(AUSTIN) — The Texas Comptroller’s Office is urging eligible local governments to apply for federal funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The CARES Act established a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund that will provide payments to state, local and tribal governments navigating the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Eighteen local government entities in Texas are eligible to apply for this funding.
The deadline to apply is Friday, April 17, at 10:59 p.m., Central Standard Time. The U.S. Treasury has provided important information about the process.
The CARES Act requires that the payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund only be used to cover expenses that:
- are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19);
- were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the state or local government; and
- were incurred during the period from March 1, 2020, to December 30, 2020.
The eligible entities are the cities of Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and the counties of Bexar, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Fort Bend, Harris, Hidalgo, Montgomery, Tarrant, Travis and Williamson.