GovWin SLED Coronavirus Recon

General

• COVID 19 Executive Orders — By State
• (Virginia) Governor Northam Delays Phase One for Northern Virginia Localities
  • Governor Ralph Northam issued Executive Order Sixty-Two, allowing specific localities in Northern Virginia to delay entering Phase One of the “Forward Virginia” plan to ease restrictions on certain business operations that were put in place in response to the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.
  • Phase One will begin throughout the rest of the state on May 15, 2020.
• (Pennsylvania) Gov. Tom Wolf warns he will withhold funds from Pa. counties that violate coronavirus stay-at-home order
  • Gov. Tom Wolf  threatened to pull funding from counties or municipalities that defy his shutdown order, saying politicians who push to reopen before the restrictions are lifted would be “jeopardizing the lives” of their citizens.
• Nevada Gov. Sisolak declares State of Fiscal Emergency due to COVID-19 pandemic
  • Governor Steve Sisolak declared a state of fiscal emergency arising from the strain the COVID-19 pandemic has put on public services in the State of Nevada. The global economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting commerce and negatively impacting revenues across the country, in other states, and in Nevada.

Funding & Economic Impact 

•  Ohio Controlling Board approves $132 million in funding for COVID-19 battle
  • The Controlling Board approved over $132 million in funding to bolster unemployment benefits, provide assistance for small businesses and manufacturers and support state and local COVID response efforts
• Colorado budget facing massive cuts — and next year likely to be worse
  • Colorado is facing a budget shortfall measured in the billions to pay for schools, roads and other state services — and history suggests next year will be even worse.
• Illinois received $109,947 in federal CARES Act fund for every COVID-19 patient in mid-April
  • Approximately $150 billion of the $2 trillion CARES Act is supposed to go to state, local, and tribal governments with states receiving approximately $425 per resident.
• (Colorado) The Grim Business Of State Budget Cuts Under Coronavirus Has Begun
  • They may need to cut up to $3 billion of existing spending, about a quarter of existing general fund, and they’ll remove hundreds of new spending proposals that had been drafted before the pandemic
• DCA Announces that New Jersey Receives an Additional $31.5 Million in Federal Funding for State’s COVID-19 Response
  • New Jersey received the second round of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) CARES Act funding. This is on top of the $4 million the state received on April 2, 2020. Both funding rounds are helping the State respond to public health, housing, and economic disruption.
• Can lessons from the Great Recession help states avoid budget disasters?
• (Wisconsin) Dane County requesting 'voluntary' furloughs as part of budget repair package amid COVID-19 pandemic
  • Dane County is asking employees to take “voluntary” furloughs as part of an evolving package to balance a government budget battered by the coronavirus-spurred economic slowdown, and it’s directing department heads to plan for budget cuts next year of between 2.5% and 5%.
• (California) State's $54B budget deficit could lead to cuts in Ventura County safety, health programs
  • Financial officials have asked all county government departments to figure out what reductions of 5, 10 and 15% in spending would look like
• COVID-19 highlights a particular vulnerability for Florida: Its regressive tax system
• Baker Announces Four-Phase Reopening Plan For Massachusetts
  • Gov. Charlie Baker unveiled a four-phase strategy to guide the reopening of businesses in Massachusetts. The plan, which was formulated with the state's reopening advisory board, will be contingent upon critical public health indicators trending downward.
• (South Dakota) Sen. Mike Rounds proposes flexibility for states using federal coronavirus funds
  • U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds introduced legislation that would allow South Dakota to use federal coronavirus funds to fill in for lost state tax revenue caused by the pandemic.
• Oregon, Washington among western states requesting $1 trillion in COVID-19 relief funding
  • Leaders from Oregon, Washington and three other western states sent a letter to congressional leaders asking for $1 trillion in relief funding for state and local governments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• GOP leader: Up to 25 percent cuts to Michigan schools from coronavirus
  • The chair of the Senate committee that sets the K-12 school budget has a dire warning for Michigan schools: Prepare for a crippling decline in state funding.
• (Kansas) State announces additional $9 million in CDBG funding beginning Tuesday Featured
  • Governor Laura Kelly announced the state is now able to make more than $9 million in additional Community Development Block Grant funds available thanks to the federal CARES Act.
• (Texas) Governor, other leaders announce federal COVID-19 funding for local jurisdictions
  • Governor Greg Abbott and other officials today sent a letter to city and county leaders announcing $5.06 billion in funding available to local governments in Texas through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
• Virginia to send $650 million in federal aid to local governments
  • Virginia plans to send $650 million in federal financial aid to local governments to pay the costs of responding to the coronavirus pandemic that has crippled the economy and collection of tax revenues essential to delivering public services.
• Utah governor's office spent $23 million in emergency funds for COVID-19 response
  • The spending includes one million for a public relations firm to assist with a media campaign, $339,000 for former Health and Human Services Secretary (and former Utah governor) Mike Leavitt's consultation on the pandemic, and millions to Silicon Slopes tech firms for data and work on the testutah.com site and the Healthy Together app.
• (Oregon) Gov. Brown asks agencies to cut 17% amid possible $3 billion revenue loss
  • Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is asking agencies to plan for a 17% budget cut for the next fiscal year to make up for $3 billion in potential revenue losses due to COVID-19.
• Dems’ $3T new virus bill boosts state aid, essential workers
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a more than $3 trillion coronavirus aid package, providing nearly $1 trillion for states and cities, “hazard pay” for essential workers and a new round of cash payments to individuals.
• COVID-19 Daily; Western Pact requests Congress for $1 trillion emergency assistance
  • California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Colorado have sent a letter to Congress requesting $1 trillion in direct and flexible relief to states and local governments in the wake of the pandemic
•  Utah braces for budget cuts brought on by COVID-19
•  Virginia to send $650 million in federal aid to local governments
  • Virginia plans to send $650 million in federal financial aid to local governments to pay the costs of responding to the pandemic
• (Louisiana) Coronavirus impact strips $1 billion from La. state budget
  • The income forecast for the budget year beginning July 1 dropped by about $165 million in tax and fee dollars dedicated to specific agencies and $868 million in general tax collections used across the state budget
• (Mississippi) APRIL TAX REVENUES ARE DOWN $244 MILLION
  • The Joint Legislative Budget Committee released its April revenue report on Tuesday and revenues have taken a serious hit thanks to the COVID-19 related economic shutdown.
• (Florida) DeSantis keeps state budget on hold
  • Florida’s next budget remains on hold pending another round of federal stimulus money, which could also dictate how state lawmakers readdress the spending plan.
• Alaska Legislative Panel Approves Sweeping Coronavirus Economic Aid Plan
  • The plan allocates $568.5 million to cities and boroughs, $100 million for fishermen and fishing business, and $289.3 million for small businesses that have not received federal aid.

Higher Education

• Illinois State University prepares for 10% to 20% cuts; Brady says six-month budgets possible
• University of Vermont considers layoffs amid Covid-19 budget issues
  • UVM President Suresh Garimella wrote that the university had spent almost $8.7 million on costs directly related to the virus, including expanding IT infrastructure, purchasing equipment and supplies, providing room refund credit and preparing to offer testing to the campus community and the university is expected an additional $6.4 million in expenses directly related to Covid-19 leading up to the return of students this fall.
• Facing Coronavirus Budget Crunch, University Of Idaho Seeks Mandatory Employee Furloughs
  • The proposed furlough plan would cut about $3.3 million in spending, U of I President C. Scott Green stated and a 5 percent general fund budget cut equates to $4.7 million, so a furlough plan would help offset much of the cut.
  • Gov. Brad Little has ordered all state agencies to brace for a potential 5 percent budget cut in 2020-21.

K-12 Education

• GOP leader: Up to 25 percent cuts to Michigan schools from coronavirus
  • School officials have been warned by Michigan reps to “prepare for the worst” budget in decades with a possible cut in the per-pupil foundation grant and for schools to receive 20 to 25 percent in the 2020-21 state budget.
• (Pennsylvania) Students expected to return to school in fall, Pa. education secretary says
  • The Department of Education intends to reopen schools, but keeping students and staff safe might mean changes that involve following state Health Department recommendations.

Health Care

• (Connecticut) ‘There’s Pain Everywhere.’ Hospitals Stand To Lose $1.5 Billion In COVID-19 Crisis
  • Connecticut hospitals, stung by the widespread cancellation of elective procedures, a steep drop in emergency room visits and the need for additional staffing and protective gear to navigate the COVID-19 crisis, stand to lose $1.5 billion this fiscal year.
• (Florida) AHCA Warns Medicaid Costs Could Soar By $1 Billion
  • Florida’s economic collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cause ballooning Medicaid enrollment that might blow a $1 billion hole in the state budget, according to new projections by the agency that oversees the health-care safety net program.
• Massachusetts hospitals cry foul on COVID-19 relief funds
  • As they care for thousands of COVID-19 patients in one of the states hardest hit so far by the pandemic, Massachusetts hospitals say they are getting shortchanged on federal relief funds, compared to counterparts in other states.

Social Services 

• State Workers’ Compensation Systems Deal with COVID-19 Claims
  • A number of states have made it easier for essential workers who contract COVID-19 to obtain workers’ compensation benefits by creating a rebuttable presumption that the infection occurred at work. This flips the traditional burden of proof on workers to establish that an illness or injury is work-related.
• (New Jersey) Feds Approve NJ Human Services Plan to Provide Nearly 600,000 Children with Extra Food Assistance Benefits
  • Plan Will Provide $248M in Special Food Assistance to Children Who Normally Receive Free or Reduced-Price School Meals
• (Mississippi) Reeves extends coronavirus unemployment benefits with urgent reminder for MS workers
  • Governor Tate Reeves signed a new executive order that extends unemployment benefits for workers still feeling the impact of the pandemic
  • The order waives the one-week waiting period to receive unemployment benefits for claims filed between March 8 and December 26
• (Arkansas) Officials say 100,000 Unemployment Checks Will Be Delivered To Arkansans
  • Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the state has $780 million in reserve funds for unemployment compensation
• California Revealed A $54.3 Billion Deficit Signaling Deep Cuts Ahead

Justice/Public Safety

• Pennsylvania Encourages Tech Use to Keep Courts in Session
  • Cases continue to pile up each day that courts are closed to the public due to COVID-19, so Lehigh County will begin using technology to limit the number of people in courthouses and increase access to public proceedings.
• COVID-19 Has Significant Impact on Tennessee Court Dockets
  • Trials planned this spring must be rescheduled, and most criminal cases investigated since the Tennessee Supreme Court started limiting operations in mid-March are also now part of a growing backlog.

Transportation

• (Washington) Bus cuts, delayed projects, rider fear: Coronavirus will bring years of pain for transit
  • Beyond the immediate health crisis, the pandemic threatens to undo years of transit growth, undermine public confidence in taking crowded buses and plunge local transit systems into a financial setback.
• (Pennsylvania) PennDOT says it expects to cover operating expenses for transit agencies
  • PennDOT expects to cover nearly all of the operating expenses for public transit agencies that usually comes from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. However, because of funding shortfalls, capital expenses may be at risk.
• (Washington, DC) Metro revenue may drop 50% next budget year due to COVID-19. Here's what that could mean.
  • Metro's leadership is proposing a six-month delay in implementing new measures approved last month, such as more weekend and late-night rail service, better weekend bus service, and an increased discount on bus/rail transfers.
• COVID-19 Will Exacerbate Rural Transportation Funding Needs, TRIP Finds
  • Rural transportation needs face a significant funding deficit that will be compounded by the coronavirus pandemic’s blow to state revenue sources, according to a recent report from The Road Information Program.

Public Utilities

• FERC Plans Discussion of COVID-19 Impacts
  • The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is planning a technical conference this summer that would look at long-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the energy industry. The discussion would look at how the industry should approach investments and infrastructure development should the trend of lessening demand for electricity, and oil and gas, continue.
• In Minnesota, an innovative virtual approach to home energy inspections
  • As a result of COVID-19, the Home Energy Squad is using surveys, photos and live video to help homeowners identify efficiency improvements.

Community Development/Housing

• HUD Announces Additional $1 Billion in CDBG Funding for COVID-19 Relief to Benefit Every State and Insular Area
  • The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the allocation of $1 billion in funding to states for COVID-19 relief through the Community Development Block Grant program.
• (Maryland) Coronavirus Response: Baltimore City Council Passes Bill Prohibiting Rent Increases During State Of Emergency
  • The Baltimore City Council passed legislation that would make it illegal for landlords to increase tenants’ rent during a declared state of emergency and for 90 days after the declaration is lifted.

Natural Resources/Environment

• CARES Act Funding Critical for New Jersey Fishing Industry
  • New Jersey’s hard-hit fishing industry will receive assistance to the tune of $11,337,797 from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and economic Security (CARES) Act