President Biden yesterday signed into law the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.”
The package will provide $350 billion for state and local governments, with a total of $13.722 billion coming to Pennsylvania. The state will receive $7.5 billion (including $279 million set aside for capital projects), counties will receive $2.8 billion, and municipalities with populations of more than 50,000 will receive $2.3 billion. Municipalities in Pennsylvania with a population of less than 50,000, which includes almost all townships, boroughs, and small cities, will have to share $936 million (while Philadelphia alone will get in excess of $1.3 billion).
Gettysburg Borough will receive $793,656 of these funds..
[Click here to see specific allocations for each PA municipality]
This local funding will be distributed by the state to the local municipalities and may be used to cover costs incurred by Dec. 31, 2024, to:
Respond to the COVID-19 emergency and address its negative economic impacts, including through aid to households, small businesses, nonprofits, and industries such as tourism and hospitality;
Provide premium pay to essential employees or grants to their employers. Premium pay could not exceed $13 per hour or $25,000 per worker;
Provide government services affected by a revenue reduction during the pandemic (relative to revenues collected by the local government in the most recent full fiscal year prior to the emergency); and
Make investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.
Funds cannot be used to deposit into pension funds or to offset revenue resulting from a tax cut.
State and local recipients are able to transfer funds to private nonprofit groups, public benefit corporations involved in passenger or cargo transportation, and special-purpose units of state or local governments.
Additionally, the legislation includes $125 billion to help K-12 schools reopen for in-person classes; $48 billion for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing; $7.5 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine distribution efforts; $21.5 billion for rental assistance; $30 billion for local subway and bus systems and $8 billion for airports.
Direct payments of $1400 will be sent to eligible households; individuals who make under $75,000 with eligibility phasing out at $80,000 and couples who earn less than $150,000 will get $2,800 with eligibility phasing out at $160,000. Weekly unemployment benefits of $300 per week are extended through Labor Day 2021.