Local Community Emergency Relief Act of 2020

To waive cost share requirements for certain Federal assistance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Local Community Emergency Relief Act of 2020 2. Waiver for certain cost share requirements (a) Covered declaration defined In this section, the term covered declaration (1) a major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170 (2) an emergency declared by the President under section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5191(b) 42 U.S.C. 5170 (b) Waiver of cost share requirements Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including any agreement, the Federal share of any assistance awarded under a covered declaration shall be not less than 100 percent of the eligible costs, and, for purposes of subsection (a)(2), shall include assistance provided for the following: (1) Miscellaneous costs, such as the costs of cleaning and sanitizing public areas and buildings where individuals who have contracted COVID–19 have been present to prevent the spread of the virus. (2) Other needs assistance for uninsured, disaster-related necessary expenses and serious needs, including— (A) child care assistance for families, healthcare workers, first responders, and others whose children cannot attend school due to mandatory school closures and daycare center closures; (B) funeral and burial assistance for fatalities resulting from the COVID–19 disease; (C) increased operating costs for essential government services due to such emergency, including costs for implementing continuity plans, and sheltering or housing for first responders, emergency managers, health providers and other essential employees; and (D) public health costs including, medical services, testing (including serological testing), preventative care, transportation, medical waste disposal, and prescriptions for individuals who have contracted COVID–19. (3) Mental health services. (4) Critical needs assistance for households with immediate or critical needs for vital resources due to the disruption of community services and higher demand and limited availability of commodities. (5) Medical equipment, regardless of whether such equipment is used for emergency or inpatient care, including all Federal agency assets, temporary and permanent, and the non-Federal purchase of such equipment. (6) The purchase and distribution of food, water, ice, medicine, and other consumable supplies, including personal protective equipment and inclusive of impacts to food stocks at private, non-profit food banks and the costs of delivery. (7) Personal protective equipment decontamination costs. (8) Hospital and morgue capacity expansion projects to meet actual or projected COVID–19 surge demands. (9) The total costs of maintaining hospital capacity expansion projects as warm sites (10) Public health communications campaigns related to providing emergency COVID–19 information, increasing public awareness of the threats, and to mitigate against future spread of the virus. (11) Technical assistance to eligible entities. (12) Security and law enforcement costs, including overtime, directly related to COVID–19. (c) Applicability The Federal share described in subsection (b) shall apply to assistance provided before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.

Summary: Local Community Emergency Relief Act of 2020 This bill waives cost share requirements for all federal emergency declarations and major disaster declarations during 2020. Specifically, the bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide a 100% cost share in such instances. In general, FEMA disaster assistance requires a 75% cost-share commitment from the federal government with 25% provided from nonfederal sources. The bill lists activities for which the federal cost share is waived, including miscellaneous costs, such as the costs of cleaning and sanitizing public areas and buildings where individuals who have contracted COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) have been present to prevent the spread of the virus; other needs assistance for uninsured, disaster-related necessary expenses and serious needs, including specified child care assistance and funeral and burial assistance; mental health services; medical equipment; and hospital and morgue capacity expansion projects to meet actual or projected COVID-19 surge demands.