Flexibility for States and Localities Act

Flexibility for States and Localities Act

This bill expands the permissible uses of funds under the Coronavirus Relief Fund.

Specifically, the bill authorizes a state, tribal government, or unit of local government to use funds (1) to offset budgetary shortfalls related to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency, or (2) for COVID-19-related costs of units of local government too small to qualify for direct funding.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7094 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7094

To amend title VI of the Social Security Act to expand the permissible 
            use of funds under the Coronavirus Relief Fund.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2020

Mr. Davidson of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Budd, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. 
  Rouzer, and Mr. Bishop of North Carolina) introduced the following 
   bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title VI of the Social Security Act to expand the permissible 
            use of funds under the Coronavirus Relief Fund.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Flexibility for States and 
Localities Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS UNDER THE CORONAVIRUS 
              RELIEF FUND.

    (a) In General.--Section 601(d) of the Social Security Act, as 
added by section 5001(a) of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136), is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--A State, Tribal government, and unit of local 
government shall use the funds provided under a payment made under this 
section--
            ``(1) to cover those costs of the State, Tribal government, 
        or unit of local government (or of any other unit of local 
        government with a population not greater than 500,000 within 
        such State, Tribal government, or unit of local government) 
        that--
                    ``(A) are necessary expenditures incurred due to 
                the public health emergency with respect to the 
                Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19);
                    ``(B) were not accounted for in the budget most 
                recently approved as of the date of enactment of this 
                section for the State or government; and
                    ``(C) were incurred during the period that begins 
                on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020; or
            ``(2) to offset budgetary shortfalls of the State or 
        government that occurred due to such public health emergency 
        and that were not accounted for in such budget (except that 
        such funds may not be used to make contributions to any 
        underfunded pension plan in excess of the contributions 
        accounted for in such budget).''.
    (b) Application of Provisions.--Amounts appropriated for fiscal 
year 2020 under section 601(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (as 
modified by subsection (a)) shall be subject to the requirements 
contained in Public Law 116-94 for funds for programs authorized under 
sections 330 through 340 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
254 through 256).
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