HartmanCosco Government Relations

New Report Explains How Governments Can Leverage Federal Funds to Partner with Local Nonprofits

Brian Skinner July 7, 2021 ARPA, Government & Policy, Local Government, State Fiscal & Economic Policy

By Brian Skinner, Esq. The National Council of Nonprofits has issued a report on how state and local governments can partner with nonprofit organizations in their communities to use relief funds distributed through the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) by expanding existing programs or creating new ones. Congress expressly declared in the ARPA that state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments may use their allocations of the $350 billion in Coronavirus …Read More

West Virginia and American Rescue Plan Act Funds

Brian Skinner July 3, 2021 ARPA, Budget, COVID-19, Government & Policy, State Fiscal & Economic Policy

By Brian Skinner, Esq. State governments, including West Virginia, are beginning to receive the first allocations from $193.5 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The ARPA, signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, establishes the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. The Fiscal Recovery Funds are intended to provide support to …Read More

Six months after receiving CARES relief, Justice says West Virginia isn’t a slow spender

Brian Skinner October 15, 2020 State Fiscal & Economic Policy, State Government

WV Metro News — By Brad McElhinny — October 14, 2020 Gov. Jim Justice continues to push back on criticism that the state isn’t expediting the rollout of federal CARES Act relief. “At the end of the day, we’re going to some way, some how, disburse every last dollar of this CARES money before December the …Read More

The Impact of Covid-19 on State And Local Governments

Brian Skinner October 12, 2020 Local Government, State Fiscal & Economic Policy

By Brian Skinner, Esq. News on Sunday revealed that the White House has again pivoted in its approach to stimulus negotiations, with the president’s aides pushing for immediate action on a narrow measure after the administration’s $1.8 trillion proposal was rebuffed by members of both parties. This comes after months of negotiations between Treasury Secretary Steven …Read More

Director hire made for West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy

Brian Skinner October 6, 2020 State Fiscal & Economic Policy

WV MetroNews – – By Shauna Johnson — October 6, 2020 CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A divergence in economic recovery during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is what the new executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy said analysts with her organization have been tracking in recent weeks. “Higher income folks have almost completely recovered jobs in West …Read More

New Virus Relief Proposal Includes Less Aid for States and Localities

Brian Skinner September 29, 2020 COVID-19, Local Government, State Fiscal & Economic Policy

Route Fifty — By Bill Lucia — September 29, 2020 State and local governments would see a combined $417 billion in direct federal aid under an updated coronavirus relief proposal that House Democrats revealed on Monday, a sum that is well short of the amount included in an earlier version of the plan, but that also …Read More

A New Alliance Will Advance Efforts to Remake & Revitalize the American Economy

Brian Skinner September 18, 2020 Climate change, State Fiscal & Economic Policy

By Brian Skinner, Esq. I learned some exciting news today. The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), the nation’s foremost business advocate for an environmentally safe and equitable economy announced a strategic alliance with Social Venture Circle (SVC), the country’s foremost social impact networking organization. The new partnership will create the United …Read More

Income and Wealth Inequality and How It Limits Our Economic Potential

Brian Skinner September 8, 2020 Economy, State Fiscal & Economic Policy

By Brian Skinner, Esq. In an important new book Heather Boushey, the Executive Director and Chief Economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, writes about the transformation underway in economics that is upsetting conventional wisdom about how our nation can deliver strong, stable, and broadly shared economic growth. Unbound-How Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do …Read More

State Employment Recovered Unevenly from Last Recession

Brian Skinner August 27, 2020 State Fiscal & Economic Policy

Pew – Fiscal 50: State Trends and Analysis – August 20, 2020 Before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the economy, much of the country had enjoyed years of slow but steady job growth over the longest recovery on record. The U.S. employment rate for prime-working-age adults finally recovered in 2019 from losses in the Great Recession. But …Read More

How Using Rainy Day Funds Affects State Credit Ratings

Brian Skinner August 26, 2020 State Fiscal & Economic Policy

Agency officials say smart management and design contribute to high marks