House Bill 1348: Fiscal Code for Pennsylvania State Budget
Section 143-C: Elementary and secondary education emergency relief: ● $250 million for learning loss ● $50 million for summer enrichment programs ● $50 million for comprehensive after school programs ● Money can be used for: ○ 30% of the money shall be used to address social, emotional and mental health needs ○ 10% will be used to provide professional development assistance to educators and school support staff to address the social and emotional mental health of students ○ 8% will be used to address reading remediation Section 144-C Emergency Relief for other Educational entities ● $43 million to technical schools ● $15 million for education of the deaf or blind ● $14 million for economically disadvantaged schools A qualifying school district that is in the 20th percentile for all school districts shall be determined by calculating the following for each of the preceding school years. See calculation on Hughes budget doc ● $19 million for neglected, delinquent and at risk youth Section 146-C Funding for Library Services ● $3.8 million for Libraries
Section 4: Long term Living Programs ● $247 million to nursing homes ○ $198 million of this funding will be distributed based on a nursing homes number of medical assistance days ○ $49 million of this funding will be distributed based on the total number of beds ● The funding will be distributed through a grant program that DHS will execute ● Nursing homes/long term care facilities can use the grants for the following: ○ Implementation of best practices regarding indoor air management strategies to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 ● $30 million for assisted living residences
Section 194-C: PA Housing Finance Agency ● Construction Cost Relief Program ○ A development shall be eligible for this program ■ Has received a conditional allocation from the agency of low-income housing tax credits
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Has not received a certificate of occupancy for each unit within the development Has experienced a cost increase related to construction materials pricing or has experience a loss in equity investments as a direct result of conditions arising due to effects of the the COVID pandemic which further jeopardized completion of the project Liminitastions: Money appropriated for the program can not be supplant other agency-committed resources except if the development risks noncompliance with the Low Income Housing Tax credit programs
Section 102-D: Rental and Utility Assistance Grant Program will be allocated to counties. Section 102-E: American Rescue Plan REntal and Utility Assistance Grant Programs ● Funding can go towards rent, utilities, utilities and home energy cost, housing stablisity services including case management and other services intended to keep households stably house ● No more than 10% of funds may be used to provide housing stability services ● Counties will be eligible to participate in the programs ● Money will be allocated to counties based on their population Section 101-F Homeowners assistance grant program: ● The program shall provide the following services to eligible individuals ○ Mortgage payment assistance ○ Financial assistant to allow a homeowner to reinstate a mortgage or to pay other housing related costs related to a period of forbearance, delinquency or default ○ Principal reduction ○ Facilities interest rates reduction ○ Payment assistance including ■ Utilities ■ Internet services ■ Insurance ■ Fees ■ Any other assistance to promote housing stability for homeowners including prevention mortgage delinquency, default, foreclosure, ○ Agency must contract with municipalities, housing counseling agencies, and other community based organizations to assist with outreach for potentially eligible individuals and take applications for assistance under the program. Section 101-G Water Assistance Program ● Establishes to provide water assistance to eligible households based on income and eligibility. Section 101-H Child Care Stabilization Fund Amount: $728,864,000 from the Childcare ARP Stabilization Grant Program
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The Childcare stabilization fund is open and available to provide child care programming funding to programs that were temporarily closed due to public health, financial hardships or other reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications shall be made available and the department will accept and process applications on a rolling basis until either funding for the program has been exhausted or the federal deadline for usage of the ARP act comes first. Funding methodology: The department shall develop a methodology that covers sufficient operating expenses to ensure continuous operation for the intended period of the funding. Qualified childcare providers may use funding to reimburse expenses incurred since Jan. 31 2020 Infant and toddler supplemental payments: additional funds will be given to qualified childcare providers serving infants or toddlers. Funding can be used for the following: ○ Personal costs, including payroll and salaries ○ Rent or payment on a mortgage obligation, untities, facilities, maintenance or improvements and insurance ○ Personal protective equipment ○ Purchases of or updates to equipment and supplies to respond to COVID-19 ○ Goods or services necessary to maintain or resume childcare-services ○ Mental health supports for children and employees
Section 1601-P Angel Investment Venture Capital Program $5,000,000 ● Will establish a grant program that shall ○ Create a business environment that attracts and encourages early stage financing for businesses with the potential for high growth ○ Increased capital investment ○ Encourage job creation ● Qualified business venture: is a business that is primarily focused on commercialization of research and development, technology transfers or the application of new technology, or is not engaged in those industries, the office makes a determination that the qualified investments will be highly beneficial to the economic growth of PA. ○ AT LEAST 51% of employees employed in the Commonwealth ○ Has fewer than 100 employees ○ Has been in operation in the Commonwealth for not more than five consecutive years ○ Has not received more than $2,000,000 in the aggregate in private equity investment of which not more than $1,000,000 was invested by a single investor ○ Is not engaged in a business involving the following ■ Real estate ■ Real estate development ■ Professional services provided by an accountant, a lawyer or a physician ■ Retail sales
Section 1601-Q Transportation pilot Program Electric Low Speed Pilot Program ● This only applies to cities of the second-class ● Micro-mobility pilot program: authorizes the use of electric low-speed scooters under a micro-mobility pilot program which provides a limited fleet of electric low speed scooters ● This program will expire in two years Section 1712-B: Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency: ● Violence and Delinquency prevention fund will be used solely to provide grants and technical assistance to community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, municipalities, districts attorneys, Section 1719-B Department of Economic Development ● $1,200,000 will be used to support manufacturing technology development effort and to assist PA small businesses with enhanced cybersecurity in the county of the fourth class. ● Keystone communities $6,367,000 ○ Funding shall be used to fund the main street program, elm street program, enterprise zone program and accessible housing ● Funds appropriated for local municipality relief shall include an allocation to provide state assistance to individuals, persons or political subdivisions directly affected by natural or manmade disasters, public safety emergencies, or other situations that pose a public safety threat. ● $8,000,000 will be used to fund the Workforce and Economic Development Network of PA (WEDnetPA) for workforce training grants programs.