Arkansas should prioritize capital needs including broadband and cyber security with the $1.57 billion allotted to the state government through the American Rescue Plan, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued guidance on how states can use the covid-19 aid Monday night. Hutchinson described the funding as "discretionary within limits," because they allow for some flexibility.
Money should also be spent on meeting short-term humanitarian needs, but Arkansas’ spending will focus on one-time investments rather than programs that the state won’t have money to supplement once the federal funding runs out, according to Hutchinson.
A 14-member steering committee will play a role in deciding how the money is spent. Eight seats will be filled by cabinet secretaries or their designees, and six will be filled by members of the state House and state Senate, Hutchinson said. He signed an executive order setting up the panel Tuesday.
“We have to be methodical about this and not rushed,” he said.
The $1.9 trillion covid-relief package was signed into law in March by President Joe Biden.
Other allowable uses, according to the federal government’s guidelines, include infrastructure and preparation for a future pandemic, Hutchinson said.
1:09 p.m.: Arkansas expands shot access to kids 12 and older
Arkansas will open covid-19 vaccinations up to people age 12 and older, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday morning.
Currently, all Arkansans age 16 and older are eligible for the vaccine.
On Monday, U.S. regulators expanded the use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine to children as young as 12.
Hutchinson made the announcement at a charter school conference in downtown Little Rock. He referenced U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci’s statement that restrictions could be relaxed in the next year if people get vaccinated.
“We do not have mandates, but we have an urgent need,” he said.
He said afterward that the state would follow the direction of the Food and Drug Administration and that he would provide more details at his 1:30 p.m. news conference.
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The Republican governor reiterated that it is his goal to get the vaccine into the arms of half of all Arkansans, which is about 1.5 million people.
This story was originally published at 9:46 a.m.