Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the State submitted its first American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) recovery plan performance report, as is required by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in accordance with provisions of the unprecedented federal relief package, which directed $3.7 billion in federal aid to Maryland.
As previously reported on Conduit Street, in April, Governor Hogan, House Speaker Adrienne Jones, and Senate President Bill Ferguson announced a bipartisan agreement to allocate ARPA funds to support pandemic response efforts and jump-start economic recovery through support to struggling individuals and affected businesses and industries.
According to the report:
More than $610 million was spent in FY 2021 across the seven allowable expenditure categories, including efforts to improve public health, ameliorate negative economic impacts, and enhance services to those communities hit most disproportionately by the pandemic.
The bulk of the report focuses on how the remainder of Maryland’s ARPA funds will be allocated across those same seven categories. The summaries of each of these allocations explain, where possible, what state programs will administer the funds, the timeline for the distribution of the funds, planned community engagement actions to inform the public of the availability of the funds, intended outcomes of the investment of the funds, and performance metrics that will measure the success of that investment. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will coordinate with program managers throughout the executive branch to identify specific, measurable, and attainable goals where appropriate.
Counties that receive ARPA funds must meet compliance and reporting responsibilities. On August 31, both the Interim Report and the Recovery Plan Performance Report are due to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
All counties must submit an Interim Report. However, counties that did not receive Recovery Funds until after July 15, 2021, may submit an Interim Report within 60 days of receiving funds.
Additionally, counties with greater than 250,000 residents must submit the Recovery Plan Performance Report, which provides information on a recipient’s projects and plans for achieving programmatic outcomes in an effective, equitable manner.
Treasury released a user guide, including step-by-step guidance for submitting the reports via Treasury’s Submission Portal.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) is in close communication with Treasury officials about specific requirements included in both reports. View NACo’s updated FAQ document or submit a question to their experts.
Stay tuned to Conduit Street for more information.
