ACCA Supports the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act

Arlington, VA, (June 4, 2020) - The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) has announced its support of the passing of H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act.

As the name suggests, the bill gives small business owners who are participating in the PPP more flexibility in how they use and repay their PPP loans. The main points of the bill include:
    • Reducing in the portion of the loan that must be spent on payroll from 75% to 60%, which would allow up to 40% of the funds to be spent on certain qualified non-payroll items such as rent, mortgage interest, and utilities
    • Changes the eligibility for loan forgiveness by extending the time period for businesses to spend the loan proceeds from the current 8-week period to 24 weeks
    • Increasing the minimum loan term from 2 years to 5 years
    • Permitting businesses seeking loan forgiveness to defer payroll taxes without penalty
    • Giving businesses an additional six months to rehire employees or restore payroll levels. Moves date from June 30, 2020 to December 31, 2020
    • Providing exemptions in eligibility for loan forgiveness for employee unavailability when an employer is unable to rehire an employee or hire a replacement (the SBA’s interim final rule provides for a similar exemption), and for the inability to return to the same level of business due to compliance with certain COVID-19- related orders or other circumstances
These changes address several concerns that ACCA has heard from contractors who are PPP participants. “This bill is a win for ACCA and our members,” says Chris Czarnecki, ACCA government relations representative & coalitions manager. This will make the PPP easier to navigate by addressing several issues that contractors across the country have had with the program.

For more information about ACCA, please contact Deb Weiner, Manager of Communications and Strategic Partnerships at deb.weiner@acca.org or by phone at 703-824-8862.

 

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ACCA is a non-profit association serving more than 60,000 professionals and 4,000 businesses in the indoor environment and energy services community. Our member firms are the nation's most professional contracting businesses, serving residential and commercial customers in every state. With roots stretching back a century, ACCA was incorporated in its present form nearly 50 years ago. Today, ACCA sets the standards for quality comfort systems, provides leading-edge education for contractors and their employees, and fights for the interests of professional contractors throughout the nation. Learn more about ACCA here.