Money, Money Everywhere

"The expanded flexibility in the use of the ARPA fiscal recovery funds and timely technical assistance from Treasury provided state legislators and legislative staff an opportunity to use their funds for short- and long-term needs," says Mandy Rafool, NCSL's director of financial affairs. [...]the Treasury Department's interim final rule allows for a wide range of broadband initiatives, but it requires eligible projects to reliably deliver minimum download and upload speeds. Macri, vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, says the Legislature gave funds to agencies with general guidelines rather than the detailed direction they might normally provide- which required trust. "There's not really an easy way to quickly stand up a new health coverage program, so we pushed dollars out to federally qualified health clinics and rural health centers, saying these dollars are intended to ensure you have the capacity to address the surge in the number of uninsured and underinsured patients," Macri says.