Turkey with a side of federal cash
Mass. planning to spend ‘some’ ARPA money by Thanksgiving
Lawmakers said they’ll have a plan to spend “some” of the state’s remaining $4.9 billion in federal coronavirus relief dollars by Thanksgiving.
“I think the goal, the hope, would be to have some out by Thanksgiving — Nov. 17 — but we will continue to be looking at the areas,” Senate President Karen Spilka said, speaking to reporters at the State House Monday.
The last in a series of six legislative hearings on how to spend the rest of the federal American Rescue Plan Act funding remaining in state coffers happens today, and Democratic state leaders who hold the authority on how to spend it said “negotiation” is underway to get some of the cash out the door quickly.
“We will continue to work together and come up with a plan to spend some of it, then spend more over time,” Spilka, an Ashland Democrat, added.
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.
A Herald review found Massachusetts is in the bottom half of states when it comes to doling out or even earmarking the funds. Just $394 million of the nearly $5.3 billion in total given to Massachusetts has been spent so far — money Gov. Charlie Baker pushed out the door before the state Legislature snatched the purse strings from his control in June.
Baker, a Republican, filed his own plan in July pressuring lawmakers to “immediately” spend $2.9 billion of the leftover funds on areas of need including housing, workforce development, public health and more. Hearings have run the gamut, with lawmakers hearing appeals for funding for everything from housing to education to clean water.
The final hearing, scheduled for 11 a.m. today, will feature commentary from the public and will be livestreamed at malegislature.gov.
In recent days, budget watchdogs who initially rubber-stamped lawmakers’ strategy of taking a slow and thoughtful approach to spending the billions have stressed the importance in striking a balance between funding solutions for immediate needs and investing in long-term, transformative change.