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Appropriations panel advances ARPA bill that would reclaim unspent funds and earmark $100 million to MDOT
Summary
Senator Williams outlined an ARPA reallocation bill to pull back unspent state ARPA dollars before the federal deadline and create three spending buckets, including $100,000,000 for the Mississippi Department of Transportation; the committee advanced the measure after members questioned clawback rules and local impacts.
Senator Williams (Speaker 4) explained a bill to reclaim unspent state ARPA allocations and reallocate them domestically so the money is not returned to the federal government. Williams said the state originally received roughly $1.8 billion in ARPA funds, that roughly $1.3 billion has been written as checks and that about $500 million remained unspent. Under the bill Williams described, the deadline for spending would be moved up from Dec. 31, 2026 to Sept. 30, 2026, and the sponsor proposed three buckets: an initial $100,000,000 for MDOT, approximately $62,000,000 for lost-revenue allocations, and remaining funds to be spent at DFA/governor discretion consistent with ARPA rules.
Members pressed Williams on whether money pulled back from project grantees could be redirected back to those same local governments and how projects already underway would be treated. Williams said voluntary return of funds would be sought first; two missed monthly reports or two consecutive months without reimbursement requests would qualify funds for reclamation. Several senators urged flexibility for projects already in the pipeline and requested lists of affected projects and district-level allocations to help coordinate local responses. The committee advanced the bill on a title-sufficient motion and voice vote.
