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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES. The.20201e islative session, con gt €ng.in the second half the state's fiscal biennium, was expected to be a typical short :session focused: primarily on making. relatively minor modifications to the biennial budget: Given a projected budget -surplus of $4 S billion going into the session, consideration of a substantial capital investment and bonding .bill was also a 06tential focus. The. start of the legislative. session.in *F..ebruary wasIollowed by a series,of significant events that -changed the course ofthe.s..ession, including w wQrld»wide :health pandemic; the. death of George Floyd while in police custody:and the ensuing..protests and* unrest, and 4 hotly contested national. election. On March 1% 2020, the Governor iissued. an executive order. declaring a peacetime eiriergency, giving his administration the ability':to. quickly impose restrictions and measures aimed at mitigating. the COVID-19 outbreak. By early Max, the state's budget outlook had changed from a robust surplus to -a projected deficit of: $2,4 billion. The legislative session ultimately encompassed an unprecedented seven special. sessions, more than double doe previous,state record.pf three,,with.the final special session in mid -December: In the -end, a $-L87 billion omnibus bonding.bib was passed that included $1.36.billion ingeneral obligation state boMiing for capital improvements, $31.0 million in supplemental General Fund budget spending, and provisions *for tax relief and economic assistance: The session also yielded anew Police Accountability Act , arrd a $217.0 million economic relief package to help businesses negatively -impacted by the.pandemic. The following. is a brief summary of legislative. changes. from the 2020 session or previous legislative sessions potentially impacting Minnesota cities. Co'ronavirus-Aid, Relief, and Economic Security:(CARES) Act.— The CARES Act provided federal eeonbmic relief tQ protectthe American. people from the pdblichealth and econgrgic. impacts of COV€D-19. Minnesota received approximately $2.2 billion in funding under the CARES Act. -When4he first legislative special session ended without an agreement on the distribution of approximately $841.5 million of federal: Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) funding. earmarked for Minnesota local governments; the Governor distributed the 1unds by executive order based on the framework pf-the legislative agreement debated during the first special. session. This resulted .in $356.4 million being distributed directly to Minnesota cities with populations equal to or. greater than 200. The funds were authorized. for use for unbudgeted:costs relateft. the.COVID-19 pandemic,: but.not to replace lost revenues. In accordance with CARES Act provisions, the, eRF funding was available to eover.costs that; 1) were. necessary expenditures incurred due to the public 1mith emergehey-1thited t6 COVID=19; 2) were not accounted for in the entity's budget most recently approved as .of .March 27, 20120.; and.3) were incurred during the, period from March 1,:2020 Through December 31, 2020 (the availability period end date was revised by the state to November. 15, 2020 for Minnesota cities). Emergency Sma1l.Business Assistance Program.— The Legislature created a program to appropriate $60.0 million of federal CRF funding to make grarits available through. the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for eligible small businesses: impacted by COVID-1.9. $mail businesses employing up to 50. full-time employees are eligible -to.rcceivc:grants of -up to. $l0,OQ0. The allocation is split.between the metro. area and greater Minnesota, with specific. allocations for businesses owned by inblorities, veterans, and women. $18.0 million ofthe allocation is earmarked. for businesses with 6..or less employees. Workers' Compensation Claims — COVID-19 'Presumption -- The Legislature adopted several new provisions to state unemployment statutes.related to COvID-19,.including a presumptionthatan emplaY.e� who contracts CO'V113-I9 has an ".occupational A cease" arising out of, and in the course -of. employment.if the employee works in one of the specified occupations and has a confirmed.caw of COVIDA 9. Covered occupations inglude nurses, healthcare workers, and workers required to provide childcare: for first responders airdIdalthcare workers under Executive Orders 20-02 and 20-19.. The.COVID-19 presumption provision sunsets on May 1, *202— L ..18-