Tribal Governments: Fiscal Recovery Fund Reports Due by April 30

There is an important tribal reporting deadline at the end of this week: Every tribal government that received a share of the $20 billion Fiscal Recovery Fund (FRF) from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act must file a report by April 30, 2022. 

Reporting Expenses

To ensure compliance with the statute and U.S. Department of the Treasury guidance, tribal governments must report detailed information to the Treasury Department in the form of a Project and Expenditure Report. The Treasury Department's website offers general guidance on the compliance and reporting requirements as well as specific guidance to the Project and Expenditure Report.

The report must show that the tribe has used or will use its share of the FRF for the following types of costs incurred by Dec. 31, 2024:

1. Responding to COVID-19: to respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19 or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality
2. Premium Pay for Essential Workers: to respond to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers of the tribal government who are performing such essential work, or by providing grants to eligible employers that have eligible workers who perform essential work
3. Lost Revenue/Government Services: for the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue of such tribal government due to the COVID-19 public health emergency relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year of the tribal government prior to the emergency
4. Infrastructure: to make necessary investments in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure

The frequency of such required filings is based on the amount of FRF received, with more frequent reporting required by tribes receiving more than $30 million. However, all tribal governments who received FRF, regardless of amount, must file a Project and Expenditure Report by April 30, 2022. For tribes that received less than $30 million, the reporting period is March 3, 2021 – March 31, 2022. For tribes that received more than $30 million, the reporting period is Jan. 1, 2022 – March 31, 2022.

Questions

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Nicole Elliott, Kenneth Parsons, Philip Baker-Shenk or Kayla Gebeck Carroll.

Information contained in this alert is for the general education and knowledge of our readers. It is not designed to be, and should not be used as, the sole source of information when analyzing and resolving a legal problem, and it should not be substituted for legal advice, which relies on a specific factual analysis. Moreover, the laws of each jurisdiction are different and are constantly changing. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. If you have specific questions regarding a particular fact situation, we urge you to consult the authors of this publication, your Holland & Knight representative or other competent legal counsel.