WASHINGTON (May 19, 2021) — The United States Department of the Treasury has issued an interim final rule on permissible uses of $350 billion in state and local aid included in the recent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The rule allows the relief money to be used for certain state and local transportation projects.
According to the Treasury, recipients of these funds are given the latitude to use the money for the provision of government services, which includes infrastructure and transportation.
“Government services can include, but are not limited to, maintenance or pay-go funded building of infrastructure, including roads; modernization of cybersecurity, including hardware, software, and protection of critical infrastructure; health services; environmental remediation; school or educational services; and the provision of police, fire and other public safety services,” A Treasury fact sheet reports.
This should be a boon to states that have had to delay or cancel projects during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of smaller revenues from gas taxes — more than $12 billion in projects have been cancelled over the last year. You can learn more or request funding on the Treasury website.
