DevelopOhio

If you were living your life fully in late December 2022, you can be excused for having missed a big deal in the world of the American Rescue Plan Act. Your “B-sides” authors, however, grew excited at the prospect of new eligible funding categories (i.e., additional buckets of use) for recipients’ ARPA allocations. For more, read the full article.

Federal energy policy is making many new incentives available for local governments to fund energy-related assets. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted in 2022, established a set of energy-related asset categories that are now being directly subsidized by the federal government. Under the IRA, nearly any advanced or renewable energy asset constructed by a local government is eligible for some kind of federal cash subsidy. For more, read the full article.

The eight states surrounding the Great Lakes have a new federal commission to “govern the economic and environmental challenges” they face, The Chronicle-Telegram reports. Proposed by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Toledo), the Great Lakes Authority “will oversee Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New York in trying to advance the Great Lakes,” the article reports. The authority “can use grants to fund workforce training, employment-related education, entrepreneurship, technology and business development in the eight states, as well as projects benefitting transportation, telecommunications and public infrastructure.” For more, read the full article.

With the U.S. Treasury’s January 2022 release of its Final Rule in the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, we began publishing this series of articles reviewing the lesser publicized aspects of that guidance (hence, the “B-sides” moniker). In this edition, we address the Treasury’s presumed eligible use of federal stimulus funding in the development of affordable housing, and the limited scope under which private, for-profit entities may receive transfers of ARPA funds to carry out such ends.  

For more, read the full article.

Much ballyhoo has accompanied the U.S. Treasury’s publication in January 2022 of its Final Rule in the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Local governments across the country are scrambling to deploy their stimulus funds in response to the pandemic, pay essential workers, provide government services, and invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure. Buried in the Final Rule and its 403-page clarifying guidance is an express authorization to use funds to address vacant and abandoned buildings, including commercial and industrial structures.  

For more, read the full article. 

U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur recently introduced legislation to create the “Great Lakes Authority,” a federal entity that would “promote regional development in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin,” Cleveland.com reports. The authority would “promote economic development, job creation, and workforce education; restore and protect the Great Lakes’ environment; foster innovation to expand manufacturing and promote cleaner and more sustainable power production; and establish and administer funding mechanisms to finance clean energy, green infrastructure, water infrastructure, and broadband infrastructure projects,” according to the article. In a press release, Kaptur said, “[b]y investing in workforce development, innovative energy technologies and manufacturing processes, and responsible stewardship of our precious Great Lakes ecosystem – the Great Lakes Authority will unleash the Heartland’s full potential for this 21st century.” For more, read the full article and the full press release.

Continuing our series of articles reviewing the lesser publicized aspects of the new American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) guidance (hence, the “B-sides” moniker), we address the U.S. Treasury’s issued guidance as to using federal stimulus funding to seed local governments’ revolving loan funds (RLFs). Specifically, we have clearer guidance, via the final rule clarifying an earlier FAQ issued by the Treasury, as to the mechanics of seeding RLFs using ARPA fiscal recovery funds. 

For more, read the full article.

Much has been written by various prognosticators regarding the January 6, 2022, release by the U.S. Treasury of its final rule as to the use by state and local governments of federal stimulus funding under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). One head-turning change under the new guidance is the Treasury presuming up to $10 million in revenue has been lost by each local government due to the public health emergency.

Rather than rehash key takeaways from the Final Rule (radio’s “A-side” singles), we share this first of a series regarding lesser publicized aspects of the new ARPA guidance (the “B-sides”). Here, we focus on funding capital projects.

For more, read the full article.