Mark Molloy, Esq., Cascade Strategies LLC
A
Legislature to Hold ARPA Hearings
s detailed in last month’s Construction Outlook Legislative Update, the Massachusetts legislature pumped the brakes on the Governor’s plan to immediately spend the Commonwealth’s $5.3 billion share of the America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). While the state's ARPA funds were delivered in mid-May, House and Senate leaders sent a veto-proof bill to the Governor shortly thereafter, which prevented the funds from being released without legislative approval. In response, the Governor filed his spending proposal as legislation, House Bill 3922, to outline his plans for allocating $2.915 billion of the state's total. In July, the respective Committees on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Federal Stimulus held the first in a series of public hearings to gauge potential areas of need for the ARPA funding. At the initial hearing, Governor Baker outlined his plan to put more than half of the state's ARPA allocation to work now on housing and homeownership supports, job training, water and sewer infrastructure, addiction treatment, and other areas. As drafted, the Governor's plan calls for $1 billion for housing and homeownership supports; $1 billion for infrastructure investments, specifically $400 million to water infrastructure; $450 million for economic development; $240 million for workforce development, and $225 million for health care. Under Governor Baker's proposal, $2 billion would be deposited in the federal COVID-19 Response Fund that lawmakers created for purposes of future project decisions. The Baker-Polito Administration has been urging the legislature to act immediately in releasing the federal stimulus money. Of the ComAUGUST, 2021
monwealth’s $5.3 billion allocation under ARPA, about $400 million of these funds have already been used, including $109 million in local aid for Chelsea, Everett, Methuen, Randolph, and $75 million to subsidize the state's new COVID-19 emergency Sick Leave Law. That said, the legislature has made it clear that the ARPA funding, which can be committed and spent on projects until 2026, is more than a fleeting “shot in the arm.” In talking about its “generational” impact and “once-in-a-lifetime” impact on the state’s economy and various industries, House and Senate leadership have argued for a more deliberative approach to the distribution of these funds – one that identifies short, mid- and longterm needs. The respective Committees on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Federal Stimulus recently announced that they will hold four more public hearings after Labor Day. Of note, the public hearings will be focused on the following topics: (a) health care/public health/ mental health/human services; (b) economic development/transportation/arts & tourism/climate/ infrastructure; (c) education/social equity/safety/ families and; (d) an open public hearing for all and any interested parties to weigh in. UCANE plans to closely monitor and participate in the ARPA funding process to ensure that water infrastructure investment remains a significant part of the discussion. In the meantime, to review Governor Baker’s proposed funding plan, HB3922, An Act Relative to Immediate COVID Recovery Needs, please visit: https://malegislature.gov/ Bills/192/H3922. continued on page 9
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