 Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order No. 20-91 implementing a stay-at-home order as a result of COVID-19. The Order will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, April 3rd.
The Order mandates that Florida residents stay at home to the extent possible and only leave as necessary to provide essential services or conduct essential activities. This is especially important to those deemed as most vulnerable including senior citizens and those with certain medical conditions such as lung disease, asthma, serious heart conditions, autoimmune disorders, cancer, diabetes, severe obesity, renal failure and kidney disease. According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), “If you work in a critical infrastructure industry, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security, such as healthcare services, pharmaceutical, and food supply, you have a special responsibility to maintain your normal work schedule”. A complete list of essential businesses can be located on the CISA website at www.cisa.gov. Examples of essential businesses include, but are not limited to, communications and utility providers, public safety personnel, law enforcement, defense systems support, and functions of public works. Other essential services have been outlined in Miami-Dade Emergency Order No. 07-20, and are included as an Exhibit to the Governor’s Executive Order No. 20-89 issued on March 19th. Those include other essential retail and commercial businesses such as banks, news/media outlets, gas stations and auto supply stores, businesses providing shipping services, laundromats, and more. Both Governor’s Orders can be located at www.flgov.com. It’s important to note that essential businesses have the authority to determine individuals within their organizations as essential personnel. What this means is that even if you have one of the medical conditions outlined in the Governor’s Order, you may still be required to work as determined by your employer. If you have questions about this, you should contact your Human Resources Department.
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Answers to Your Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the CARES Act and Coronavirus in Florida4/2/2020 Keeping families safe, healthy, and informed amid the Coronavirus pandemic is Senator Rick Scott's top priority. Many Floridians have reached out to their office with questions regarding the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020. In an effort to keep all Floridians informed, please view the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS document. This document contains information regarding small business loans, unemployment insurance, support for non-profits, and direct cash payments to individuals, among other items, as well as additional FAQs regarding Coronavirus in Florida and how to get help. IRS: Employee Retention Credit Available for Many Businesses Financially Impacted by COVID-194/2/2020 The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today launched the Employee Retention Credit, designed to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payroll. The refundable tax credit is 50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19.
Does my business qualify to receive the Employee Retention Credit? The credit is available to all employers regardless of size, including tax-exempt organizations. There are only two exceptions: State and local governments and their instrumentalities and small businesses who take small business loans. Qualifying employers must fall into one of two categories:
How is the credit calculated? The amount of the credit is 50% of qualifying wages paid up to $10,000 in total. Wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before Jan. 1, 2021, are eligible for the credit. Wages taken into account are not limited to cash payments, but also include a portion of the cost of employer provided health care. How do I know which wages qualify? Qualifying wages are based on the average number of a business’s employees in 2019. Employers with less than 100 employees: If the employer had 100 or fewer employees on average in 2019, the credit is based on wages paid to all employees, regardless if they worked or not. If the employees worked full time and were paid for full time work, the employer still receives the credit. Employers with more than 100 employees: If the employer had more than 100 employees on average in 2019, then the credit is allowed only for wages paid to employees who did not work during the calendar quarter. I am an eligible employer. How do I receive my credit? Employers can be immediately reimbursed for the credit by reducing their required deposits of payroll taxes that have been withheld from employees’ wages by the amount of the credit. Eligible employers will report their total qualified wages and the related health insurance costs for each quarter on their quarterly employment tax returns or Form 941 beginning with the second quarter. If the employer’s employment tax deposits are not sufficient to cover the credit, the employer may receive an advance payment from the IRS by submitting Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19. Eligible employers can also request an advance of the Employee Retention Credit by submitting Form 7200. Where can I find more information on the Employer Retention Credit and other COVID-19 economic relief efforts? Updates on the implementation of this credit, Frequently Asked Questions on Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave and other information can be found on the Coronavirus page of IRS.gov. Governor Ron DeStantis has issued a Stay-at-Home order effective on April 3, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. When the order goes into effect, everyone living in the state will be told to remain in their homes except for essential services and activities. As we follow the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), please be assured that the well-being of our community, clients, and staff are of utmost importance to us. We are following the guidelines and recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Florida Department of Health- Nassau to help limit exposure and mitigate transmission of the virus.
Effective TODAY, Monday, March 23, 2020, until further notice our offices will be closed to the public, vendors, contractors and consultants. All meetings with the public shall be virtual. No new applications requiring a quasi or non-quasi-judicial public hearing shall be accepted until further notice. This includes, but is not limited to, applications for rezoning, Comprehensive Plan amendment, Future Land Use Map Amendment, conditional use permit, a variance requiring a public hearing, a new Detailed Specific Area Plan (DSAP), or any other development proposal requiring an Agreement approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The Development Review Committee (DRC) will no longer accept paper submittals for new Development Review Applications until further notice. The sole exception being subdivision plat mylars for BOCC approval. Arrangements to deliver plat mylars must be scheduled by phone at (904) 530-6300 or email planninginfo@nassaucountyfl.com. New DRC submittals will be processed for pre-applications, site engineering plans, preliminary binding site plans, and plats. The DRC staff committee will continue to meet every Tuesday at 9:00 AM. No member of the public or the applicant can attend the meetings; however, the public can view the meeting via Live Streaming at https://nassauclerk.com/watch-meetings/. Comments can be emailed to planninginfo@nassaucountyfl.com. All applicants will be notified prior to the meetings and provided a call-in phone number during the presentation of their projects. Any other unique situations will be reviewed by the Planning Director on a case-by-case basis. We will update our response as additional information becomes available and new developments occur. Thank you in advance for your cooperation to implement this new process. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the Planning and Economic Opportunity Department at (904) 530-6300 or email planninginfo@nassaucountyfl.com. The Nassau County Planning and Economic Opportunity Department is charged with leading long-range and current planning for the community, with a focus on technical planning, implementation and management of the Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan, development and site plan review, and assistance to citizens, the Board of County Commissioners, County Manager and other staff, advisory boards, government agencies, and the private sector regarding growth and development in Nassau County. Executive Order No. 1 has been issued temporarily restricting access to some beach areas and beach activities.
Beach Driving Effective as of 11:00 a.m. today, no additional vehicular traffic shall access any beach areas in the unincorporated areas of Nassau County. Vehicles currently on the beach may remain in place until 5:00 p.m. today. Once a vehicle exits the beach, re-entry is not allowed. Beach access points where driving is normally allowed will have barriers in place and will be monitored by the Sheriff's Office. Beach Camping Effective today at 5:00 p.m., no camping or sleeping on the unincorporated beaches will be allowed. This includes tents, blankets, towels or any similar item used for camping. Beach use Individuals are allowed on the beach, subject to restrictions, and shall adhere to CDC guidelines to limit gathering to ten (10) people or less in a group. The Sheriff's Office shall have the authority to issue orders to beach users violating the provisions of this order, including order to remove themselves from the beach. Failure to remove themselves will constitute a trespass and is a second-degree misdemeanor. Beach Parking Lots/Accesses Currently, beach accesses/parking lots are fully open. The County Manager and Emergency Management shall have the authority to issue further restrictions as to the beach, including use of beach parking areas. Signage will be utilized, when possible, to notify users of the restrictions. Today, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-71, directing all restaurants and food establishments within the State of Florida to suspend on-premises food and alcohol consumption for customers. The listed establishments may, however, operate their kitchens for the purpose of providing delivery or take-out services. This Executive Order lifts the restriction that prohibits a specially licensed food service establishment from selling package sales of alcohol for delivery, take-out or consumption off-premises for restaurants complying with Executive Order 20-68, through the expiration of the state of emergency declared in Executive Order 20-52. Alcohol sales to go with food that is pick-up or delivered will be permitted and I.D. will be required for orders including alcohol. Additionally, the Executive Order requires the closures of gymnasiums and fitness centers within the State of Florida. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) shall utilize its authorities under Florida law to further implement and enforce the provisions of this Executive Order and shall take additional measures as necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare. Chairman Rubio, Chairman Collins, and Chairman Alexander release Keeping Workers Paid and Employed Act
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, released the Keeping Workers Paid and Employed Act, a $300 billion small business emergency economic relief plan that will help small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic make payroll and cover expenses. The Keeping Workers Paid and Employed Act is Division A of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. A section by section can be found here and a one pager can be found here. “The economic uncertainty and potential global impact we are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic are unprecedented,” Chairman Rubio said. “America’s more than 30 million small businesses — and the 59.9 million individuals they employ — today face the prospect of going bankrupt. They face this threat due to no fault of their own, but because of a global pandemic that takes human lives and grinds productivity to a halt. The Keeping Workers Paid and Employed Act is the best path forward to help businesses and their employees endure this catastrophic disruption. Congress must set aside our normal procedural and partisan games to act without delay.” “Every day, I am hearing from small businesses in my state that are on the verge of going under as a consequence of the coronavirus. The plan that Senator Rubio and I have authored would help make sure that businesses that were thriving before the pandemic as well as their employees are able to make it through this crisis,” Chairman Collins said. “In the last three days in the State of Maine, there were more claims for unemployment compensation than all of March last year. That shows that businesses are already feeling the cash-flow problems, seeing declining revenues, losing customers, and being forced to lay off their employees. That is why we feel so strongly that we must act and we must act immediately. I believe that we can come together to address this urgent problem.” “We are going to have to pay what it costs to contain this disease,” Chairman Alexander said. “And one effective way to do this is to help small businesses faced with closing to stay open and keep Americans on their payroll.” Specifically, the Keeping Workers Paid and Employed Act:
Industry experts from the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAAGL) and the National Small Business Association (NSBA) agree that Congress must act immediately on providing relief for small businesses. "Small businesses and their employees are suffering — now," President & CEO of NAGGL, Tony Wilkinson said. "Congress needs to take swift action to provide additional assistance through proven programs like the SBA 7(a) program where SBA has a decades-old partnership with thousands of private sector lenders that are located across the country. These banks are ready to start getting to work on keeping our small business community supported." “Maintaining small-business cash-flow and liquidity will be key to enabling successful small businesses to get to the other side of this crisis,” NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken said. “Time is of the essence — small businesses need help NOW, and I believe that SBA is ready and fully equipped to get this critically important program off the ground quickly. But Congress must act soon.” McCracken continued. “I implore lawmakers to look not only at what happens the first two weeks, but what happens two and three months down the road: an employee may get paid leave off for two weeks, but have no job at all when things finally normalize,” stated McCracken. “Most small businesses exist on very narrow margins and simply don’t have the scope necessary to float the business indefinitely. Any package enacted into law must recognize that reality and provide meaningful relief.” Nassau County, Florida, March 18, 2020 – At today’s meeting, the Board of County
Commissioners approved Resolution No. 2020-35, declaring a State of Local Emergency, as a result of the threat to public health caused by COVID-19. Florida Statutes, Section 252.38, states that “safeguarding the life and property of (the County’s) citizens is an innate responsibility of the governing body of each political subdivision of the State”, and further grants the County the power to provide a State of Emergency for the health and safety of persons and property.” The State of Emergency will apply to all territory within the legal boundaries of Nassau County, including the unincorporated and incorporated areas. Declaring a State of Emergency may sound threatening; however, this is a formality that allows your government officials quick access to resources to help manage a crisis until things return to normal. A State of Emergency also helps government officials take extra measures to protect the public, trigger anti-price gouging laws, and most importantly, seek State or Federal funding for disaster response and reimbursement of funds exhausted on things such as overtime costs and purchase of supplies and equipment needed to manage the emergency. Should you have any questions, please contact the County Manager’s Office at (904) 530-6010. Effective March 23, 2020, the City of Fernandina Beach Building Department will no longer accept paper submittals for permit applications. Permit submittals will be via the following new process:
• COVID-19/Coronavirus poses a serious risk to the health and well-being of City staff and our customers. To ensure a safe working environment, the review of all permitting submissions to the City of Fernandina Beach Building Department will now require permitting be submitted electronically. • Permit applications shall be made online thru the Citizen Self Service Portal. egselfservice.fbfl.us/EnergovProd/SelfService#/home, or following the link on the COFB website under 1.“Your Government”, 2. “Building”, 3. “Online permit.” • Architectural and engineer plans which are signed and sealed shall be submitted with electronic signatures along with a same name affidavit certifying that the files are original unaltered documents. • Permit reviews can be followed online thru the Citizen Self-Serve. • Applications will be routed for reviews and approvals from all required city departments prior to a Building Department review. The statutory time for Review for Single family will begin at this time, not at the time of submittal for other department approvals. • Permit applications submitted prior to March 23rd which have been approved, will need to be paid for online and plans picked up by appointment. • BTR applications can be emailed to CDDinfo@FBFL.city Payments can be made online. Paper applications will be available in the lobby. • Under construction Elevation Certificates and surveys can be digitally signed and emailed to CDDinfo@FBFL.city along with a same name affidavit from the design professional (please put description with permit number in subject line). Final Elevation Certificates will need to be original signed and sealed delivered to a drop box at the Building Department. • It is our goal is to make the permitting process as safe as possible for all parties involved and we look forward to working with our customers as we implement this new process. Please contact the Building Department Permit Techs or the Building Official for additional information at 904-310-3135. |
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Nassau County Chamber of Commerce
961687 Gateway Blvd., Suite 101-G | Fernandina Beach, FL 32034 Phone: (904) 261-3248 | info@nassaucountyflchamber.com | site map |
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