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March 26, 2020
I. CARES Act Preliminary Snapshot
II. A Message from the National League of Cities
III. New Jersey Has Received Major Disaster Declaration
I. CARES Act Preliminary Snapshot
See our Towne Crier blog for a preliminary rundown on some of the items included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES bill), which the Senate passed overnight. This is the 3rd emergency supplemental measure being passed by Congress. The full text of the amended version of S.3548 is not yet available on-line. The legislation now moves to the House.
We are trying to highlight the items that might be most important to local officials, on the front lines of this battle, and to your citizens, locally. Some of these items will help a specific group of municipalities. Other items will help other groups. This analysis does not cover the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief fund that will provide state, local, and tribal government with additional resources to address this pandemic. We have alerted you that S.3548 does not provide stabilization aid directly to municipalities and you should contact your Member of Congress about that concern.
We will provide more in-depth analysis, once we see the text.
Contact: Jon Moran, Senior Legislative Analyst, jmoran@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x121.
II. A Message from the National League of Cities
Our national counterpart, NLC, conducted two important surveys over the past week –one that asked city leaders about their responses to the health crisis, and another in partnership with Morning Consult that asked 2,200+ U.S. adults about tough decisions local leaders are making in their communities.
One of the biggest takeaway is that municipalities have the support of the American people as you make hard, life-saving choices to protect our residents. Additionally, we must continue to partner and coordinate with other levels of government to ensure stimulus dollars are directed to cities, towns and villages.
See a chart of the full survey results.
See a video message from NLC CEO & Executive Director Clarence Anthony on 5 federal advocacy actions you need to know.
And access the full NLC COVID-19 resource page for additional information.
III. New Jersey Has Received Major Disaster Declaration
President Donald J. Trump has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of New Jersey. The declaration will provide federal assistance to supplement statewide recovery efforts affected by the COVID-19 pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020. Governor Murphy said New Jersey will now have access to greater essential federal support to help our residents through this emergency.