Housing And Direct COVID Emergency Assistance

The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $54 million from the general fund to the housing development grant fund for the purpose of providing emergency housing assistance to individuals and households who have experienced financial need due to the COVID-19 pandemic or second-order effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The money must be used by June 30, 2021.

The act also creates the emergency direct assistance grant program (program) in the division of housing (division) within the department of local affairs (department) to provide grants to individuals who have experienced financial need due to the COVID-19 pandemic or second-order effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and are ineligible for certain other types of assistance. The act allows the division to promulgate rules and requires the department to submit a report to legislative committees of reference with jurisdiction over local government concerning the program.

The act creates the emergency direct assistance grant program fund (fund) and directs the state treasurer to transfer $5 million from the general fund to the fund for the program. The division must use the money by June 30, 2021.

The program is repealed, effective June 30, 2022.

The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $1,000,000 from the general fund to the eviction legal defense fund for the purpose of providing legal representation to indigent tenants to resolve civil legal matters arising on and after March 1, 2020, concerning an eviction or impending eviction related to the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For weeks of unemployment beginning on or after November 1, 2020, the act changes the statutory formula for calculating eligibility for extended unemployment benefits by adding additional conditions of eligibility.

For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the act appropriates:

• $1,000,000 from the eviction legal defense fund to the judicial department for the eviction legal defense grant program; and
• $16,751 to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology, from reappropriated funds received from the transfer from the general fund to the housing development grant fund, to provide information technology services to the department of local affairs.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)