Senate Approves $912 Million COVID-19 Relief Package

The Senate is poised to approve a comprehensive $912 million relief package to help restaurants, schools, employers, and tenants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Senator Elder Vogel, who supported the bill in the Senate and on Tuesday when it came before the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.

Senate Bill 109 amends the state Fiscal Code to allocate $569.8 million for Rental and Utility Assistance, $197 million for education programs, and $145 million to support Pennsylvania’s struggling hospitality industry as it copes with the devastation created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Governor’s mandated closings and restrictions.

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

“The COVID pandemic has impacted so many lives in Pennsylvania,” said Senator Vogel, who serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We wanted to use these funds to help those families who are struggling to meet their housing costs and are in danger of being evicted from their homes. In addition, many bars and restaurants are struggling — and some have already closed. Often, these are small, family-owned businesses and it is essential that Pennsylvania help them get beyond these troubled times.”

Federal funding for rental and utility assistance would be proportionally distributed to counties based on their population. The conditions set under Senate Bill 109 for the program are to ensure the funding is used prudently and responsibly with the intention of providing a financial safety net for tenants and landlords. Funding for the Rental and Utility Assistance program would be provided by federal Coronavirus stimulus money as part of H.R. 133, Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021.

The $197 million for education, which is also supported by federal funding, would be used to create a $150 million competitive grant program under the Department of Education to assist non-public schools that have been impacted by the pandemic and have not received government assistance.

The remaining $47 million would provide:

• $17.5 million for Career and Technical Centers.
• $17.5 million for Intermediate Units.
• $7.075 million for charter schools for the deaf and blind and approved private schools.
• $5 million for the State System of Higher Education to support its restructuring initiative.
• The third component in the sweeping relief package would transfer $145 million from the Workers’ Compensation Security Fund to the COVID-19 Response Restricted Account to provide county block grants to assist the hospitality industry, including restaurants, bars and hotels.

Grants would be provided in increments of $5,000 up to $50,000. Grants may not be used to pay for the same operating expenses already covered by a federal PPP loan or the state’s prior $225 million Small Business Assistance Program.