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

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respond to disproportionate impacts of the pandemic depending on the specific issue addressed. In sum, Treasury expanded enumerated eligible uses while retaining a focus on broadly experienced impacts of the pandemic. Treasury anticipates that this will give recipients further flexibility to presume eligibility and respond to pandemic impacts without increasing administrative burden. Capital Expenditures: In the interim final rule, Treasury permitted funds to be used for a limited number of capital expenditures mostly related to the COVID-19 public health response. This decision granted recipients some discretion to use SLFRF funds to address COVID-19 prevention and mitigation through certain investments in equipment, real property, and facilities, which Treasury recognized as critical components of the public health response. In the final rule, Treasury considered maintaining the provisions in the interim final rule or expanding allowable capital expenditures to provide recipients greater flexibility to pursue other capital investments that are responsive to the public health emergency and its negative economic impacts. While expanding allowable capital expenditures may increase the risk that recipients will undertake large expenditures that do not sufficiently address intended harms, or address harms in a less cost-efficient manner than an alternative investment (e.g., a program or service), expanding allowable capital expenditures would likely help fill critical gaps in recipients' response to the pandemic and provide equipment and facilities that generate benefits beyond SLFRF's period of performance. To preserve flexibility while mitigating risks, the final rule allows recipients to undertake an expanded set of capital expenditures while requiring additional written justifications for projects with an expected total cost at or over $1 million. Treasury believes this approach balances the implementation of appropriate risk -based compliance requirements and the provision of administrative convenience for smaller capital expenditures, while generally 390