House advances ARPA closeout bill with large interfund transfers to meet federal deadline
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Sign Up Free
Summary
Lawmakers approved a strike-all to tighten ARPA closeout rules, transfer up to about $162.96 million between coronavirus fiscal accounts and move funds to MDOT maintenance projects, and set a state closeout timeline to ensure compliance with federal deadlines.
The House considered a strike-all amendment to an ARPA closeout bill that sponsors said tightens reporting and reimbursement triggers, frees up inactive project funds, and moves large sums toward transportation maintenance and the state's health-plan accounts.
Explaining the strike-all, the sponsor said the amendment "transfers up to $162,958,012 from the coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund to the coronavirus state fiscal recovery lost revenue fund, then transfers up to $100,000,000 from CSFR lost revenue fund to the ARPA MDOT maintenance project lost revenue fund," and described additional transfers to health-plan accounts and a statewide sweep to meet a 12/31/2026 federal deadline.
Members pressed for clarity on which MDOT maintenance projects would receive money and the September 30, 2026 project closeout date the bill sets for state-level ARPA allocations. The sponsor said the MDOT funds are earmarked for maintenance and resurfacing projects and that allocations were scattered across the state consistent with earlier maps shared with members.
Floor action adopted the strike-all and moved the bill forward; the measure was presented as effective upon passage.