of the expiration of enhanced federal unemployment benefits at the end of July, the bill provides an additional $300 per week in unemployment benefits to those who find themselves out of work due to the pandemic.
Other Items
The bill also provides funding for several other important areas, including:
$490,000 to sustain the operation of some state-run health clinics.
$1.1 million to give teachers at our Schools for the Deaf and Blind pay raise.
$500,000 to provide expanded legal defense for those who are unable to afford it.
$1 million for pre- and post-conviction services and supervision at the local level.
$1 million for additional job training and re-training through Utah State University and the Utah Industrial Alliance.
H.B. 6012, Public Education Funding and Enrollment Amendments
Public educations students are changing schools more frequently and in higher numbers than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This creates several challenges the bill addresses:
Because school funding is based largely on enrollment, high enrollment changes make it difficult to distribute funds accurately. The bill provides the State Board of Education flexibility to conduct enrollment counts at any time and as many times as needed throughout the year to accurately adjust school funding distribution.
The bill allows a charter school to provide preferential enrollment next year to a student whose parents opted for home/online school due to COVID-19 this school year.
The bill raises caps on charter school enrollment for online charter schools and funds the increase with a combination of federal funds and money left over from the state’s contribution to last year’s minimum school program.
In addition, the bill reestablishes a salary supplement program that gives a $1,000-2,000 salary increase to teachers that are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
H.B. 6006, Alcohol License and Permit Amendments
Allows airport businesses with a liquor license to change locations from the old Salt Lake City International Airport to the new airport. The bill also grants a three-month extension for all liquor licenses that require renewal in September. Lastly, the bill makes reception center licenses similar to restaurant licenses by changing sales thresholds required to qualify. Instead of requiring a licensee to have 50 percent of their sales from food, it now requires that a licensee have less than 30 percent of sales from alcohol.
S.B. 6001, Community Reinvestment Agencies Modifications
Modifies provisions relating to community reinvestment agencies to provide a two-year extension of the tax increment collection period for certain agencies impacted by COVID-19. The extra year is intended to give community reinvestment agencies a better chance to achieve their project plans.
H.B. 6001, Uniform Electronic Wills Act Electronic Wills
Enacts the Uniform Electronic Wills Act to affirm that a person can finalize a will electronically, using video conferencing, without the direct presence of the person making the will or acting as a witness.
H.B. 6005, Cosmetology and Associated Professions Amendments
Increases the amount of instructional time a barber school, cosmetology school, electrologist school, esthetics school, hair design school, or nail technology school may administer online from 30 to 50 percent. The changes are in conformance with changes allowed under those industries’ national accrediting organizations.
S.B. 6009, Cares Act and COVID-19 Assistance and Recovery Amendments
The bill amends seven economic assistance programs the state created earlier this year to extend assistance to targeted individuals and industries more efficiently and effectively. The adjustments are in response to observations of the strengths, weaknesses, and popularity of certain programs. The bill makes changes the following programs and, through H.B. 6002, increases and reallocates funding for these programs:
Agricultural Operation Grant Program
This program has only used $12 million of the original $20 million it was appropriated. In order to ensure the funding is able to get to those who need it, the bill removes $20,000 and $40,000 caps on the amount of grants the Department of Agriculture is allowed to award under the program.
Individual Rental Assistance for COVID-19
The bill changes qualifying thresholds for a resident to receive rental assistance. Instead of being required to demonstrate financial hardship, an individual must demonstrate a negative impact from COVID-19. The bill also allows a landlord to apply for assistance on behalf of a tenant, requiring that the grant funds be applied toward the tenant’s rent. Because there have been fewer applicants than the known need, the bill allows the Department of Workforce Services to use a portion of program funds for outreach.
Commercial Rental and Mortgage Assistance Program
This program has used $13 million of the $30 million it was appropriated. In order to ensure the program is accomplishing its objective, this bill expands the program to provide mortgage assistance to businesses. The bill also increases the size of businesses that can qualify, including those with up to 250 full-time equivalent employees. It also allows startup businesses to receive rental or mortgage assistance if they can demonstrate a net operating loss over a four-week period. Finally, the bill changes the amount of funds a business may receive under the program to $5,000 per month per location.
Cultural Assistance Grant Program
This program has expended all of the funds appropriated to it. The Legislature appropriated an additional $7.5 million to the program and removed a threshold stating that a recipient must provide at least 50 percent of grant funds as a direct benefit to consumers. It also removed the threshold for the size of an organization that can qualify for a grant.
Utah Works Program
This high-demand program has already expended the $9 million originally appropriated for it. This bill gives the program an additional $7.5 million.
PPE Support Grant Program
This program has expended $1 million of the $5 million appropriated to it. In order to ensure the program reaches the targeted businesses, the bill increases from $100 to $250 per full-time equivalent employee the amount of funds a business may receive to purchase personal protective equipment.
Impacted Business Grant Program
The most popular of the state’s economic assistance programs, it has expended all of the $25 million and an additional $10 million appropriated. The Legislature appropriated another $20 million for the program and allowed startup businesses to participate in the program. To better control the distribution of funds, the bill also includes graduated amounts a business can receive depending upon the revenue loss the business realized.
Oil, Mining, and Gas Grant Program
The bill creates the Oil, Mining, and Gas Grant Program within the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to give grants to companies that have suffered revenue declines due to COVID-19. The office establishes an application process and qualifying criteria and may extend grants to an affected company equal to the amount of revenue decline the company realized.
Because federal CARES Act funds must be expended before the end of the year and some programs addressed in the bill are expected to have a higher demand than others, the bill allows the executive branch to shift funds from low to high-demand programs without legislative action.
Finally, the bill affirms the 120 moratorium on evictions created through the federal CARES Act and affirms the state’s law providing three days for a tenant o cure an eviction notice.
H.B. 6003, Premium Subsidies Amendments
The Utah Premium Partnership for Health Insurance program subsidizes insurance premiums for individuals who make just enough to not qualify for Medicaid. It directs the Department of Health to seek a waiver from the federal government to increase the premium subsidy under the program from $150 to $300. It also authorizes increased premium subsidies in future years.
S.B. 6006, Department of Health Executive Director Qualifications
Amends requirements for the executive leadership of the Department of health so that, if the executive director is not a physician, a deputy director must be a physician and a deputy director must have at least five years of professional experience in public health programs.
S.B.6002, Financial report Date Amendments
Changes the day the governor is required to submit audited financial statements from December 1 to December 31.
S.B. 6003, Law Enforcement Tuition Reimbursement
Reopens the Public Safety Officer Career Advancement Reimbursement Program for new applicants and ensures the availability of funding for eligible applicants on a pro-rata basis.
S.B. 6004, Regulatory Certainty Amendments
Places a hold on all new rulemaking processes from the Air Quality Board, Water Quality Board, Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining, and the Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, until July 1, 2021, except in counties of the first and second class. The bill provides circumstances under which rules may still be initiated, for example, if needed to prevent imminent peril to the public. The bill also prohibits the Air Quality Board, Division of Air Quality, Water Quality Board, Division of Water Quality, Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining, or the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, from imposing or increasing a fee until July 1, 2021.
H.B. 6011, Pharmaceutical Reporting Amendments
Due, in part, to a repeal of funding for 2020 General Session, H.B. 272, Pharmacy Benefit Amendments, this bill delays the effective date of reports an insurer is required to submit to the Department of Insurance under that bill.
H.B. 6007, Municipal Annexation Revisions
Repeals provisions of a bill passed during the 2020 General Session, H.B. 359, Municipal Annexation Revisions, that allow a municipality to annex an unincorporated area without the consent of the county in which the area is located.
H.B. 6013, Corporate Net Operating Loss Amendments Carry-forward
In 2018, the Legislature amended the amount of net operating loss a business could carry over from a previous tax year in order to be consistent with federal law. The CARES Act suspended those thresholds, making Utah Law inconsistent with federal law. For consistency, this bill suspends until 2022 the provisions that allow a business to only carry forward a certain percentage of their net operating loss.
S.B. 6008, Tobacco Retailer Amendments
H.B. 23, passed during the 2020 General Session, prohibits a vape shop from being located within 1,000 feet of a school. Expected lawsuits would challenge the constitutionality of that requirement because it takes private property without compensation. In response, the bill extends until July 2021 when a vape shop has to comply with the provision. The bill also reinstates a grandfather clause that exempts a tobacco specialty shop (vape shop) from requirements that prohibit proximity to certain locations if the shop has held and complied with a valid permit it received in or before 2018.
S.J.R. 601, Concurrent Resolution on Federal Government Payment in Lieu of Taxes
The federal payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) program is intended to compensate states for foregone property tax revenue they are unable to collect because they cannot place a property tax on federal lands. The resolution calls upon Congress and the president of the United States to pay the state much more under the PILT program to accurately reflect the amount of property tax the state would be receiving from federally controlled lands if they were subject to the state’s property tax.
Tags: August 2020 Special Session, COVID-19, Recap, Sixth Special Session of the Sixty-third Legislature., Special Session, Summary