Federal Funding Tracking-COVID-19
Pursuant to Senate Bill 8 (Eighty-seventh Legislature, Third Called Session, 2021), the Legislative Budget Board is tasked with producing a quarterly report detailing COVID-19 federal funding flowing through the state. These reports exclude funds awarded directly to individuals and local entities. Information in the reports are organized by the federal bill that granted appropriation authority as reported by agencies and institutes of higher education. Information includes award name and recipient state agency, award amount, expended or obligation information, award balance, agency use of funds, and the performance period end date when funds must be fully expended by. Data not included in these reports are funds that went directly to cities, counties, and other local government entities that did not flow through the Texas state Treasury or a Texas state agency. However, links to certain allocation sheets showing flow of federal funds to local entities are listed below, such as the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and Provider Relief Funds.
Funds that Flowed Through the State
The State of Texas anticipates receiving an estimated $80 billion as of August 31, 2023 across six federal bills that address COVID-19 response, mitigation, and recovery. Many of these funds were supplemental to existing awards that state agencies regularly receive, with modified guidance from the awarding federal agency for funds to be used to better target the issues and complications of COVID-19. Federal funds that created new or modified existing grant programs are subject to the guidance from the granting bill and guidance published by the awarding federal agency. Funds are subject to federal rules and regulations, including performance period end dates and the population that the award is meant to serve.
Reports by Act as followed:
Fund guidance may have required the receiving state agency to pass through the majority of their award to certain sub-recipients, as outlined by the federal guidance. These awards flow through the receiving state agency and are awarded to sub-recipients based on criteria required by the federal guidance. Major awards that had this requirement, and a link to their sub-recipient awards, are as follows:
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant Programs: Funds that flowed through the Texas Education Agency to local education agencies (LEA) and educational service centers (ESC) are listed by receiving entity on TEA’s website here.
Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF): Funds awarded through HEERF I, II, and III were directly awarded to Texas Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), based on a formula developed by the US Department of Education. At least 50 percent of award must have been used for student aid. Allocations by IHE can be found here: HEERF I, HEERF II, and HEERF III.
Public Assistance Grants: Funds are awarded through federal reimbursement with the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) being the state administrator. COVID-19 Public Assistance awards are 100% federally funded through July 1, 2022, moving to a 90 percent federal share starting July 2, 2022 (subject to change at the discretion of the President of the United States). Public Assistance funds awarded by FEMA as of this reporting period can be found here.
Funds Direct to Local Entities and Other Entities
The American Rescue Plan Act included $350 billion for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. The Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for metropolitan cities (entitlement units of government) and all counties flowed directly from the US Treasury to these units of government. The allocations by city and county can be found here.
The Local Fiscal Recovery Funds also included funding for local units of government that serve populations of less than 50,000, classified as non-entitlement units of government (NEU). The allocations of these funds were determined by the US Treasury and distributed by the Texas Division of Emergency Management. A listing of each NEU’s allocation and the status of their application to receive these funds is found on TDEM’s website here.
Under the last four bills, the federal government provided funding through the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) to eligible providers who diagnose, test, or care for individuals with possible or actual cases of COVID-19 and who have health care related expenses and lost revenue that is attribute to COVID-19. This program is administered by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Many of these awards went to private medical businesses and professionals. A complete listing of awards to providers can be found here. (Note, this is a large dataset file and may take a moment to load).
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Report
The Final Rule went into effect on April 1, 2022. The Interim Final Rule was in effect until that date, but recipients could follow Final Rule guidance immediately and did not risk penalty. The Final Rule can be found here. Per the Final Rule published by the US Treasury pertaining to the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, published January 6, 2022, states are required to publish quarterly and annual reports commenting on the current and future use of these funds. Starting January 31, 2022, until March 31, 2027, the Office of the Governor will publish the quarterly Project and Expenditure Report, and will publish the annual Recovery Plan Performance Report starting July 31, 2022 until March 2027. The state administrative agency for these funds (Office of the Governor) will publish these reports in a format provided by the US Treasury.
The initial Recovery Plan was due on August 31, 2021 and needed to include an overview of state uses of funds, how funds promote equitable outcomes and involve community engagement, labor practices, uses of evidence in using the funds, and a table of expenses by expenditure category as determined by the US Treasury. The Treasury will be posting reports submitted on their website. The webpage for all submitted Interim Final Reports, including the state of Texas, cities, and counties, can be found here.
The annual State of Texas Recovery Plan, which gives an update on uses of funds and expenditures by categories of use, can be found here.