COVID-19 re Annual General Meetings and other Compliances, and relief-funding

CANADA

• March 2021

  Commencing in mid-April, the Enhanced COVID-19 Business Benefit will provide up to $10,000 to eligible small and medium businesses most affected by the pandemic and ongoing public health restrictions.

  To be eligible for the Enhanced COVID-19 Business Benefit, applicants must:

  be a business, cooperative or non-profit organization with fewer than 500 employees

  demonstrate a revenue reduction of at least 60%

  report the levels of provincial and federal support received, to ensure that no more than 80% of revenue was covered by these other supports

• June 2020Emergency Program Act, British Columbia

• April 2020

  The Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General issued an order under the Emergency Program Act which enables companies, societies and cooperatives to meet electronically for the duration of the provincial state of emergency 

• May 2020

  Temporary Relief Of Corporate Requirements For Shareholder And Director Meetings

• May 2020

  The BC Registrar of Companies has allowed corporations under BC's Business Corporations Act (the BCBCA) to postpone their annual general meeting for six months. To request an extension, a corporation must email BC Registries and Online Services with the request alongside its name and incorporation number. The corporation must also inform its shareholders that the annual general meeting has been delayed.

THE NETHERLANDS

• Sep 2020Compliance Deadline For Dutch UBO Register Approaches

• Sep 2020

  Compliance with the UBO registerwhich had previously been expected to begin in January 2020, is mandatory for private limited liability companies (BVs) and public limited-liability companies (NVs), except for listed companies already subject to the EU Transparency Directive requirements or an international equivalent, in addition to their wholly owned (directly or indirectly) subsidiaries. Also covered by the legislation are foundations, associations, co-operatives and partnerships, alongside European companies (SEs) and European cooperative societies (SCEs) with their registered office in the Netherlands.

AUSTRALIA

• 2020

  Western Australia: The Registrar of Co-operatives has provided this information as COVID-19 related guidance for co-operatives

UNITED KINGDOM

• 2020/2021Advice on planning and staging AGMs from Cooperatives UKCoronavirus is impacting on how Co‑operatives UK members can effectively govern their businesses. This guidance page has been developed to give some general governance advice in relation to the coronavirus pandemic. 

• 2021

  Government has confirmed that co-operative and community benefit societies, in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, are covered by legislation that provides businesses with greater flexibility in how and when they hold their Annual General Meetings (AGMs), or any other General Meetings (GMs) until 30 April 2021

• 2020

  The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus)(Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2020 ("Regulations") came into force on 29 September 2020. The new Regulations are important as they extend the period in which companies and "other qualifying bodies" can hold meetings under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 ("CIGA 2020"). A number of corporate organisations are covered by the CIGA 2020 including companies, charitable incorporated organisations and registered societies within the meaning of the Cooperative and Community Benefits Societies Act 2014. 

• 2020

  Role of Cooperatives in responding to crisis (Greater Manchester Cooperative Commission report)

  When there is a market failure, or a crisis of any sort, people react in a particular way. Of course, there are those who merely seek to take advantage of the vulnerable; but in general humans do the opposite – as social creatures they look out for each other. We respond collectively, because we want life to continue as normally as it possibly can. We co-operate, which is a basic, normal, human instinct.

  It’s what happened in a number of places in nineteenth century as the industrial revolution wrought havoc on people’s lives. It led to credit unions, co-op stores, building societies, friendly societies to protect people against sickness, accidents and bereavement, and mutual insurance. Over the course of 100 years or so, this became a way of life, and the older folk remember it.

• 2020

  Build Back Better report (Key recommendations from the report)

  These are some of the things that the GM Cooperative Commission’s recommendations call for:

  §  Establish a Cooperative Zone, helping to provide access to finance (12), to equip business advisors with the relevant basic practical understanding (21), to improve access to expert advice and support (23), to help family-owned SMEs to plan for ownership succession (22)

  §  Train procurement officers about the benefits of cooperative ownership (10), corporate strategies to emphasis procurement of social value (9), embed the principle of cooperation into GMCA’s constitution (2), all GM local authority strategies to address engagement of citizens and communities (5), establish a democratic charter promoting involvement of users, employees, volunteers and citizens (3)

  §  Employment for the gig economy through SMART for GM (28), consult on arrangements for SME participation in big digital projects (38), expand GM’s digital infrastructure through a cooperative approach (39), launch a GM user-investment vehicle for full fibre (40)

  §  Support small organisations in GM to co-operate in delivering public services (7), with a toolkit and learning programme to address this (8), promote funding of community-based initiatives through community share offers (13), promote credit unions (15)

• 2020Building a Cooperative recovery - blog post A different future

  The brief opportunity which we have is to do the following:

  Help people to realise that the established competitive way is neither the only way, nor even the best way; in fact in many respects it is failing. The old ideas that prosperity will eventually trickle down, and that problems can be solved by throwing money at them just don’t work.

  That the alternative basis for the organisation of commerce and of society is cooperation for the common good rather competition for private gain. It’s about giving people the space and the opportunity to succeed

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

• 2021

  Wisconsin: Online AGMs are now permitted

  Cooperatives in Wisconsin can now hold annual member meetings and special member meetings remotely.  Governor Tony Evers signed Act 5, the new law that allows the use of technology for member meeting

• 2021US co-operatives have welcomed the adoption of the American Rescue Plan Act signed into law by President Joe Biden on 11 March.

  The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) commended Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration on the passage of act, which, it said, “takes historic steps to provide direct relief from the devastating impacts of Covid-19 and paves an equitable path toward recovery”.

• 2021

  SBA Publishes PPP 3.0 Regulations and PPP Second Draw Loan Regulations

  The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released new guidance on the existing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under Sections 1102 and 1106 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and on the SBA’s new “Paycheck Protection Program Second Draw Loans” (the Second Draw PPP) created by Section 311 of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (the EAA).

• March 2020

  The $2 trillion bill passed by Congress will bring help to electric cooperatives and their consumer-members by offering millions in aid for families struggling to pay their utility bills and billions in grants for small businesses.

  At the same time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture took action to provide greater flexibility and certainty for co-ops that rely on the Rural Utilities Service for loans and other financial assistance.

  In 2020, the California legislature had a busy year responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and implementing new employment laws for 2021.The new bills touch almost every facet of employment — including leave laws, wage and hour, workers’ compensation, and industry-specific laws.

  Many local small businesses have taken advantage of Paycheck Protection Program. Some local businesses and organizations have already received their funds for this second round. Contact your local financial institution for more information.Borrowers can set their PPP loan’s covered period to be any length between 8 and 24 weeks to best meet their business needs; PPP loans will cover additional expenses, including operations expenditures, property damage costs, supplier costs, and worker protection expenditures; the program’s eligibility is expanded to include 501(c)(6)s, housing cooperatives, direct marketing organizations, among other types of organizations.

• December 2020

  Small Business Association (SBA) and Paycheck Protection Program

  The COVID Stimulus Relief Bill (Consolidated Appropriations Act ) was signed into law by the Federal Government. This legislation included relief for many hard-hit industries (airlines, restaurants, etc.) and provided direct relief to many Americans in the form of enhanced unemployment benefits and $600 direct payments to qualified persons making under $75,000. Buried away in this 5,000+-page document was a provision that makes co-op corporations specifically eligible for forgivable loans under the PPP. 

  The PPP works as follows: a small business completes a loan application to their bank and/or lender, which then submits it to the Small Business Association (SBA). Although co-ops are now considered eligible entities, there are further eligibility requirements an individual co-op must meet in order to obtain this forgivable loan. In order to be eligible, a co-op will have to certify that they are currently experiencing financial uncertainty due to the pandemic. In addition, they must certify that the loan is necessary to support their ongoing operations. 

• New York : Cooperatives, Condos and Cooperatives

  For condominiums, cooperatives and homeowner’s associations, the novel coronavirus has presented myriad legal issues. However, dealing with COVID-19 has provided one benefit. There is now an opportunity to develop a blueprint for condominiums and cooperatives to follow when, and if, the next similar crisis occurs. It is therefore incumbent upon the practitioner to set forth for their clients plans for the future so that they are readily accessible when needed. To understand the basic foundation of what concerns many of these properties have, we should understand that, at a minimum, there is typically a statutory requirement to protect the health and welfare of residents.

  Executive Order gives flexibility to cooperatives to organise online AGMs and if not possible, forego the yearly meeting

• Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed Emergency Executive Order 20-86allowing Minnesota cooperatives to: (1) hold virtual annual meetings, or (2) if a virtual meeting is not feasible, to forego its annual members’ meeting if the cooperative wishes to avoid in-person gatherings due to the public health threat caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Executive Order also gives a cooperative discretion to conduct director elections via mail, even if vote by mail was not previously authorized within the cooperative’s articles and bylaws. For any cooperative that chooses to hold director elections by mail, the requirements of existing cooperative law still apply, namely: (1) for 308A coops, Minnesota Statutes Sec. 308A.311, subd. 4(a)-(d) and subd. 5, and (2) for 308B coops, Sec. 308B.411, subd. 5(1)-(3), which require a mailed ballot to be in the form prescribed by the board and set forth specific mailing procedures.

• 2021

  More Small Business Relief From the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Small businesses in the U.S. could take advantage of new legislation with PPP updates and Employee Retention Credits in 2021

  The government has taken notice that many small businesses are still requiring support to stay afloat due to COVID-19. In response, The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). The CAA has laid out additional funding for businesses struggling with COVID and amends previous legislation and regulatory guidance.

• 2020How coronavirus stimulus funds helped one state create a 'broadband miracle'

  Even before the pandemic hit, Mississippi lawmakers had already begun to set their public policy to encourage newcomers in the broadband market. In January 2019, then-Gov. had signed the Mississippi Broadband Enabling Act, which removed a 1942 regulation that prevented electric cooperatives from offering anything other than electricity to their members.

• BE Act - Legal Text

SERBIA

• May 2020

  Coronavirus In Serbia: How To Access Government Funding?

  The Serbian Government had two objectives when preparing the economic assistance program designed to mitigate the damage caused by the COVID-19 epidemic – safeguarding employment and supporting business liquidity.

MALAYSIA

• March 2021

  PEMERKASA launched in relieving cooperatives and small biz.

  The Malaysian Cooperative Commission will provide financing incentives of up to RM100,000 without collateral to help affected cooperatives. These funding applications will be simplified and the approval process will be expedited by providing repayment flexibility after six months of funding being approved. A total of RM50mn from the Revolving Capital Fund of the Malaysian Cooperative Commission will be allocated which is expected to help more than 14,000 cooperatives.

• PEMERKASA Official Statement

• January 2021How Malaysia’s PERMAI Stimulus Package Benefits Businesses

  In early January 2021, Malaysia launched the PERMAI stimulus package to support businesses.Valued at 15 billion ringgit (US$3.6 billion), the incentives under PERMAI pertain to the enhancement of incentives issued throughout 2020, such as the wage subsidy program. The issuance of PERMAI comes as the country enters into another lockdown, set to last until February 18, 2021.