The Special Session called by Gov. Kay Ivey concluded last Thursday, as the Legislature gave final approval of a bipartisan plan to invest some $772 million in American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) funds. The $772 million comes as part of Alabama’s $1.1 billion initial installment from the federal relief plan ($580 million from the first tranche and $192 million from a separate Capital Projects Fund). A second installment of ARPA funds is expected later this year.
The plan, which has been signed into law by Gov. Ivey, appropriates the general ARPA funds as follows: about $276 million to broadband expansion, $225 million to water and sewer infrastructure, and $146 million to healthcare providers. A spreadsheet showing the allocation may be found below.
The 2022 Regular Session will resume next week, during which the Legislature will return to its ordinary course of business. One new twist is that a special federal three judge panel ordered the state to redraw the federal congressional districts to better reflect the minority population of the state. The court has given the state two weeks to redraw the districts. The decision has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s unclear at this point how this will impact the Regular Session of the legislature.
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