DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20220

State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Final Rule

Tribal Government Fact Sheet

The State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program (SLFRF), authorized in the American 

Rescue Plan, allocates $20 billion for Tribal governments to support their response to and 

recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency. After carefully considering feedback 

through Tribal consultations and written comments from Tribal governments, the U.S. 

Department of the Treasury has made the following revisions to the SLFRF program in a Final 

Rule adopted on January 6, 2022. Treasury also published a user-friendly overview of many of 

the major provisions of the final rule.

Replacing Lost Public Sector Revenue

• The final rule provides a standard allowance for revenue loss of $10 million, allowing 

recipients to select between a standard amount of revenue loss or complete a full revenue 

loss calculation. Recipients that select the standard allowance may use those funds for 

government services, with streamlined reporting requirements.

Public Health and Negative Economic Impacts

• Households and communities served by Tribal governments are presumed to be 

disproportionately impacted by the public health and negative economic impacts of the 

pandemic, thereby allowing Tribal governments to provide them with a wide range of 

services without requiring additional analysis.

o Eligible uses include, but are not limited to, cash and food assistance, health 

insurance coverage expansion and paid sick and family leave, financial services 

for the unbanked and underbanked, affordable housing development and 

permanent supportive housing, childcare, early learning services, addressing

learning loss for K-12 students, and improvements to vacant or abandoned 

property. 

• The final rule clarifies that recipients can use funds for capital expenditures that support 

an eligible COVID-19 public health or economic response. For example, recipients may 

build certain affordable housing, childcare facilities, schools, hospitals, and other projects 

consistent with final rule requirements. 

o Tribal governments are exempt from the requirement to complete a written 

justification for capital expenditures.
• The final rule simplifies administration so small businesses operated by Tribal 

governments or on Tribal lands are presumed to be disproportionately impacted by the 

public health and negative economic impacts of the pandemic. This means that Tribal 

businesses may receive loans or grants to mitigate financial hardship, as well as technical 

assistance and other business planning help, as well as access a broader set of capital 

expenditures and support services – from rehabilitation of commercial properties to 

support for microbusinesses.

• Treasury includes Tribal development districts – which are the commercial centers for 

Tribal hospitality, gaming, tourism, and entertainment industries – in the list of impacted 

industries eligible to receive aid that responds to those impacts. 

• The final rule allows recipients to cover payroll and covered benefits for public safety, 

public health, and human services staff for the portion of time spent responding to 

COVID-19. The rule also provides a broader menu of options for recipients to restore and 

support their public sector workforce – such as: 

o hiring public sector staff, up to 7.5% above their pre-pandemic workforce levels 

to make up for underinvestment since the Great Recession; 

o providing funds to employees that experienced pay cuts or furloughs; 

o avoiding layoffs; and 

o providing retention incentives.

Premium Pay

• The final rule delivers more streamlined options to provide premium pay, by broadening 

the share of eligible workers who can receive premium pay without a written justification 

while maintaining a focus on lower-income and frontline workers performing essential 

work. 

o The Tribal government workforce is identified as eligible workers in critical 

infrastructure sectors. 

Water, Sewer & Broadband Infrastructure

• The final rule significantly broadens eligible broadband infrastructure investments to 

address challenges with broadband access, affordability, and reliability, and adds 

additional eligible water and sewer infrastructure investments, in recognition of the 

unique challenges facing many recipients in delivering clean water and high-speed 

broadband to their communities.

Final Rule Effective Date

The final rule takes effect on April 1, 2022. Recipients can choose to take advantage of the final 

rule’s flexibilities and simplifications now, even ahead of the effective date. Treasury will not 
take action to enforce the interim final rule to the extent that a use of funds is consistent with the 

terms of the final rule, regardless of when the SLFRF funds were used. 

Recipients should consult the Statement Regarding Compliance with the Coronavirus State and 

Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Interim Final Rule and Final Rule, which can be found on 

Treasury’s website, for more information on compliance with the interim final rule and the final 

rule. Please send all questions related to SLFRF to SLFRP@treasury.gov.