Moving Forward With the Recovery Act
Some Texas legislators are going ahead with efforts to implement provisions of the ARRA, despite Gov. Rick Perry's objections to certain portions of the federal bill. At least one state legislator, Representative Sylvester Turner, has filed a resolution that would effectively circumvent the governor and allow the legislature to accept and allocate ARRA money. The resolution takes advantage of a provision in the law that allows state legislatures to accept any and all ARRA funds in the event that they are rejected by the governor, as is now the case here in Texas. (To read the relevant provision, see the highlighted section attached to this post.) Texas legislators are moving forward in other ways, too.
Rep. Turner's resolution came on the heels of a similar motion passed through the Mississippi House of Representatives, and other states are now considering comparable measures. A major sticking point for Gov. Perry and other governors who have considered rejecting ARRA funds is the requirement that states adopt certain minimum regulations with regard to citizens' eligibility for unemployment benefits. For his part, the Governor asserted that an increased burden would have to be shouldered by Texas employers, and that the state would have to take on extra expenses once the $555 million in federal money was exhausted. The announcement came at a time when many Texans are hurting, as more than 75,000 jobs were lost in January of this year, and the outlook for employment in the state is certainly not encouraging.
Legislators in Texas have filed at least ten bills that deal with some or all of the changes that are necessary to draw down the full allotment of ARRA unemployment funds. Four of those bills - Rep. Deshotel's HB 2623, Rep. Parker's HB 3153, Sen. Lucio's SB 1421, and Sen. Eltife's SB 1569 - propose modernizing Texas' unemployment guidelines to fit with the federal regulations. So, if the legislature decides to override the governor's decision to reject $555 million in unemployment benefits, and if it then enacts these changes to current regulations on the state level, then the state could receive the full sum to which it is entitled under the ARRA.
Rep. Turner also filed a bill on March 13th that would establish a "Texas Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board", with the purpose of providing a way to thoroughly track the usage of ARRA funds and measure the results of expenditures. Rep. Jim Dunnam has filed legislation that would give the State Auditor extra oversight and enforcement authority to improve ARRA implementation transparency.
| Attachment | Size |
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| ARRA Provision.pdf | 28.99 KB |
Implementing the ARRA: Responses Across the Nation
At almost 1,100 pages, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a complicated set of grants and regulations whose effects will be felt in almost every area of Texas’ government. Texas Impact recognizes the transformative potential of the ARRA, and we feel it is imperative that measures are put in place to ensure that the state acts prudently and transparently as it attempts to take full advantage of the funds Texas is entitled to.
Across the nation, other states are employing a variety of models to deal with their potential allocations and opportunities associated with the ARRA. Some states are doing more than others, to be sure, but it is instructive to look at all of the options open to Texas. To that end, Texas Impact has begun cataloging and analyzing state responses, and we have identified a few categories of reactions and developed a comprehensive list showing what states are doing.
| Type | Description | Example | Number |
| Office | A new, temporary state office is created to coordinate and implement the state’s ARRA funding | Wisconsin’s Office of Recovery and Reinvestment is comprised of staff on loan from each state agency | 7 |
| Working Group, Cabinet, etc. | These advisory bodies are often comprised of gubernatorial and legislative staff as well as representatives from state agencies | Kansas’ ARRA Advisory Group was established to monitor timelines and provide transparency | 15 |
| "Czar" | A single appointee is tasked with overseeing part or all of the state’s allocation | Ohio has tapped a nonprofit executive as its “infrastructure czar” | 9 |
In all, 31 states have implemented one of these measures. Their charges often differ, as some are meant primarily to provide oversight and accountability, while others are aiming to access more funds or coordinate the allocation process.
In addition, 22 states have established an official, stand-alone website dedicated to the state’s handling of ARRA funds. The sites allow citizens to learn about the bill, measure the state’s response, track expenditures, submit project proposals, and more. Some examples:
- Recovery.ohio.gov, one of the first sites to go online, keeps the public aware of upcoming deadlines and allows them to submit project proposals. Over 17,000 proposals had been submitted as of 4 March.
- Maryland has developed a site that includes its StateStat technology, which allows people to access an interactive map that tracks stimulus funding and projects. See the link at the upper left corner of the page.
- Washington's recovery.wa.gov provides a list of specific people to contact regarding projects in a number of categories such as alternative fuels, child care, criminal justice grants, etc.
- Stimulus.alabama.gov organizes ARRA provisions by stakeholders (businesses, nonprofits, individuals, etc.) so they can see which programs may be relevant to their interests.
Obviously, individual states will take the steps that are appropriate and necessary given their unique situation, but it is instructive to look at all of the options open to Texas. For a complete list of what other governors and state legislators are doing, see the attached document.
| Attachment | Size |
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| State ARRA Responses.pdf | 105.6 KB |
