The U.S. Department of Treasury published guidance pertaining to Section 601 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which created the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund to benefit state and local governments through direct payments to cover costs attributable to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The Department of Treasury’s guidance, including key considerations for local government units seeking to apply for relief funds, is described below.
Eligible Expenses
Funds awarded to local governments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund may only be utilized for eligible expenses. To qualify as an eligible expense under Section 601 of the CARES Act, an expenditure must satisfy three conditions:
- The expenditure must be necessitated due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19;
- The expenditure must not be accounted for in the budget for the state or local government most recently approved as of March 27, 2020; and
- The expense must be incurred during the period beginning on March 1, 2020 and ending on December 30, 2020.
The guidance from
the Department of Treasury provides that additional details regarding eligible uses of relief funds will be forthcoming in subsequent guidance.
Eligible Governmental Units
To qualify as an eligible governmental unit for the receipt of relief funds, a local government unit must be a county, municipality or township with a population that exceeds 500,000 based on U.S. Census Bureau data for calendar year 2019.
The Department of Treasury has identified the following city and counties in Ohio as eligible governmental units for the receipt
of relief funds:
- City of Columbus
- Cuyahoga County
- Franklin County
- Hamilton County
- Montgomery County
- Summit County
Deadline to Apply for Relief Funds
The deadline for eligible governmental units to apply for funds through the Coronavirus Relief Fund is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 17, 2020.
To apply for funds, qualifying governments must certify their eligibility and submit supporting documentation through the Department of Treasury’s online portal. The CARES Act provides that payments to qualifying governments will be made no later than April 26, 2020 – 30 days after the enactment of the CARES Act.
Calfee attorneys stand ready to assist local government clients with this application process and will continue to provide updates as additional guidance becomes available.
Calfee invites you to visit our COVID-19 Resource Center containing First Alerts to help guide you through the challenges faced by individuals and organizations as a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak. We are committed to helping you meet the diverse and complex challenges and navigate the disruptions caused by this pandemic. Please check the COVID-19 Resource Center regularly for the latest updates, or subscribe to receive the most up-to-date Alerts sent directly to your email inbox. Please whitelist info@calfee.com and news@calfee.com to ensure these emails are delivered directly your inbox and not your spam filter.
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