GovWin SLED Coronavirus Recon

General

• (Pennsylvania) Wolf Administration Issues Guidance as Construction Industry Prepares to Resume Work May 1
• (New Mexico) Layoffs and spending cuts loom as coronavirus wallops state and city budgets
  • With the majority of businesses shuttered in many states and tens of millions of workers filing for unemployment, states and cities are seeing their tax revenues dry up rapidly. That’s opening gaping holes in their budgets for FY year 2020 and FY 2021, which begins July 1 in most states.
• House passes COVID-19 relief package to replenish PPP loan funding
  • House passed the newest federal stimulus package aimed at providing financial relief for businesses and institutions hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. The bill provides $310 billion to replenish the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), $75 billion for hospitals, and $25 billion for COVID-19 testing.
• Coronavirus 'magnified' states' IT shortcomings, experts say
  • State IT systems for managing social benefits like unemployment insurance, Medicaid and food assistance are facing unprecedented demand due to mass layoffs caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but the crisis has highlighted a stark divide between governments that have pushed to modernize in recent years and those that have not.
• Senators want USDS to aid state and local government's IT modernization rush
  • A group of 16 Democratic senators asked congressional leadership on Wednesday to approve actions that would make some of the federal government’s digital resources available to state and local governments during the period of pandemic response.
• Taxpayers can track how Missouri spends its share of federal COVID-19 funding
  • Missouri taxpayers can see how the state is spending millions of dollars of federal money to combat the coronavirus. Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced the creation of a CARES Act information portal Thursday.
• (Missouri) St. Louis city and county launch portals to track coronavirus spending
  • The governments of St. Louis and St. Louis County launched web portals on Thursday for users to track what they are spending to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • The county’s portal indicates that, as of Tuesday, the county had spent $368,000 and had commitments to spend another $6 million.
• (Illinois) IDNR to Reopen Select Site May 1
  • Illinois Department of Natural Resources to begin its gradual reopening of select state parks, recreation areas, fish and wildlife areas May 1. Visitors will be required to maintain social distancing guidelines with limited to no opportunity for large gatherings as visitor centers, concessions, and campgrounds will remain closed.
• Gov. Reynolds Announces Plan to Begin Reopening the State of Iowa
• How Washington State Manages Cybersecurity in a Pandemic

Funding & Economic Impact 

• Missouri's budget to be cut at least $700M to make up for COVID-19 shortfall
• (New Mexico) State hiring freeze first of many likely budget cuts
• (North Carolina) State COVID-19 health care programs could gain $480 million in federal grants
  • A state legislative COVID-19 group recommended approval of a draft bill that would appropriate $480 million in federal funding toward state health-care initiatives.
• CDC Coronavirus Funding to Jurisdictions
• House approves $480 billion package to help small businesses and hospitals, expand Covid-19 testing
  • The House of Representatives voted to approve a roughly $480 billion package to deliver aid to small businesses and hospitals and expand Covid-19 testing, the latest attempt by lawmakers to blunt the devastating impact of the pandemic.
• Georgia to receive funding that will help rural hospitals fight COVID-19
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Georgia has been awarded funding to help the state combat the coronavirus pandemic. According to a press release, the state was awarded $4,890,386 to help rural hospitals combat the COVID-19.
• States Take Early Steps to Manage COVID-19 Budget Fallout
  • Even before they know the full magnitude of COVID-19’s effect on their budgets, state policymakers are taking the first steps to brace for the fallout. The moves provide a glimpse at months of budget-balancing actions ahead by governors and legislators as they triage the pandemic’s damage to state economies and finances.
• Coronavirus Prompts California Cities To Project 2-Year Losses Of $6.7 Billion
  • The losses may prompt a greater number of layoffs and furloughs for public workers and potential cuts to basic services such as sanitation, public safety and housing
• (Utah) Utah lawmakers approve millions in COVID-19 stimulus funds
  • $255 million in federal stimulus money has been approved, and majority of the money will go towards Medicaid and Unemployment as well as childcare, homeless services, emergency food, and community and development services
• (Missouri) State budget to be cut $700M to make up for COVID-19 shortfall
  • The cuts will likely fall heavily on higher education and public schools
  • The University of Missouri is already planning for layoffs, and a 12.5% cut in operational spending has cut salaries of top administrators
• (Tennessee) Knoxville mayor releases proposed city budget, COVID-19 recovery budget
  • The proposed capital budget is smaller than in recent years due to reduced revenues amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the operating budget maintains the staffing and resource levels necessary to continue to advance key City priorities.
• (Georgia) City of Atlanta receives $88 million in federal CARES Act funding
  • Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told the City Council during an April 23 conference call that the city received the $88 million from the $2 trillion CARES Act economic relief package approved by Congress last month. The package set aside $150 billion to go to state and local governments.
• No Election Security Funding in Latest Round of Stimulus Funding

Procurement

• (New Mexico) Citing crisis, government agencies in New Mexico spend feverishly
  • The state General Services Department is proposing a $40,000 contract with the Albuquerque law firm Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward to defend against legal challenges to emergency orders issued by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
  • The General Services Department has received approval to pay Clean Harbors Environmental Services Inc. of Albuquerque about $27,000 to clean the PERA Building in downtown Santa Fe after a state employee working there tested positive for the virus in March.
  • The state Public Education Department plans to spend about $2 million to help fund before- and after-school programs for at-risk students

Higher Education

• Planned Fall Opening for Public University in Virginia
  • The University of Mary Washington intends to open its campus in the fall.
  • The university's Board of Visitors' Executive Committee also voted to freeze tuition for all students in the fall semester
• Rutgers Announces Tuition Freeze, Pay Cuts For Senior Leaders
  • Among the initiatives taken to combat the effects of coronavirus for the University are sweeping cost-cutting measures to address the immediate fiscal challenges related to COVID-19 and called for a budget for the coming fiscal year with no increase in tuition and fees.

K-12 Education

• (California) Chula Vista to Provide 2,000 Wi-Fi Hotspots to Students
  • The Chula Vista City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to an agreement with T-Mobile and potentially other telecommunication providers to purchase 2,000 WiFi hotspots. Funding for the devices and service, totaling $650,000, will be paid by the Public Education Grant Fund and will not affect the city’s general fund, the city said.
• (Connecticut) Will extra education aid go to remedy learning lost from school closures – or close budget holes?
  • Connecticut is comparing its current state to the most recent recession in 2008 when the schools lost over 1,300 jobs. The educators main fear is that the stimulus funding will be used to close budget holes that existed prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This proves to be a topic of conversation among many states across the US.
• SCOTT APPLAUDS OVER $230 MILLION IN EMERGENCY COVID-19 K-12 EDUCATION FUNDING FOR VIRGINIA
  • Virginia officially receives its stimulus funding of $230 million in emergency funding as a result of the CARES Act.
  • This comes after the Virginia’s legislature was forced to cancel pay raises for teachers and important funding for counselors that was announced earlier this week.
• (Kentucky) Districts will have flexibility in spending federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds
  • Kentucky will receive about $223 million (which is about 4% of Kentucky’s annual K-12 and higher education budget) for K-12 education through the CARES Act and are discussing way to use the flexibilities wisely and be as thoughtful as possible in how to use the funds.
  • KDE anticipates that districts will receive an amount equal to about 83% of what they received in Title I-A funds in fiscal year 2019.
  • Some examples of funding options: existing federal programs, resources that address individual school needs, educational technology for students, providing mental health services and supports, and activities to address the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, minorities, homeless students and students in foster care.
  • Other examples of uses for the funds include preparedness and response efforts, planning for and coordinating long-term school closures, and training and professional development for staff members on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases and the purchase of supplies for that purpose. And finally funds also may be used for other activities necessary to maintain district operations and services and to employ existing staff members.
• (West Virginia) Senators Capito, Manchin announce W.Va. eligibility for over $86M in K-12 education funding
  • These investments will be used to create new opportunities for students to learn and connect with their teachers and resources.

Health Care

• Medicaid Emergency Authority Tracker: Approved State Actions to Address COVID-19
  • Kaiser Family Foundation aggregates tracking information on approved Medicaid emergency authorities to address the COVID-19 Coronavirus emergency.

Social Services 

• Oregon Still Working on Unemployment Benefits for the Self-Employed as Claims Approach 334K

Justice/Public Safety

• (Connecticut) Conn. police will not test 'pandemic drone' that monitors social distancing
  • Westport has now scrapped previous plans for using drone technology to monitor social distancing and detect fevers and coughing to combat COVID-19. The main concern with the initiative was privacy.
• Nevada Dept. Of Public Safety Awarded Over $7 Million In Coronavirus Aid
  • The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Nevada has announced an award over $7 million in grant funding to the Nevada Department of Public Safety, to aid with the COVID-19 response.

Transportation

• Taxes and fees for roadwork expected to plunge as Minnesotans drive less
  • The taxes and fees that pay for state road repairs are expected to plummet as Minnesotans dramatically cut their drive time and buy fewer cars amid the COVID-19 crisis.
  • Despite the losses, transportation officials say road projects are moving forward as anticipated this year — but it’s too soon to tell what the long-term impacts will be.
• FTA won’t enforce PTASP regulation until end of December
  • Public transportation agencies will now have until December 31, 2020 to meet the requirements of the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) regulation. The extension is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect it is having on the industry.
• U.S. Tire Shipments to Drop by 17.8% Due to COVID-19
  • The tire manufacturing sector is seeing a decline in shipments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public Utilities

• The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ State Response Tracker