Reports

The primary objective of this report is to show Missouri's spending of federal assistance in the month of March 2021 for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency and the cumulative financial activity since the state began receiving funding in April 2020.

The primary objective of this report is to show Missouri's spending of federal assistance in the month of February 2021 for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency and the cumulative financial activity since the state began receiving funding in April 2020.

New York City is a top global destination for visitors drawn to its museums, entertainment, restaurants and commerce. The City is also host to conventions and trade shows, and major athletic events such as the New York City Marathon and the U.S. Open. The industry experienced strong growth in employment and wages in the decade preceding 2020. OSC estimates the industry lost nearly a third of its employment in 2020. Visitors and their spending are not projected to reach pre-pandemic levels before 2025. Employment is unlikely to rebound fully before visitor spending.

As 2020 began, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was already facing challenges in balancing its budget, along with missed capital commitment goals, capital funding risks and escalating debt service costs. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these troubling trends. The MTA was able to balance its 2020 and 2021 budgets with federal emergency relief and funds that had been earmarked for capital purposes. The authority now faces out-year gaps it intends to close with additional federal aid and borrowed funds, and it must advance a capital program that has barely started.

Auditor Faber’s Office issued a qualified opinion on the Unemployment Compensation Fund, and Business-Type Activities opinion units in the State of Ohio’s financial statements due to internal control weaknesses related to recipient eligibility and claims processing of unemployment benefits. A qualified opinion indicates the auditors could not be assured the financials for these opinion units are fairly presented, in all material respects, based on the issues identified. This is a significant qualification.

The primary objective of this report is to show Missouri's spending of federal assistance in the month of January 2021 for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency and the cumulative financial activity since the state began receiving funding in April 2020.

This advisory report suggests actions the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), Oregon Health Authority (OHA), and the Legislature can take to reduce illness and death from communicable diseases in nursing homes, assisted living, and residential care facilities, now and in the future.

Similar to the Economic Recovery Grant (ERG) programs, the Gap program requires that businesses demonstrate economic loss due to COVID-19 but does not define economic loss. If ACCD uses revenue loss to measure economic loss for businesses that were in operation prior to the pandemic, the Gap program will be exposed to the same risk the Joint Fiscal Office pointed out in its November 2020 memo to the Joint Fiscal Committee regarding the ERG program.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of employment, the number of establishments and total wages in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector had each expanded significantly over the past decade, growing at a much faster rate than for all sectors citywide. In March 2020, the response to the public health crisis forced the entire sector to close. While some venues, such as outdoor botanical gardens, zoos, museums and gyms, have reopened at reduced capacity, many establishments remain closed because of the health risks associated with attendance at live events. Arts, entertainment and...

Since March 2020, Congress has passed various laws designed to curb the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the pandemic’s damage to the nation’s economy. One of the key legislative provisions was the creation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), designed mainly to help small businesses and sole proprietors meet payroll commitments during the crisis. The program has been allocated a total of $953 billion in three rounds of funding in March ($349 billion), April ($320 billion), and December ($284 billion). This report evaluates the impact of the PPP in New York City measured against the...