Decree-Law 10-A/2020 of 13 March created exceptional public procurement rules on spending authorisations and administrative authorisations. These rules are intended to ensure the immediate availability of the goods and services needed to respond to the current state of emergency. However, under article 7(6)(c) of Law 1-A/2020 of 19 March, it seems that all administrative time limits in favour of private parties are suspended ...
On Wednesday 18 March 2020, the Norwegian Government put forward a bill which will give the Government vast authorization to fight Covid-19 and its consequences for the society. Today, 21 March 2020, a more narrow Corona act was adopted by the Norwegian Parliament. Read more about the initial proposal. After the initial critical voices, the Parliament chose to initiate a speedily hearing, where it invited i.a ...
Yesterday, Wednesday 18 March 2020, the Norwegian Government put forward a bill which will give the Government vast authorization to fight Covid-19 and its consequences for the society. It is called the corona act. The aim is to facilitate "sound and effective measures necessary to limit the disruption of normal social functions" of the Covid-19 outbreak (article 1) ...
Many companies are now in crisis due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The European Commission and EFTA Surveillance Authority, therefore, ease state aid rules. In practice, large parts of the state aid rules and guidelines are now virtually "suspended ...
On 15 March 2020, the Norwegian government presented their proposal for new loan and guarantee schemes in the total amount of NOK 100 billion, to strengthen Norwegian companies' liquidity during the Covid-19 outbreak. The proposal includes: A NOK 50 billion funding which will be applied to issue guarantees in favour of banks as security for new loans granted to small and medium sized companies ...
The authorities have been quick to publish public procurement law guidance for the Covid-19 crisis. In this article we argue that Norwegian authorities could have provided even more clear guidance on what is to be considered at the crossroad between public procurement law and the protection of life and health. The exceptional Covid-19 crisis has given contracting authorities new and unforeseen challenges ...
In IRS Notice 2020-18, the IRS extended the deadline for specified U.S. federal income tax payments and federal income tax returns due April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020.IRS Notice 2020-18 supersedes IRS Notice 2020-17 which only extended the deadline for specified tax payments (see our prior coverage here). The extension applies to any person with a federal income tax payment and/or federal income tax return due April 15, 2020 ...
UPDATE - On March 20 in the evening, Governor Wolf issued a revised list classifying businesses as life-sustaining and non-life-sustaining. The press release, list and frequently asked questions can be found here. In addition, Governor Wolf has extended the timeframe for enforcement of the order. The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently completed the Appropriations hearings related to the FY 2020-2021 budget. The plans to resume the legislative session were altered due to COVID-19 ...
Recently, both INAPI and TDPI implemented temporary measures in terms of deadlines, procedures and legal requirements for the submission of original documents, with the aim to facilitate to applicants and users of the system to comply with legal obligations, taking into account both the difficulties in meeting these obligations and the purpose of safeguarding people's health ...
On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the Department of the Treasury issued Notice 2020-17, postponing payment deadlines for many taxpayers in order to grant some amount of relief to businesses and individuals amid the Coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis. The Notice provides many taxpayers with the ability to defer federal income tax payments otherwise due by April 15, 2020, but does not postpone or alter the April 15 filing deadline or estimated payments due June 15, 2020 ...
On March 18, 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-15 which permits all public bodies in the State of Michigan, with the exception of the State Legislature, to meet during the COVID-19 state of emergency (“COVID-19 Emergency”) by electronic means until April 15, 2020 ...
On March 17, 2020, Governor Newson issued Executive Order N-29-20 ("Executive Order") in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This order supersedes Executive Order N-25-20, which was issued on March 12, and expressly waives all requirements in the Brown Act and Bagley-Keene Act that require a physical presence of Board members, staff or the public as a condition of holding and participating in a local agency governing body or state commission public meeting ...
On March 20, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced by tweet that the April 15 deadline for filing tax returns will be postponed to July 15: "At @realDonaldTrump’s direction, we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties." Later on March 20, the IRS published Notice 2020-18 to memorialize the extension ...
Updated: April 4, 2020 On March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Director of the California Department of Public Health ordered all Californians to stay home “except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors ...
On March 17, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order suspending some of the notice requirements under the California WARN Act ("Cal-WARN"), the state counterpart to the Federal WARN Act. The order came in response to the sudden onslaught of workplace closings across California due to COVID-19. Under the Cal-WARN, employers with 75 or more employees must give 60-days' written notice to employees and unions before layoffs occur ...
As the impact of the coronavirus continues to grow and develop, government watchdogs are on high alert for fraud and scams that may arise. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Whistleblower Center sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr asking him to establish a nationwide task force to monitor and investigate fraud under the False Claims Act (FCA) ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced during a March 19, 2020 teleconference for physicians and teaching hospitals that it does not have the authority to postpone the statutory timeline for the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act) ...
Every state has an Open Meeting Law, or Sunshine Law requiring public bodies to take official action and conduct deliberations in open meetings. Open meetings are defined as an in-person meeting open to the public with a certain number of legislators or board members physically present to establish a quorum and participate in the meeting ...
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced in a press conference on March 17, 2020 that all elective surgeries would be postponed in the State of Ohio effective at 5:00 p.m. on March 18, 2020 until further notice. The Order, issued by Director of the Ohio Department of Health Amy Acton, is available here: (https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/OHOOD/2020/03/17/file_attachments/1403950/Director%27s%20Order%20non-essential%20surgery%203-17-2020.pdf) ...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday on Twitter that the U.S. will extend the tax filing deadline of April 15, 2020 for 2019 individual and business tax returns until July 15, 2020. Earlier this week, the Internal Revenue Service announced that the payment deadline for any 2019 individual income tax due, including 2020 first quarter estimated payments due April 15, 2020, was deferred until July 15, 2020 ...
In the advent of DNA testing, companies such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe have made it easy and convenient to submit DNA samples for testing from your own home. This type of genetic—also known as genomic—testing has been applied to a variety of uses, including paternity determinations and the discovery of genetic ancestors and relatives ...
On March 18, 2020, the State Medical Board of Ohio (“Board”) held a special meeting, which resulted in the temporary suspension of certain regulatory enforcement activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine Effective immediately, the Board will suspend enforcement of any regulations requiring in-person visits between providers and patients ...
On March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency in the State of California as a result of the threat of COVID-19 ...
