Yesterday (the last day of session), the Legislature passed EHB 2965. The House and Senate had each passed versions of the bill last week that would have appropriated $100.0 million from the budget stabilization account (BSA, or the rainy day fund).

As adopted yesterday, the bill appropriates $200.0 million from the BSA. Of that, $175.0 million is appropriated to the disaster response account and $25.0 million is appropriated for the “COVID-19 unemployment account.”

The bill specifies that $175.0 million from the disaster response account (originally from the BSA) plus $25.0 million from the general fund–federal is appropriated to the Office of Financial Management (OFM) for “allotment to state agencies and for distribution to local governments and federally recognized tribes for response to the novel coronavirus.” OFM will have to update the Legislature every month on how these funds are spent. The funds cannot supplant existing federal, state, local, or tribal funds “for services and activities that will assist in the response,” and agencies, tribes, and local governments “must demonstrate maximum use of federal funds” before using these state funds. If any of the $175.0 million from the BSA is unobligated at the end of 2019–21, it will be transferred back to the BSA.

The bill also creates the “COVID-19 unemployment account” to hold the $25.0 million from the BSA. Expenditures from the COVID-19 unemployment account can only be used to reimburse the unemployment trust fund account “for unemployment benefits paid to the approved employees of employers approved for such reimbursement.” The commissioner of the Employment Security Department (ESD) can authorize expenditures. Federal funds must be used, if available, before using the account, and any unobligated funds must be transferred back to the BSA at the end of 2019–21.

Under the bill, employers may apply to have approved unemployment insurance benefits reimbursed by the COVID-19 unemployment account rather than be charged to their experience rating account. If approved, the benefit amount will be transferred from the COVID-19 unemployment account to the unemployment trust fund account.

This will apply to employees who were temporarily laid off due to COVID-19, were approved by ESD to be on standby, and returned to their same employment. The bill also amends current unemployment insurance law to allow employees who are under quarantine during the novel coronavirus outbreak (until June 30, 2021) to meet work requirements (and thus be eligible for benefits) if they are “able to perform, available to perform, and actively seeking work which can be performed while under quarantine or isolation.”

Finally, the bill authorizes the Department of Social and Health Services “to determine nursing facility payments to adequately resource facilities responding to the novel coronavirus outbreak.” It also allows the State Board of Education to give schools flexibility to waive high school graduation requirements when students “cannot meet the statewide minimum credit and subject area graduation requirements due to school closures related to the novel coronavirus.”