Home repairs, property tax relief for seniors, and state park repairs are among 20 programs that will be funded with the one-time stimulus money.
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers have agreed on a plan to use $2.2 billion in remaining federal stimulus money from the pandemic on housing, conservation, and child care programs.None of the money will be used for direct payments to Pennsylvanians,
Finally, the budget provides $100 million for the rehabilitation, repair, and development of state parks and forests. As for the latter, state parks have $1.4 billion in deferred maintenance, Hess said, and “a lot of people saw how valuable parks and forests are for recreation during the pandemic.”Lawmakers directed $375 million to help low- and middle-income homeowners and landlords fix their properties, and to increase or shore up the state’s affordable housing units.from state Sen. Nikil Saval .
Two other programs were designed with the intent to improve and increase the number of affordable housing units. These one-time payments are meant to supplement existing staff wages and max out at $2,500. The program will accept applications on a rolling basis until the $90 million appropriation is spent or until the federal money expires in 2026.The plan directs $250 million in one-time payments to a number of long-term facilities and services including nursing homes, home health care agencies, and adult daycare services.
The grants are meant to supplement the amount of money law enforcement agencies are allocated in the budget. The program caps grants based on the size of the city — Philadelphia, the only first-class city in the state, would receive $25 million at most.