Stimulus money released for state, local and tribal governments

The Biden administration on Monday began releasing billions of dollars in aid to state, local and tribal governments, with fewer strings attached than last year’s relief funding and much more time to spend the money.

The state of Oklahoma would get nearly $1.9 billion in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, while Oklahoma City would get $122.5 million and Oklahoma County would receive about $155 million, according to figures released by the U.S. Treasury Department.

“With this funding, communities hit hard by COVID-19 will be able to return to a semblance of normalcy; they’ll be able to rehire teachers, firefighters and other essential workers — and to help small businesses reopen safely,” Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said.

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The secretary said the federal government didn’t provide enough aid after the fiscal crisis in 2008 and that austerity measures by local governments undermined the recovery.

“With today’s announcement, we are charting a very different — and much faster — course back to prosperity,” she said.

Fewer constraints on latest stimulus funds

Congress approved President Joe Biden’s request for $1.9 trillion in stimulus funding earlier this year and gave state and local governments years to spend the money on a range of purposes. 

A senior administration official told reporters on Monday that money could be used to address problems that existed before the pandemic but were exacerbated by the pandemic, such as health and educational disparities. 

Though the administration said governments could begin registering for money on Monday, it may take some time to sort through all the rules.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who endorsed the American Rescue Plan Act because of the help it could provide for public safety and other needs, said Monday that City Manager Craig Freeman and his team have been engaged in national conversations about the guidelines.

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If the city follows the same process it did with the federal CARES Act funding from last year, the city manager will propose some options to the city council once he knows the rules, Holt said.

“I would predict that nothing is imminent,” the mayor said.

Jail top priority, county commissioner says

Oklahoma County Commissioner Kevin Calvey said Monday that the top priority for the county’s money should be replacing the troubled jail. County commissioners directed some CARES Act funding last year to the trust that oversees the jail. The money allotted to the county under the new stimulus bill should be enough to replace the jail, if the project meets the guidelines, Calvey said.

According to administration officials, some infrastructure projects are specifically allowed under the bill, including water, sewer and broadband ones.

Some state budgets, including Oklahoma’s, have rebounded well from the pandemic. Republican members of Congress, all of whom voted against the American Rescue Plan Act, have questioned the need for the aid to state governments given the fact their revenues have stabilized and even grown.

An administration official said Monday that the bill was aimed at providing an “equitable recovery,” not just a strong one and that governments could use the money to make “transformative” and structural changes to programs.

Housing, education could attract new funds

According to the administration, governments can use the money for “Investments in housing and neighborhoods, such as services to address individuals experiencing homelessness, affordable housing development, housing vouchers, and residential counseling and housing navigation assistance to facilitate moves to neighborhoods with high economic opportunity.”

Also, money could be used for addressing “educational disparities through new or expanded early learning services, providing additional resources to high-poverty school districts, and offering educational services like tutoring or afterschool programs as well as services to address social, emotional, and mental health needs.”

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The funding formula for states granted $500 million to each state and additional money based on unemployment rates. Though Connecticut has about 400,000 fewer people than Oklahoma, it will receive $1 billion more in aid because its jobless rate is higher.

Gov. Kevin Stitt has complained that the formula penalized states that reopened their economies earlier.

The unemployment rates also determine whether states can take all of the money this year, or whether they must spread it out over two years. To take all the money this year, states must have an unemployment rate that is 2 percentage points higher than it was in February 2020.

Meanwhile, the Small Business Administration announced that restaurants and other food and beverage businesses across the nation will begin to see funds in bank accounts as early as Tuesday from the first round of funding from restaurant revitalization fund that was in the rescue act.

Here are some of the other allocations released Monday by the Biden administration:

• Edmond: $12.7 million

• Norman: $22.2 million

• Midwest City: $9.8 million

• Moore: $8.5 million

• Shawnee: $8.3 million

• Tulsa: $87.8 million

• Canadian County: $28.8 million

• Cleveland County: $55 million

• Logan County: $9.3 million

• Pottawatomie County: $14 million

• Tulsa County: $126.6 million