U.S. Department of Treasury Issues Guidance on $1.8 Billion in Pandemic Aid Relief to Mississippi

U.S. Department of Treasury Issues Guidance on $1.8 Billion in Pandemic Aid Relief to Mississippi

On May 10, 2021, the United States Department of the Treasury released guidance on the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“SLFRP”). The guidance provides details about the $350 billion pandemic relief aid for state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Of the total SLFRP allocations, Mississippi will receive a total of $1.8 billion from SLFRP allocations. Allocations to Mississippi include $578 million for counties, $101 million for metropolitan cities, and $268 million for local governments with populations of less than 50,000 individuals.

The purpose of the funds is to:

• Support public health measures that decrease the spread and mitigate the effects of COVID-19. This includes funding to support vaccination programs, COVID-19 testing, PPE purchases, behavioral health care needs, and payroll and benefits costs for employees working on the COVID-19 response.
• Support economic recovery for households and businesses. This includes funding to help deliver assistance to workers, provide survivor benefits to family members of COVID-19 victims, replenish unemployment insurance trust funds, aid small businesses, and help the tourism, travel and hospitality industries.
• Address public health and economic inequalities worsened by the pandemic. This includes funding for community health workers, affordable housing, and services for people experiencing homelessness. It also includes funding to help address educational disparities by supporting quality childcare, early learning services, resources for high-poverty school districts, services for young children, and services for child welfare-involved families and foster youth.
• Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. This includes funding to help improve water and sewer infrastructure, build broadband infrastructure, and address climate change.
• Replace public sector revenue, support job growth, and increase pay for essential workers. This includes funding to replace lost revenue due to the pandemic, provide premium pay for lower-income workers, and provide retroactive pay for essential workers.

The funds cannot be used to:

• Directly or indirectly offset a reduction in net tax revenue to pay for tax cuts;
• Make a deposit to a pension fund;
• Fund debt service, legal settlements, or judgements;
• Make a deposit into rainy day funds or financial services; or
• Support general infrastructure spending.

State lawmakers must  get this aid to the people who need it most now. They must also fund our future by raising the revenues required to make transformative investments that build on the foundation laid by this one-time federal stimulus. Returning to a pre-COVID status quo is not enough. That status quo left behind too many of our communities and families. Together, we can demand state policies that make Mississippi a place where all of us can thrive— with no exceptions.