An Arkansas legislative committee on Tuesday advanced the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's request for spending authority to use $280 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds for water, wastewater and irrigation projects in Arkansas.
The legislative panel also recommended that state lawmakers grant spending authority for the state Department of Human Services to use $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to support the training and certification of teams employed by behavioral health agencies in evidence-based models, and for Black River Technical College to use $4.6 million of the federal funds to construct short-term training and housing facilities.
The Legislative Council's Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee made the recommendations to the Legislative Council, which meets Friday.
The committee's action came late Tuesday afternoon near the end of a five-hour meeting in which several legislators expressed frustration about what they see as the state's lack of prioritization in using federal American Rescue Plan funds.
The legislative panel delayed action on several state government requests collectively seeking about $105 million in spending authority to use federal American Rescue Plan funds.
These requests include the state Department of Human Service's requests for $60 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to assist hospitals in immediate jeopardy of closure and $10 million federal funds and $5 million in state restricted reserve funds for services to benefit rural hospitals through the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership, as well as several requests by colleges and Women and Children First for about $35 million in federal funds for building projects.
Afterward, Senate President Pro Tempore Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, said he wants each hospital seeking federal American Rescue Plan funds to avoid closure to explain to state lawmakers how much federal money the hospital needs, why the hospital needs the money, and how the federal money is going to help the hospital be sustainable in the long run.
"We just don't want to give the money and then them go under in six months," he said in an interview.
Increased costs and labor shortages have resulted in reduced revenue for the hospitals, and that's meant several hospitals across the state, particularly those that serve rural populations, are at immediate risk of closure, the Department of Human Services said in its request for $60 million in American Rescue Plan funds.
The department said it also is working with the Arkansas Hospital Association to undergo a rate review for Arkansas' inpatient and outpatient hospital rates, as well as examine policies to help address the strains placed on hospitals through the pandemic.
In May 2021, Gov. Asa Hutchinson appointed the state's American Rescue Plan steering committee -- comprising nine Hutchinson administration officials and six state lawmakers -- to recommend the best uses of $1.57 billion in American Rescue Plan state fiscal recovery funds and $158 million in American Rescue Plan capital project funds.
In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act that is designed to help the United States recover from the economic and health effects of the covid-19 pandemic.
The state would have about $450 million in remaining American Rescue Plan state fiscal recovery funds if the legislative committee on Tuesday recommended the Legislative Council authorize the use of $414 million in requested funds and the council approved the requests Friday, said Alan McVey, chief of staff at the state Department of Finance and Administration.
The state plans to use the bulk, if not all, of the $158 million in federal American Rescue Plan capital project funds for broadband grants, he said.
Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, who is a committee co-chair, said he wants to make sure the state is diligent in its use of the federal American Rescue Plan funds, and hospitals are struggling financially because of the rising cost of nurses and the state needs to prioritize health care in using these federal funds.
The committee's other co-chair, Rep. Michelle Gray, R-Melbourne, said some of state government's requests for using federal American Rescue Plans funds appear to be haphazard and don't appear to be related to the covid-19 pandemic.
The Department of Agriculture's request for almost $300 million in American Rescue Funds includes $135 million for grants for drinking water-related projects; $135 million for grants for wastewater treatment and collection and storm-water-related projects; $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds for a White River Irrigation District project to construct five county road crossings over a 10-mile canal segment that is under construction as phase 1 of the Grand Prairie project; and $5 million for a Bayou Meto Water Management District project to construct 10 pumping stations for water delivery.
Gray noted the Arkansas Game Fish and Commission has pulled down its request for spending authority to use $15 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds for renovation of about 13,000 acres of Greentree reservoirs in the Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area that have been negatively affected by prolonged flooding and its request to use $5 million in federal funds to modernize how water is used, captured and then reused at the Lonoke Fish Hatchery.
State Department of Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward told state lawmakers that Hutchinson created a water and other infrastructure projects working group in June 2021 that conducted a statewide water infrastructure needs assessment that found more than $5 billion in needs.
The department wants to administer $135 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to distribute grants for drinking-water-related projects and $135 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to distribute grants for wastewater treatment and collection and stormwater-related projects through its Natural Resources Division, he said.
If the Legislative Council authorizes spending authority for the department's request, Ward said, the Department of Agriculture plans to allow for about 50 days for grant applications to be submitted, and have the applications reviewed and scored by staff before the Natural Resources Commission makes decisions on which projects to fund.
Several weeks ago, various officials told state lawmakers there are between $4 billion and $6 billion worth of upgrades and changes needed for Arkansas' water and wastewater infrastructure, but they believed the issue has been an afterthought when it comes to accessing American Rescue Plan funds for the projects. At that time, Hutchinson said "I have made it abundantly clear that utilizing American Rescue Plan funds for water projects is a priority of mine."
Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, on Tuesday questioned why Dismang made a motion to authorize spending authority for Black River Technical College to use $4.6 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds, without also authorizing spending authority for several other colleges' building projects.
Dismang said Black River Technical College is seeking federal funds for housing for a training facility, and he wants a more comprehensive view of the nursing program needs across the state before authorizing the use of federal funds for building projects for nursing programs.
Chesterfield replied it's disheartening for advocates for building projects to spend all day at the committee's meeting and for the committee to be non-responsive.
It's a shame, she said before the committee approved Dismang's motion, despite her dissent.
The legislative committee delayed action on the following requests for spending authority to use federal American Rescue Plan funds:
• A $9.59 million request from the state Department of Finance and Administration for Women & Children First, a nonprofit that serves victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking. The group proposes to construct a new emergency shelter of 90 beds that also houses other support agencies and programs to allow participants to travel to one location for needed services.
• A $6 million request from University of Arkansas at Monticello to upgrade the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in its Science Center.
• A $5 million request from Philander Smith College to create a multipurpose community resource facility with the aim of creating a certified nursing assistant and licensed practical nurse program, expansion of the community health clinic and expansion of the college's food pantry.
• A $5 million request from the Northwest Technical Institute Education Foundation to help in the construction of a 50,000-square-foot allied health facility on the institute's campus in Springdale.
• A $3.2 million request from Arkansas Tech University to remodel Morton Hall to create space for the growth of nursing programs.
• A $3 million request from Southeast Arkansas College to help construct an approximately $14 million student and community center. The proposed facility is aimed at providing job training and development, education services, health care monitoring and related services and emergency services during a publicly declared emergency.
• The $3 million request from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff for a student engagement center that is aimed at combining access to health care, technology, academic support, career planning support and recreation.