5434 0 obj <>stream Information contained in this alert is for the general education and knowledge of our readers. Share with Us. Other eligible expenditures include payroll and benefit costs of educational support staff or faculty responsible for developing online learning capabilities necessary to continue educational instruction in response to COVID-19-related school closures. For example, a county recipient is not required to transfer funds to smaller cities within the county's borders. Funds are available to reimburse districts for a 25% share of costs associated with personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical and cleaning supplies for school buildings and . The Guidance provides that ineligible expenditures include [p]ayroll or benefits expenses for employees whose work duties are not substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Is this intended to relate only to public employees? documents in the last year. 6. Stephen T. Milligan, Deputy Assistant General Counsel (Banking & Finance), 202-622-4051. 13. For example, if determined to be a necessary expenditure, a government could provide grants to individuals facing economic hardship to allow them to pay their utility fees and thereby continue to receive essential services. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. Out of the $31 billion that tribes will receive, $20 billion will focus on combating COVID-19 and stabilizing safety nets in tribal communities. Fund payments may be used only for expenditures necessary to address the current COVID-19 public health emergency. Treasury has now distributed 60 percent of the $8 billion dollars to tribes with 40 percent remaining to be distributed. 5. A cost meets this requirement if either (a) the cost cannot lawfully be funded using a line item, allotment, or allocation within that budget or (b) the cost is for a substantially different use from any expected use of funds in such a line item, allotment, or allocation. Expenditures paid for with payments from the Fund must be limited to those that are necessary due to the public health emergency. In addition, because State A is availing itself of the $500 per elementary and secondary school student presumption, State A also may use Fund payments to expand broadband capacity and to hire new teachers, but it may not use Fund payments to acquire additional furniture. 6. publication in the future. The final rule contains no requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. Are Fund payments subject to other requirements of the Uniform Guidance? The law directed Treasury to disburse the money "not later than 30 days" after its enactment, which was on March 27. The Public Inspection page may also Further, infrastructure projects other than water, sewer and broadband are not permissible uses of FRF unless 1) related to COVID-19 or 2) provided as government services to the extent of the tribal government's lost revenue. Investing in housing and neighborhoods, such as affordable housing development, housing vouchers and housing navigation assistance to facilitate moves to neighborhoods with high economic opportunity. In addition, guardians or payees of enrolled tribal member children as of September 9, 2021, as determined by the Tribes Enrollment department records, shall qualify for two payments for each minor child in their care, each payment in the amount of $1,000.00. electronic version on GPOs govinfo.gov. 48. This result provides equitable treatment to governments that, for example, instead of having a few employees who are substantially dedicated to the public health emergency, have many employees who have a minority of their time dedicated to the public health emergency. All rights reserved. Be Truthful. Fund payments made by Treasury to State, territorial, local, and Tribal governments do not entail grant agreements and thus the provisions of the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR part 200) applicable to grant agreements do not apply. While every effort has been made to ensure that For example, a per capita payment to residents of a particular jurisdiction without an assessment of individual need would not be an appropriate use of payments from the Fund. Within this category of substantially different uses, as stated in the Guidance above, Treasury has included payroll and benefits expenses for public safety, public health, health care, human services, and similar employees whose services are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. documents in the last year, 86 NORTHWEST Colville Confederated Tribes 1,750,446 103,183 NORTHWEST Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Confederated Tribes 718,933 13,209 NORTHWEST Coquille Indian Tribe The Colville Business Council took swift action to mandate the vaccine this spring, when they passed a resolution that allowed only for medical exemptions. 0 With more than 100 cases of COVID-19 identified on the . Territories, and eligible units of local government are based on population as provided in the CARES Act. Expenses associated with the provision of economic support in connection with the COVID-19 public health emergency, such as: 6. Territories, the District of Columbia, units of local government, and federally recognized tribal governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus. If the cost of an employee was allocated to administrative leave to a greater extent than was expected, the cost of such administrative leave may be covered using payments from the Fund. This provides tribal governments an additional two years to use FRF. should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official For example, the cost of a good that must be delivered in December in order to be available for use in January could be covered using payments from the Fund. Register documents. 7. 59. A portion of such expenses may be able to be covered, however, as discussed below. Use the 'Report' link on Please contact your responsible Holland & Knight lawyer or the authors of this alert for timely advice. The Interim Final Rule prescribes the methodology to be used, and compares actual revenue to anticipated revenue in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Figure 5 shows our estimate of federal COVID-19-related funding that tribal governments will use for the administration of programs and to provide services. For example, a transfer from a county to a constituent city would not be permissible if the funds were intended to be used simply to fill shortfalls in government revenue to cover expenditures that would not otherwise qualify as an eligible expenditure. Treasury has not developed a precise definition of what substantially dedicated means given that there is not a precise way to define this term across different employment types. What are the differences between a subrecipient and a beneficiary under the Fund for purposes of the Single Audit Act and, https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2021-00827, MODS: Government Publishing Office metadata, https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/cares-act-coronavirus-relief-fund-frequently-asked-questions, https://www.treasury.gov/about/organizational-structure/ig/Audit%20Reports%20and%20Testimonies/OIG-CA-20-028.pdf, https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ94/PLAW-116publ94.pdf, Originator to Beneficiary InformationLine 1, Originator to Beneficiary InformationLine 2, Originator to Beneficiary InformationLine 3, Originator to Beneficiary InformationLine 4. Yes. endstream endobj startxref Are there prohibitions on combining a transaction supported with Fund payments with other CARES Act funding or COVID-19 relief Federal funding? Upon further consideration and informed by an understanding of State, local, and tribal government practices, Treasury is clarifying that for a cost to be considered to have been incurred, performance or delivery must occur during the covered period but payment of funds need not be made during that time (though it is generally expected that this will take place within 90 days of a cost being incurred). The Treasury Department is accepting comments on the Interim Final Rule until July 16, 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the worst health and economic crises in modern history and it continues to require the best of humanity to overcome. Would such expenditures be eligible in the absence of a stay-at-home order? Fund payments may not be used for government revenue replacement, including the replacement of unpaid utility fees. access for current print subscribers. 49. documents in the last year, 853 Kiowa Tribe approved for COVID relief funds. May Fund payments be used to cover increased administrative leave costs of public employees who could not telework in the event of a stay at home order or a case of COVID-19 in the workplace? First, we estimate the state will receive about $9.5 billion from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) . Are expenses associated with contact tracing eligible? This guidance reflects the intent behind the Fund, which was not to provide general fiscal assistance to state governments but rather to assist them with COVID-19-related necessary expenditures. The State should distribute 45 percent of the $1 billion it received, or $450 million, to local governments within the State with a population of 500,000 or less. While many people are waiting anxiously for 2020 - a year rife with disasters and vitriol - to finally end, tribal governments in Oregon are anxious about what will happen to COVID-19 relief . Don't Threaten. 75 on reporting and recordkeeping that would apply to the recipient: The prime recipient is responsible for determining the level and detail of documentation needed from the sub-recipient of small business assistance to satisfy [the requirements of section 601(d) of the Social Security Act], however, there would need to be some proof that the small business was impacted by the public health emergency and was thus eligible for the CRF funds. Tenants who receive public assistance or are very low income - $25,760 annual income for an individual or $53,000 for a family of four - can access a lawyer for free during eviction proceedings. the material on FederalRegister.gov is accurately displayed, consistent with The State incurs an obligation to FEMA in the amount of the payment to the ineligible individual. Subrecipients are subject to a single audit or program-specific audit pursuant to 2 CFR 200.501(a) when the subrecipients spend $750,000 or more in federal awards during their fiscal year. Yes, provided that if recipients separately invest amounts received from Start Printed Page 4194the Fund, they must use the interest earned or other proceeds of these investments only to cover expenditures incurred in accordance with section 601(d) of the Social Security Act and the Guidance on eligible expenses. As required by the CARES Act, expenses associated with such upgrades must be incurred by December 31, 2021. 5. The federal coronavirus relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, which took effect in March, earmarked $20 billion for tribal governments an unprecedented federal investment in . Data sources and the distribution methodology for units of local government. $290 million was allocated directly to First . The CARES Act also requires that payments be used only to cover costs that were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020. 43. Your donation to this fund will help stop the spread of the virus, including the highly contagious Omicron variant, to protect us all. Any other COVID-19-related expenses reasonably necessary to the function of government that satisfy the Fund's eligibility criteria. A vaccination site on the. The first payments will be distributed on October 4, 2021 and the second payments will be distributed on January 7th, 2022. are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19); were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government; and. for 1 day, $16.00 With respect to personnel expenses, though the Fund was not intended to be used to cover government payroll expenses generally, the Fund was intended to provide assistance to address increased expenses, such as the expense of hiring new personnel as needed to assist with the government's response to the public health emergency and to allow recipients facing budget pressures not to have to lay off or furlough employees who would be needed to assist with that purpose. The methodology allows tribes to include all revenue from tribal enterprises, including gaming. State A does not need to document the specific use of the Fund payments by the school districts within the State. Data Sovereignty. Recipients may use Fund payments for any expenses eligible under section 601(d) of the Social Security Act outlined in the Guidance. Public health employees would include employees involved in providing medical and other health services to patients and supervisory personnel, including medical staff assigned to schools, prisons, and other such institutions, and other support services essential for patient care (e.g., laboratory technicians) as well as employees of public health departments directly engaged in matters related to public health and related supervisory personnel.
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