Title: Local Government Relief Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Local Government Relief Act
This bill requires states to pay by June 30, 2020, at least 45% of the amounts received from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to local governments that did not receive a direct payment from the fund.
Such sums shall be distributed by a state upon receipt and on a pass-through basis without requiring any application from a unit of local government.
If a state is unable to make distributions to units of local government in accordance with these requirements, the state shall submit a detailed report explaining why it is unable to meet such requirements.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3954 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3954

 To require States to make distributions from the State's Coronavirus 
Relief Fund payment to local governments that did not receive a direct 
                         payment from the Fund.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 11, 2020

  Mr. Manchin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require States to make distributions from the State's Coronavirus 
Relief Fund payment to local governments that did not receive a direct 
                         payment from the Fund.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Local Government Relief Act''.

SEC. 2. DEADLINE FOR DISTRIBUTION OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SHARE OF THE 
              STATE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND PAYMENT.

    (a) Pass-Through Requirement.--Subsection (b) of section 601 of the 
Social Security Act, as added by section 5001(a) of the Coronavirus 
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116-136) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Pass-through requirement.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than June 30, 2020, 
                each State (other than the District of Columbia) shall 
                make, from the amount paid to the State under this 
                section, a distribution to each unit of local 
                government in the State that is not a large unit of 
                local government that received a direct payment under 
                this section in accordance with paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) Amount to be distributed.--The total amount 
                of the distributions made by a State to units of local 
                government under this paragraph shall not be less than 
                45 percent of the amount paid to the State under this 
                section for fiscal year 2020 (after the application of 
                paragraph (2)).
                    ``(C) Manner of distribution.-- Amounts distributed 
                by a State under this paragraph shall be distributed 
                from the amount paid to the State under this section--
                            ``(i) upon receipt and on a pass-through-
                        basis; and
                            ``(ii) without requiring any application 
                        from a unit of local government.
                    ``(D) Report.--If a State is unable to make 
                distributions to units of local government in 
                accordance with the requirements of this paragraph, the 
                State shall submit a detailed report to the Secretary 
                explaining why the State is unable to meet such 
                requirements. The Secretary shall publish each such 
                report in the Federal Register.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 601 of such Act is further 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by inserting 
                ``large'' before ``unit of local government'' each 
                place it appears; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 
                        ``large'' before ``units''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following: 
                        ``For purposes of this section, the term `large 
                        unit of local government' means a unit of local 
                        government, as defined in subsection (g)(2), 
                        with a population that exceeds 500,000.'';
            (2) in subsection (c)(5)--
                    (A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 
                ``large'' before ``unit''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``large'' before ``unit of local 
                government'' each place it appears;
            (3) in subsection (d), by inserting ``or distribution'' 
        after ``payment'';
            (4) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) by inserting ``direct'' before ``payment''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``large'' before ``unit of local 
                government'' each place it appears; and
            (5) in subsection (g)(2)--
                    (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``Local'' 
                and inserting ``Unit of local''; and
                    (B) by striking ``with a population that exceeds 
                500,000.''
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as if included in the enactment of section 601 of the Social 
Security Act, as added by section 5001(a) of the Coronavirus Aid, 
Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116-136).
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