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U.S. House Passes Phase III of Federal COVID-19 Relief, Sends to President; More Action Ahead

By Cole Karr posted 03-27-2020 10:55 AM

  
The U.S. House of Representatives acted swiftly Friday to pass, by voice vote, the third COVID-19 relief bill. 

HR 748, The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, went unamended during the House debate. The bill now goes to President Trump for his signature as the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. rises above 91,000.

Two outstanding concerns for special districts remain: access to the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund for state and local governments, and access to the COVID-19 payroll tax credits. 

California is expected to receive the largest sum of direct aid from the soon-to-be established relief fund – as much as $15 billion according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eligible “local governments” will include cities with a population of at least 500,000. All other local governments – including special districts – will need to request funds from the State. CSDA is readying action to work with the Newsom Administration to secure Coronavirus Relief Fund assistance for districts in need due to COVID-19.

The CARES Act does not include provisions for state and local government agencies to receive the payroll tax credit for providing family and sick leave to employees for COVID-19-related issues.

The bill does, however: 

  • contain flexibility for making withdraws from select retirement funds, including 457s. Individuals will be allowed to withdraw up to $100,000 until the end of this year without penalty, so long as the withdraw meets established criteria as being “coronavirus-related”. 
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will receive $1.5 billion to provide personal protective equipment and medical equipment, which stands to benefit health care districts operating hospitals and clinics. 
  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will also receive $45 billion in supplemental appropriations to assist state and local governments with major disaster declarations and states of emergency. 

Otherwise, the CARES Act includes financial assistance for Americans. A rebate of $1,200 will be given for each individual taxpayer with adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less, phasing out thereafter. Married couples will receive $2,400 with phaseout beginning at $150,000. An additional $500 per child will also be included. 

Other highlights include emergency grants and forgivable loans to small businesses, assistance to airlines, a temporary Pandemic Unemployment Insurance program, $20 billion to assist Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare, and student loan payments can be deferred through September 30.

As this legislation was crafted, CSDA sent two letters to California’s Congressional Leadership. Many districts stepped up and took action, sending letters to their members of Congress to underscore the urgent needs special districts face with the pandemic. There will be additional federal COVID-19 relief bills in the weeks ahead. 

As a result of special districts’ advocacy in recent days, districts are now well-positioned to continue fruitful discussions with the California Congressional Delegation on this matter. CSDA will continue to be in communication with federal representative offices to ensure special districts’ needs are considered.

For any questions on this bill, please feel free to contact CSDA's Public Affairs Field Coordinator, Cole Karr, at colek@csda.net or by phone at (417) 861-7418, or CSDA's Legislative Representative, Alyssa Silhi, at alyssas@csda.net.

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COVID-19-related posts such as this one are migrating to CSDA's new Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 Resources Community. Please subscribe to continue receiving COVID-19-related content.
 

 In an effort to open up special district communications among special districts statewide, CSDA has created a new online forum/community specific to the topic of COVID-19. This will be the place for members to share information on how they are adapting programs/services to serve their communities in response to COVID-19 and ask questions of peers throughout the state. Additionally, this community will have a growing library of resources on the topic as they are developed.

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