IHMM Today January 5, 2021

IHMM UPDATES

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021

A second stimulus is coming for millions of Americans.

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 – a $900B relief package to deliver the second round of economic stimulus for individuals, families, and businesses was signed into law on December 27, 2020. The bill provides relief through multiple measures and expands many of the provisions already put into place under the CARES Act, including the second round of direct stimulus payments to individuals and families.

Here is what relief is included:

Stimulus Payments for Individuals and Joint Taxpayers

The second wave of direct stimulus payments for millions of Americans – up to $600 for eligible individuals, $1,200 for joint taxpayers, and an additional $600 for each dependent child under 17 – is on the way for millions. This means a family with two children could receive $2,400.

As of today, there is nothing you need to do to get a stimulus payment. The IRS will begin work to issue stimulus payments using the most recent information they have on file, likely from your 2019 tax return, either by direct deposit or by check.

We expect stimulus payments will begin to be sent in the next couple of weeks. We’ll update this post when more information becomes available.

So, how do you know if you may be eligible to receive a second stimulus payment?

If you have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of up to $75,000 ($150,000 married filing jointly), you could be eligible for the full amount of the recovery rebate.

*Note, adjusted gross income (AGI) is your gross income like wages, salaries, or interest minus adjustments for eligible deductions like student loan interest or your IRA deduction. Your AGI can be found online 8b of your 2019 Form 1040.

As your AGI increases over $75,000 ($150,000 married filing jointly), the stimulus amount will go down. The stimulus check rebate will completely phase out at $87,000 for single filers with no qualifying dependents and $174,000 for those married filing jointly with no dependents.

The bill also expands stimulus payments to mixed-status households (households with different immigration and citizenship statuses), meaning more households may be eligible for this stimulus than were for the first round. This may be retroactive, so some individuals that were ineligible for the first stimulus, provided under the CARES Act, may then be eligible to receive that payment as well.

*Note, if you think you may have been eligible for the first stimulus, but didn’t receive it, don’t worry. TurboTax will help you claim your stimulus payment in the form of a recovery rebate credit when you file your 2020 tax return.

Those people receiving Social Security retirement, disability, Railroad Retirement, VA, or SSI income and are not typically required to file a tax return, will again receive a stimulus payment. As in the first round, the IRS would use the information from your Form SSA-1099, Form RRB-1099, or the Veterans Administration to generate your stimulus payment.

Extended Unemployment

Unemployment payments will increase by $300 per week and the benefits will be extended until March 14, 2021.

The bill also extends the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which expands unemployment to those who are not usually eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits. This means that self-employed, freelancers and side giggers will continue to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Certain workers who have at least $5,000 per year in self-employment income, but are disqualified from receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance because they also have an employer could also be eligible for an additional $100 per week in unemployment benefits.

Special Lookback for Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit

This is a very important provision that has the potential to help workers who experienced lower income in 2020 or received unemployment income in lieu of their regular wages, get bigger tax credits and larger refunds in the coming year.

The special lookback rule will allow lower-income individuals to use their earned income from 2019 to determine their Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit in 2020, since their lower 2020 income could reduce the amount they are eligible for.

The Earned Income Tax Credit is the country’s largest program for working people with low to moderate-income. More than 25 million eligible tax filers received federal Earned Income Tax Credit last tax season and the average Earned Income Tax Credit was $2,476 per filer.

Expanded Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for Small Businesses and Eligible Non-Profits

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, provides a second round of payments under the Paycheck Protection Program.

Self-employed individuals, small businesses, small 501(c)(6) organizations, restaurants, live venues, and EIDL grants will  again be eligible. Also, businesses experiencing severe revenue reductions will have the opportunity to apply for a second PPP loan.

Businesses with 300 or fewer employees that have experienced 25% revenue loss in any 2020 quarter and small 501(c )(6) organizations that have 150 employees or fewer would be eligible for a Paycheck Protection Program under the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Package.

The expanded Paycheck Protection Program, also broadens the type of business expenses that can be forgiven under the loan to include supplier costs, will allow business expenses paid utilizing PPP proceeds to be tax deductible, and would simplify the loan forgiveness process.

Contractor Paid Leave

Contractors who were temporarily unable to work due to facility closures and other restrictions could be able to receive reimbursement for paid leave from federal agencies.

Eviction Moratorium and Rental Assistance

The  Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 extends the moratorium on evictions under the CARES Act, designed to protect renters from eviction, until January 31, 2021.

Families struggling to pay rent or with past due rent could  be able to get assistance with paying past due rent, future rent payments, as well as utility bills.

Tax Extenders

The bill includes the permanent passage and, in some cases, multi-year extension of many additional tax provisions – commonly referred to as tax extenders. Tax Extenders provide tax relief and support for families and individuals through various mortgage relief, education, and medical expense relief.

This is a synopsis of tax and related issues in the CARES Act passed by Congress after Christmas. It is not intended to be comprehensive tax advice. For that, consult your tax advisor.

IHMM & AHMP Launch 45 in 5 – National Credential Recognition – 17 States Targeted

On December 15, 2020, IHMM and AHMP gathered the first round of 31 state volunteers to scope out what we need to do and how we need to do it. For their next meeting in January, we begin outlining the strategy to go after 17 states.

This is just the beginning. Here is the present composition of the 45 In 5 Task Force and the states we are focusing on. More people may volunteer anytime!  https://ihmm.org/45-in-5-task-force/

In 2019 Mark Bruce from AHMP and Gene Guilford from IHMM worked on a project to get the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to recognize the CHMM and CDGT credentials. With Mark’s work on the ground in  Pennsylvania, we succeeded. We have already succeeded in 5 states.

In the two weeks since the launch, we have added Delaware, Florida, Texas, California, Washington, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Iowa, North Carolina, Colorado, and Nebraska as the next states for us to work on.

Now Mark at AHMP and Gene at IHMM has launched 45 in 5, getting the other 45 states to recognize our credentials in 5 years. If we can find a volunteer like Mark in 45 other states we can work with those volunteers on crafting the right message to the right agencies in state governments across the country. If we find enough volunteers we can get this done in less than 5 years.

Here’s what we ask each volunteer to do:

• Take a template letter we write and send it to the right people at the right agencies of state governments
• IHMM & AHMP will identify the agencies and the people to contact
• Follow up after sending the letter
• IHMM will engage all of our certificants and AHMP will engage all of its members in each state to communicate with the agencies in support of the recognition

Let’s get the rest of the country on board. Volunteer using this form > https://forms.gle/xVJ7UgwcfomWTpdR9

IHMM News Recent Updates

• State tax law changes that took effect on January 1, 2021

• FMCSA Notice of Proposed Regulatory Guidance; HOS and Yard Moves

• EPA Publishes Final Risk Evaluation for Asbestos, Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos

• EPA Releases Final TSCA Section 6(h) Rules for Five PBT Chemicals

• OSHA Reminds Specific Employers to Submit Required 2020 Injury and Illness Data by March 2, 2021

• Two new NIOSH web pages posted on respiratory protection activities

• EPA Intends Proposed Rule to Increase Flexibility and Reduce Burdens under TSCA Fees Program

• Addendum to the 62nd Edition of the IATA DGR

• Michael Regan, Biden’s E.P.A. Pick

• Piepline Safety Update, Dewcember, 2020

• Mission Critical: Identifying Hazards in Non-Routine Work, Maintenance and Emergencies

• EEOC Provides Shot in the Arm to Employers with Long-Awaited Guidance on COVID Vaccines

• DOL Issues Opinion Letters Regarding Pay Calculations for Teleworkers, In-Home Caregivers

• $20 Million U.S. TSCA/Lead-Based Paint Penalty: Expensive Reminder to Manage and Audit Contractors’ Joint Regulatory Liabilities

HMS UPDATES

End Of The Year Donations

One of the most important projects of the Hazardous Materials Society is our Scholarship program.

HMS wants to make it as easy as possible for those who cannot always afford to participate in pursuing certification, or keeping up with professional development, or attending great conferences and receiving outstanding training. HMS does not solicit contributions from the general public. HMS does ask IHMM’s certificants and their companies and our education and training vendors to consider a contribution.

Here, through your generosity, you can make a difference in promoting the ability of those who can afford it least to become participants in our communities of practice.

It’s never too late to make a difference, so don’t let this opportunity to make a difference pass you by. Please consider a tax-deductible donation of $250, $500 or what you can to help build HMS’s effort to help others in our communities of practice.

HMS Education and Training

Hazardous Materials Society now has 18,415 education and training programs on its website https://hazmatsociety.org/education-training/ with more coming every week. Certificants will note that most of these programs carry a CMP value, making it easier to know in advance what to expect. The HMS Education and Training platform also provides a wide variety of courses for professional development across all of IHMM’s credentials – and more are being developed by the HMS Education and Training Committee.

This is the center of education and training for IHMM certificants and prospective certificants. Among these more than 15.000 programs are webinars delivered online and virtually all carry IHMM CMPs values with them for your annual / 5-year CMP planning. SEE: https://hazmatsociety.org/education-training/

HMS Affinity Programs –  Meritain Health Insurance

With more than 27,000 people – here is where HMS leverages our numbers for member’s benefit. There is strength and value in numbers and that translates into lower costs for you.