Cares Act Funding Guidelines
For State and Local Governments
Through the Coronavirus Relief Fund, the CARES Act provides for payments to State, Local, and Tribal governments, navigating the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The CARES Act established the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund.
Treasury will make payments from the Fund to States and eligible units of local government; the District of Columbia; U.S. Territories, which includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and Tribal governments.
The CARES Act requires that the payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund only be used to cover expenses that:
(1) Are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19).
(2) Were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020, which is the date of enactment of the CARES Act for the State or government. (3) Were incurred, during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.
Amounts paid to States, the District of Columbia, U.S. Territories, and eligible units of local government are based on population as provided in the CARES Act.