Dear IMLA COVID-19 Working Group: I am forwarding you an email with helpful information about the ARPA Final Rule, which was published yesterday and which you can access here: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Final-Rule.pdf You'll see in the email below several helpful links and also information about webinars Treasury is hosting on the final rule. Thanks, Amanda Amanda Kellar Karras Executive Director / General Counsel P: (202) 466-5424 x7116 Email: akarras@imla.org [facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/>[twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/imlalegal>[linkedin icon]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./> [logo]<https://imla.org/> 51 Monroe St. Suite 404 Rockville, MD, 20850 www.imla.org<http://www.imla.org/> Plan Ahead! IMLA's Mid-Year Seminar, April 8-11, 2022 in Washington DC! IMLA's 87th Annual Conference<https://imla.org/annual-conference/>, Oct. 19-23, 2022 in Portland, OR! From: Emily Swenson Brock <ebrock@gfoa.org> Sent: Thursday, January 6, 2022 4:51 PM To: Emily Swenson Brock <ebrock@gfoa.org> Subject: SLFRF Final Rule published I am writing to inform you with exciting news. Today, Treasury issued the final rule implementing the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program under the American Rescue Plan. Please see below for more information, including the press release. The final rule is the result of extensive dialogue with our stakeholders, including recipient governments, and will enhance the capacity of state, local, and Tribal governments to meet immediate pandemic response needs and promote longer-term recovery. The State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program provides governments across the country with the resources needed to: * Fight the pandemic and support families and businesses struggling with its public health and economic impacts, * Maintain vital public services, even amid declines in revenue resulting from the crisis, and * Build a strong, resilient, and equitable recovery by making investments that support long-term growth and opportunity. About the Final Rule: The final rule - which takes effect on April 1, 2022 - provides state, local, and Tribal governments with even broader flexibility to pursue a wider range of uses to respond to local public health and economic needs - as well as greater simplicity so they can focus on responding to the needs in their communities and maximizing the impact of their funds. Recipients may find the full text of the final rule<https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Final-Rule.pdf> on our website with available supporting materials. Prior to April 1, 2022, recipients may take actions and use funds in a manner consistent with the final rule, and Treasury will not take action to enforce the Interim final rule if a use of funds is consistent with the terms of the final rule, regardless of when the SLFRF funds were used. Please see the Statement Regarding Compliance with the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Interim Final Rule and Final Rule<https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Compliance-Statement.pdf> for more information. Additional Treasury Resources for Navigating the Final rule: Treasury is committed to working with recipients to help them digest the final rule and effectively maximize their use of funds. Recipients are encouraged to consult the Overview of the Final Rule<https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Final-Rule-Overview.pdf>, which is a user guide that boils the rule text down into an easy-to-understand summary. The Overview of the Final Rule includes a non-exhaustive list of projects that recipients can undertake with these funds without undergoing additional independent analysis. Treasury is hosting webinars with recipients and stakeholders to brief and answer questions about the Final Rule. Please attend one of the following webinars for a live presentation. If Treasury reaches RSVP capacity and you cannot attend a webinar or prefer to be briefed at your convenience, Treasury will post a recording of the webinar hosted on January 7, 2022. * January 7, 2022 at 1:00pm ET; register here<https://ustreasury.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_49BDd29vQGqjTAae55yZvg>. This webinar will be recorded and shared within a few business days. * January 10, 2022 at 4:00pm ET: register here<https://ustreasury.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_NbHLWH1UTtqi5FNo7LvTvw>. * January 12, 2022 at 1:00pm ET: register here<https://ustreasury.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_1idO2zjNS_qpK8Bc3BrrhQ>. Treasury looks forward to working you to implement this program. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions. Thank you. [Treasury Building Engraving] U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Public Affairs Press Release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 6, 2022 Contact: Dayanara Ramirez; Press@Treasury.gov<mailto:Press@Treasury.gov> Treasury Issues Final Rule for State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program to Support the Ongoing COVID Response The final rule enables state and local governments to meet immediate pandemic response needs and promote long-term recovery. WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the Final Rule for the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program, enacted as a part of the American Rescue Plan, which delivers $350 billion to state, local, and Tribal governments to support their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The SLFRF program ensures governments have the resources needed to respond to the pandemic, including providing health and vaccine services, supporting families and businesses struggling with the pandemic's economic impacts, maintaining vital public services, and building a strong and equitable recovery. To date, Treasury has distributed more than $245 billion to state, local, and Tribal governments as a part of the SLFRF program, accounting for over 99% of funds eligible to be disbursed in 2021 - including funds to many communities that had not received federal assistance since the onset of the pandemic. Recipients of funds were encouraged to begin using funds under the interim final rule, which was released in May 2021. Governments have been spending these funds to address<https://hyperlink.services.treasury.gov/agency.do?origin=https://www.naco.org/blog/naco-county-explorer-how-counties-are-investing-coronavirus-recovery-funds> the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects, including by expanding access to testing, vaccines, and taking other steps to protect their communities including those that are high-risk and underserved. A recent analysis<https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/how-states-can-best-use-federal-fiscal-recovery-funds-lessons-from> by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that state governments have appropriated nearly 70% of their available funds as of November 2021. "Through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, the American Rescue Plan has provided state and local governments with the support they need to respond to the ongoing pandemic and plan for an equitable recovery," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. "As the Delta and Omicron variants have illustrated, pandemic response needs will continue to evolve. These funds ensure that governments across the country have the flexibility they need to vaccinate their communities, keep schools open, support small businesses, prevent layoffs, and ensure a long-term recovery." The final rule - which takes effect on April 1, 2022 - provides state and local governments with increased flexibility to pursue a wider range of uses, as well as greater simplicity so governments can focus on responding to the crisis in their communities and maximizing the impact of their funds. The State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program final rule provides additional clarity and flexibility for recipient governments, including: * First, Treasury has expanded the non-exhaustive list of uses that recipients can use to respond to COVID-19 and its economic impacts - ensuring states and localities can adapt quickly and nimbly to changing public health and economic needs. This includes clarifying that recipients can use funds for certain capital expenditures to respond to public health and economic impacts and making services like childcare, early education, addressing learning loss, and affordable housing development available to all communities impacted by the pandemic. * Second, Treasury has expanded support for public sector hiring and capacity, which is critical for the economic recovery and in maintaining vital public services for communities. * Third, Treasury has streamlined options to provide premium pay for essential workers, who bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical sectors. * Fourth, Treasury has broadened eligible water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure projects - understanding the unique challenges facing each state and locality in delivering clean water and high-speed broadband to their communities. * In addition to these expansions, Treasury has greatly simplified the program for small localities - many of whom have received a historic federal investment in their communities through this program - including through the option to elect a standard allowance for revenue loss rather than calculating revenue loss through the full formula. Click here to view the final rule text. Click here to view a user-friendly overview of the major provisions of the final rule. ###