COVID-19

State REQUEST FOR CONSULTATION_Modifying the COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order and Related Interventions 20200420

Tribal Government Allocation of CARES Act Fund:

California tribes are proposing a simple 3-step formula that ensures a fair distribution of the $8 billion, provides a base distribution for every tribe in the United States, and meets Congress’ intent of supporting tribal jobs during this pandemic. The proposed formula addresses tribal government stabilization needs and provides direct relief to their expenses associated with containment and prevention of COVID-19.

Our 109 federally recognized tribal governments employ more than 63,000 people and contribute at least $7.8 billion to the State of California’s economy each year. 

1. Provide a $1,000,000 minimum distribution to each tribe to ensure that even the smallest tribes have funding to address their economic needs during the pandemic.  
2. Distribute $1,500,000,000 to each tribe pro rata based on each tribe’s enrolled tribal member population to ensure that larger tribes have additional funding to address their economic needs.
3. Distribute the remainder of the $8,000,000,000 fund to each tribe pro rata based on economic impact, measured by total wages paid by the tribe and all of its wholly owned enterprises in 2019.