The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on March 27th, 2020. The $2 trillion+ economic relief package was divided into a number of buckets, including a $1200 check for many working adults and those receiving social security, a paycheck protection fund for small businesses, a number of loan programs and employment protections for all businesses, and specific support for other programs run at the local and state level including programs that help working Texans with limited incomes.
More specifically, the CARES Act added $900 million nationwide to the LIHEAP Low-Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and $5 billion nationwide for the Community Development Fund, enabling additional support for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grantees. While these are just two of the programs supported by the CARES act, they are two of the most important programs to help limited-income residents that can also help jumpstart the economy.
Late April, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) took some initial action on these funds, approving some funding proposals and moving others forward for public comment. Some of these proposals were related to CARES while others were related to existing work. At their monthly board meeting on Thursday, April 23rd, the five-member Board of Directors took several important actions:
To start, they approved a 2020 plan for the use of an expected $9.9 million in the Weatherization Assistance Program, which is distributed for weatherizing homes throughout Texas.
TDHCA approved a draft-plan for comment for the 2021 Fiscal Year (FY) LIHEAP program, which includes a plan to distribute these federal monies through some 37 Community Action Agency providers, which can be found here. Under the proposal, 75% of the funding is for direct utility assistance payments for limited-income Texans, some 10% is for administration of the funds, and up to 15% would be available for enhanced weatherization (energy efficiency) projects for each of the providers. While the actual amount contained in the 2021 programs still needs final congressional action, in FY 2020 Texas received more than $140 million in LIHEAP funds.
The TDHCA also approved a comment period for these “normal” LIHEAP Funds:
-
Austin - Tuesday, May 26, 2020, 5:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. in Room 116, TDHCA Headquarters, 221 East 11th Street, Austin, TX 78701
-
Fort Worth – Wednesday, May 27, 2020, 2:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. at Southside Community Center, 959 E. Rosedale, Fort Worth, TX 76104
Houston – Wednesday, May 27, 2020, 5:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. at Baker Ripley, Inc., Aberdeen Campus, Education Center, 3838 Aberdeen Way, Houston, TX 77025 -
Odessa - Thursday, May 28, 2020, 2:00 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. at West Texas Opportunities, 1415 East 2nd, Odessa, TX 79762
-
If the Department cannot conduct in-person public hearings, two virtual public hearings will be held via webinar as follows:
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 from 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.o Via GoToWebinar; To Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6842808822375322637; Dial-in number: +1 (415) 930-5321, access code 351-573-674
(Persons who use the dial-in number and access code without registering online will only be able to hear the public hearing and will not be able to ask questions or provide comments.) -
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 from 5:15 p.m.- 6:15 p.m.o Via GoToWebinar
To Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8052177054929158157
Emergency CARES Actions
While the approval of the WAP FY 2020 program and the publication for comment of the LIHEAP 2021 program were handled as “normal” consent items, the TDHCA also considered “emergency” measures under the CARES Act in their virtual board meeting.
In addition to taking a number of actions related to homelessness and emergency cares authorized under CARES, the Board did approve a number of emergency actions.
TDHCA approved a plan to spend more than $80 million in additional LIHEAP funds through the same network of 37 providers, including 90% of the funds for utility assistance through August 31st, 1 percent for state administration, and the rest in reserve for emergency needs. While the Sierra Club in our public comments argued for some percentage being reserved for weatherization, staff said the funding was intended mainly for utility assistance. However, they did agree to a provision that will allow individual entities to apply on a case-by-case basis to TDHCA if limited-income Texans find that air conditioning systems or poor insulation necessitates weatherization.. At present, weatherization programs are stalled because of the need to keep workers protected, but it is expected that those programs will begin again in late summer or the fall. Under the approved plan, the TDHCA can also move money from one provider to another if they are unable to spend the money.
They approved a plan to spend more than $40 million in CDBG dollars from the CARES Act through an amendment to their existing CDBG plan. Under the resolution adopted by the TDHCA, the amendment to the existing CDBG plan would require public input through an open hearing and comment period of at least five days, but would not require further board approval. While the exact type of projects that would be eligible through CDBG recipients (which can include local governments and third-party organizations) is still waiting for federal guidance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the programs will likely focus on emergency needs for limited-income Texans and not infrastructure projects.
In a related plan, the Department also approved the use of $47 million in additional Community Services Block Grants (CSBG), 90% of which would go directly to 40 community service providers for programs benefitting low-income families with services like housing assistance. This plan also loosened the requirement of who is eligible for the funding to allow greater access to the funds.
Similarly, the Board approved the use of $33 million in Emergency Solution Grants, largely focused on homelessness programs through a variety of local governments and non-profit organizations.
These programs, including utility assistance, weatherization assistance and other development programs, are important to our community’s safety and energy use. Not only would many of our members might benefit directly from such programs, they are critical to a just recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sierra Club wants to assure that these funds are spent wisely, and when possible that utility assistance is combined with programs that actually reduce overall energy use.