The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released a statement providing guidance on the use of $350 Billion in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. The release provided below includes links to a description of permissible uses and the allocation of funds by state and county.
Local governments should expect to receive funds in two tranches, with 50% provided beginning in May 2021 and the balance delivered 12 months later. States that have experienced a net increase in the unemployment rate of more than 2 percentage points from February 2020 to the latest available data as of the date of certification will receive their full allocation of funds in a single payment; other states will receive funds in two equal tranches. Governments of U.S. territories will receive a single payment. Tribal governments will receive two payments, with the first payment available in May and the second payment, based on employment data, to be delivered in June 2021
The fact sheet includes a statement that funds may be used among other purposes for:
- Rebuilding public sector capacity, by rehiring public sector staff and replenishing unemployment insurance (UI) trust funds, in each case up to pre-pandemic levels. Recipients may also use this funding to build their internal capacity to successfully implement economic relief programs, with investments in data analysis, targeted outreach, technology infrastructure, and impact evaluations.
- Instructions in how to request funds are provided at Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds | U.S. Department of the Treasury
We are reviewing additional details to determine what “replenishing unemployment insurance (UI) trust funds up to pre-pandemic levels” may mean and how states may use funds to reimburse UI trust funds and the employers funding the trust funds.
