AN ACT RELATIVE TO TRANSFERRING FEDERAL FUNDS TO THE FEDERAL COVID-19 RESPONSE FUND
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to immediately transfer funds to the federal COVID-19 response fund, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Subsection (b) of section 2JJJJJ of chapter 29 of the General Laws, as inserted by section 1 of chapter 254 of the acts of 2020, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The fund shall not be subject to section 5C.
SECTION 2. Said section 2JJJJJ of said chapter 29 is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (c), as so inserted, and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(c) Amounts credited to the fund may be expended for any purpose allowed under subsection (c) of section 602 of Title VI of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 802.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, not later than 7 days after the effective date of this act, the comptroller shall transfer $4,891,987,249.40 allocated to the commonwealth from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund pursuant to section 602 of Title VI of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 802, to the federal COVID-19 response fund established in section 2JJJJJ of chapter 29 of the General Laws.
SECTION 4. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary and after the transfer under section 3, the secretary of administration and finance shall expend any remaining funds not subject to the transfer under section 3 allocated to the commonwealth from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund received pursuant to section 602 of Title VI of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 802, to protect against emerging public health threats or to support new, heightened or emergency public health response efforts against the 2019 novel coronavirus and variants thereof.
SECTION 5. (a) For any expenditures authorized by section 4, the secretary of administration and finance may transfer funds to commonwealth departments and other public entities. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary shall require that all expenditures from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund pursuant to section 602 of Title VI of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 802 shall be spent in compliance with applicable federal law, including statutes, regulations and sub-regulatory guidance. Said secretary shall maximize federal revenue available to the commonwealth, and minimize the risk that federal funds are returned or left unspent due to noncompliance with federal requirements.
(b) The secretary of administration and finance shall require that departments and other public entities administering funds authorized by section 4 and all recipients and sub-recipients shall receive funds conditioned on their cooperation with applicable federal reporting and compliance requirements.
(c) The secretary may direct the use of money from the General Fund for purposes authorized by section 4 where the secretary has determined that reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or another federal source is available to reimburse spending.
SECTION 6. The secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the office of the comptroller, shall provide reporting on expenditures made by the commonwealth for the purposes identified in section 4 in the manner described by chapter 288 of the acts of 2020.
Approved, June 28, 2021.