Stimulus bill transforms options for state and local governments



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“When you make those kinds of decisions and oppose a party that I’m a part of, he feels lonely,” said Mr. Dyer, a former Fresno police chief. “You start to wonder what kind of impact this might have on you in the future. But the reality is, I felt I was making the right decision for the right reason for the benefit of the people of Fresno, not necessarily a party.

Aid will be distributed to states on a formula largely based on the state’s unemployment rate, officials said. There are a host of rules for how money can be spent. For example, the money cannot be used to pay off pension obligations or to reduce taxes.

Republicans in Congress have argued that a funding formula based on unemployment rather than population benefits Democratic-led states and hurts Republican-controlled ones. An analysis by Rep. Jason Smith, Republican from Missouri, found that 33 states received less money based on the unemployment formula, all but 10 headed by Republican governors.

But many Democratic officials, and some Republicans, have challenged the notion of partisan bailout.

“I think my residents know I don’t care about the party – all I care about is making sure the street sweeper is working, the police are showing up and the water is off. ‘don’t stop,’ said Acquanetta Warren, a Republican who is the mayor of Fontana, a working-class suburb east of Los Angeles, is expected to receive $ 52 million.

Local governments have been hit harder than states. Three-quarters of the more than 1.3 million jobs lost among state and local governments since February 2020 have been at the local level, Moody’s White found, the vast majority of them from districts. school.

The counties, which are critical geographic areas for public services such as emergency services, public health services and local prisons, were elated. Many had complained that funds from previous pandemic stimulus rounds had not reached them because funds were channeled across states for smaller counties. This time the checks are coming directly from the United States Department of the Treasury.

The sheer size of the sums has changed the scale of what is possible. Erie County, New York, which includes Buffalo, has struggled for years with barely functioning internet in its rural areas, which have been mostly bypassed by internet providers.

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