American Rescue Plan (ARP) Funding
American Rescue Plan
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. As part of the $362 billion in federal fiscal recovery aid for state and local governments, $65.1 billion is provided in direct aid to counties and an additional $1.5 billion for public land counties. The ARP Act also allocates hundreds of billions of dollars for public health and vaccines, assistance for vulnerable populations, education and housing stabilization, economic recovery assistance and direct assistance for families and individuals.
Dakota County estimated State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF): $83,332,300
ARP-SLFRF Funds from Washington County: $400,000
Total ARP-SLFRF Funds Available: $83,732,300
Spending Deadline: December 31, 2024
The U.S. Department of the Treasury will oversee and administer the payments to state and local governments.
Local governments will be required to provide quarterly reports with a detailed accounting of the use of funds.
Allowable Uses for Recovery Funds:
- Respond to or mitigate the public health emergency with respect to the COVID-19 emergency or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality. These examples are intended to clarify congressional intent that these activities are eligible. However, state and local activities are NOT limited only to these activities.
- Provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue (i.e. online, property or income tax) due to the public health emergency.
- Make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.
- State and local governments can transfer the funds to a private nonprofit organization, a public benefit corporation involved in the transportation of passengers or cargo or a special-purpose unit of State or local government.
- Respond to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers of the county that are performing such essential work, or by providing grants to eligible employers that have eligible workers who perform essential work.
- “Premium pay” means an additional amount up to $13 per hour that is paid to an eligible worker for work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The law imposes a cap of $25,000 for any single eligible worker.