Governor Tom Wolf on Tuesday urged the state legislature to spend the remaining $1 billion in CARES Act funding Pennsylvania received to support families and frontline workers.
Wolf proposed:
- $225 million for $3-an-hour pay increases to 208,000 Pennsylvania frontline workers, a category Wolf described liberally as including those working in grocery stores and meat packing plants.
- $10 million for small businesses to recover costs up to $5,000 for personal protection equipment, which includes masks, face shields, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizers and soap.
- $200 million in grants for housing and utility assistance.
- $250 million for families needing child care because of blended in-person and remote school learning and $27 million to expand child care in areas where few providers operate.
- $3 million for higher education institutions to partner with local education agencies to reduce learning gaps.
In addition to announcing six weeks of paid parental leave to state employees, Wolf also floated that the legislature should pass legalized recreational marijuana to create a new revenue stream, suspend the alcohol tax and allow the hospitality industry to purchase alcohol at near cost for six months.
Allegheny County inched closer to a new milestone Tuesday: nearly 10,000 cases since the novel coronavirus was first detected in the county on March 14.
The county Department of Health reported 58 new COVID- 19 cases and three COVID-related fatalities, bringing the tally to 9,990 infections and 309 deaths. County health officials also reported 933 hospitalizations.
Gov. Tom Wolf outlines his plans to spend $1 billion on coronavirus-related relief programs, for which he needs General Assembly approval (Screenshot)
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