HELENA, Mont. - House Bill 632, which allocates Montanaâs federal COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was passed by the Montana House of Representatives.
According to the Montana House of Representatives Majority, House Bill 632 passed with a strong 83-14 bipartisan vote.Â
âWhile it was fiscally irresponsible for Congress to pile up more national debt, the Montana House invested these funds wisely in critical infrastructure that will support our economy for future generations,â Speaker of the Montana House Wylie Galt said Thursday. âI want to thank all of the members of House Appropriations and Senate Finance for putting together a responsible spending package.â
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Jerry LambeApr 1st, 2021, 2:48 pm
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall
A group of 13 state attorneys general on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration, claiming that a provision in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill recently signed into law illegally impinges upon the states’ authority to control their own tax policies in violation of the Tenth Amendment.
Led by Alabama Attorney General
Steve Marshall (R), the complaint alleged that language in Federal Tax Mandate provision of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) prohibits states from using the stimulus funds to “offset a reduction in the net tax revenue” effectively bars states from implementing tax cuts for up to three years. Any funds deemed by the Treasury Department to have been misspent on tax cuts is subject to recapture.
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Section 9501 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”)[1] requires employers to extend offers of free COBRA coverage to certain individuals for the period from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. The ARPA then provides tax credits as means of offsetting the costs of the free COBRA coverage. The law also requires employers to extend offers of COBRA coverage to other individuals whose right to COBRA coverage previously ended.
This blogpost reviews who is eligible for free coverage, how the tax credits work, eligibility for extended coverage, and some potential issues pertaining to insurance coverages.
Background
The “COBRA Law”[2] is a federal law that generally obligates employers with group health plans to offer covered employees and covered dependents (“COBRA qualified beneficiaries”) the right to continue coverage under the group health plan in certain circumstances where the coverage otherwise would cease.
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
As we previously explained in our prior blogs, both here and here, on the new COBRA subsidy rules, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), includes a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for periods of coverage occurring between April 1 and September 30, 2021. The subsidy is available to qualified beneficiaries who are eligible for COBRA coverage due to a covered employee’s reduction in hours of employment or involuntary termination of employment.
If someone’s entitlement to COBRA coverage is due to a reduction in hours of employment (leave of absence, for example), the question of whether it is voluntary or involuntary does not apply. ARPA’s exclusion from the subsidy only applies to voluntary terminations of employment.