U.S. Treasury Releases Final Rule on Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
On Jan 6, the U.S. Department of Treasury released the long-awaited Final Rule governing the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund under ARPA. This rule establishes allowable uses, requirements and restrictions on state and local government use and reporting requirements related to federal funds distributed to Tennessee's municipalities, consistent with their designation as either a Metropolitan or a Non-Entitlement Unit of local government (NEU).
The Final Rule includes a number of changes, including but not limited to premium pay for essential workers, expanded water, sewer, stormwater and broadband project eligibility, and the addition of a "standard allowance" to offset revenue loss. You may access the Overview as well as the Final Rule by clicking on the the TML Website American Rescue Plan Funds | Tennessee Municipal League (tml1.org).
Your TML team is actively reviewing the 437-page final rule as well as the forty-three (43) page overview, released just before noon today, in an effort to gain an understanding of the scope and effect of the changes embodied in the Final Rule. As you conduct your own review, we are certain that many of you will have questions. We invite you to submit your questions to our team by emailing questions@tml1.org. We will work with our partners at the State and at the federal level to obtain a response to these questions as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we would urge patience as the full contents of the Final Rule and its effect on your use of these federal ARPA funds are certain to become clearer in the coming days.
Again, we would invite you review the documents linked above and submit your questions to us at questions@tml1.org. Your TML team will share any additional information and inform you of any new developments related to the Final Rule.
The Comptroller has also released guidance on the Final Rule for Local Fiscal Recovery Funds under ARPA. You can also find this memo, along with other information about these funds, on the Comptroller's website at tncot.cc/covid.