Agenda - Council - 09/13/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Treasury Response: In the final rule, Treasury is maintaining the approach under the interim final rule that general infrastructure projects, including roads, streets, and surface transportation infrastructure, would generally not be eligible, unless the project responded to a specific pandemic public health need or a specific negative economic impact. The ARPA expressly includes infrastructure if it is "necessary" and in water, sewer, or broadband, suggesting that the statute contemplates only those types of infrastructure. Further, responding to the public health and negative economic impacts of the pandemic requires identifying whether, and the extent to which, there has been a harm that resulted from the COVID-19 public health emergency and whether, and the extent to which, the use would respond or address this harm. Uses of funds intended to generally grow the economy and therefore enhance opportunities for workers and businesses would not be an eligible use, because such assistance is not reasonably designed to impact individuals or classes that have been identified as having experienced a negative economic impact. In other words, there is not a reasonable connection between the assistance provided and an impact on the beneficiaries. Such an activity would be attenuated from and thus not reasonably designed to benefit the households that experienced the negative economic impact. Note, however, that Treasury has clarified that capital expenditures that are related and reasonably proportional to responding to the public health and economic impacts of the pandemic are eligible uses of funds, in addition to programs and services; for details on eligibility criteria for capital expenditures, see section Capital Expenditures in General Provisions: Other. Public Comment: Community Development Block Grant: Several commenters recommended that Treasury enumerate as eligible uses those eligible under the Department of 215