The CARES Act provided $2.953 billion for Washington and the counties and cities in our state that have populations over 500,000. (The table provides an estimate of how the funds will be allocated.) The funds must be used for new spending related to COVID-19 response. (Treasury has allowed some flexibility in the use of the funds, but they still may not be used to cover revenue shortfalls.)

King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Spokane counties and the city of Seattle are eligible to receive funds directly from the federal government. During a Seattle City Council briefing yesterday, the City Budget Office said that they expect the city to receive $131.5 million of the $2.953 billion.

Yesterday, Gov. Inslee announced that the state will give $300 million of its $2.167 billion in federal aid funding to cities and counties that didn’t qualify for direct federal funding. The governor’s office did not specify how much each local government will receive, but every county will get at least $250,000 and every city will get at least $25,000. (As Treasury has noted, states are allowed to make such transfers, but the local governments must still use the funds for necessary expenditures that meet the CARES Act criteria.)

Additionally, federal agencies continue to release information on allocations to states under the federal aid bills. (I wrote about previous allocations here.)

• Through April 17, Treasury made $3.681 billion in economic impact payments to 2,058,899 Washingtonians.
• Through April 24, the Small Business Administration approved 1,794 economic injury disaster loans in Washington, in the amount of $311.4 million.
• The Department of Education has confirmed that Washington will receive $216.9 million from the elementary and secondary school emergency relief fund.