State sitting on billions
$4.9B in COVID relief money languishes while the ‘clock is ticking’
First of two parts.
Massachusetts is sitting on a pile of federal coronavirus relief dollars totaling nearly $4.9 billion and watchdogs say the “clock is ticking” as state after state puts their money to use and Beacon Hill lawmakers continue to sit on their hands.
“We want to see something happen over the next month or so,” said Doug Howgate, executive vice president at Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “Taking action to spend the (relief) dollars this year, I think, is really important.”
Massachusetts is in the bottom 20 when it comes to doling out the federal relief dollars, a Herald review has found.
In May, the feds doled out $195.3 billion in direct, unrestricted funds to state governments as part of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act. The package included billions more for capital projects and local aid.
The money is the latest in a series of coronavirus relief bills designed to lessen the economic pressure of the pandemic, but this latest aid package has been seen as an opportunity to restore, rebuild and recover from the pandemic that has shaken up nearly all aspects of life for 19 months.
States have until 2024 to allocate the cash and until the end of 2026 to spend it, but 33 states have already earmarked money or started spending in an effort to address pressing needs exacerbated by the pandemic.
Seven states — California, Indiana, Maine, Montana, Oregon, New York and Connecticut — have already allocated more than 90% of the fund they received.
Seventeen states have either taken no action or information on disbursement of ARPA funds was not yet available.
Gov. Charlie Baker allocated $394 million of the nearly $5.3 billion given to Massachusetts before the Democrat-led state Legislature seized control of the remaining billions in June.
Budget watchdogs this summer during the first of six legislative hearings on ARPA spending said they supported lawmakers’ takeit-slow approach to doling out the one-time funds, but Howgate admitted the “clock is ticking” as the year winds to a close and Massachusetts has spent less than 8% of its available funds.
Those hearings are slated to wrap up in the coming weeks with the next hearing planned for 11 a.m. Friday, when lawmakers will hear about requests for investment education, social equity, safety net and families.
Baker, a Republican has pitched a $2.9 billion spending plan and has been pushing lawmakers to act fast.
Howgate said it’s up to lawmakers to strike the balance between plotting investments for “transformational” change and “getting money out the door in a timely manner.”
“We want to make sure this money helps people as soon as possible,” Howgate said.
House Speaker Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, earlier this month said it is his “hope” that lawmakers would agree to where and how the ARPA money should be spent by Thanksgiving.
Greg Sullivan, research director at the right-leaning Pioneer Institute and a former state lawmaker, said there’s is a laundry list of immediate needs facing Bay State taxpayers including a $40 billion unfunded pension liability, more than $5 billion in ballooning maintenance needs at state colleges and universities, a multi-billion unemployment trust fund deficit and and
“The Legislature should stop taking requests from across the political spectrum, get down to business and pay for things we already owe,” the former state inspector general said. “They should use this money to pay for bills already incurred and left unpaid.”
The ARPA money isn’t the only cash Massachusetts officials are sitting on. Lawmakers have another $5 billion in surplus tax collections from 2021 they must decide to spend or save.