by David Jacobs, The Center Square | May 07, 2021 03:00 PM Print this article
The Louisiana House voted unanimously Thursday for a proposal to spend most of an anticipated $1.6 billion in federal money from the American Rescue Plan.
The expected funding represents the first allocation of the approximately $3.2 billion in ARP money state officials expect to receive.
House Bill 642 calls for using $400 million of the ARP money to shore up the state fund that pays for unemployment benefits and $300 million for providing grants to upgrade community water and sewer systems.
Another $90 million would be set aside to promote access to broadband internet in unserved areas. Loggers who suffered losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic would be eligible for grants of up to $25,000 from a $10 million relief fund, and $4.5 million would be carved out to provide grants of up to $10,000 for movie theater owners who were forced to close theaters or reduce capacity.
Louisiana House votes to divert auto sales taxes to road work
The Louisiana House voted Monday to divert hundreds of millions of dollars in automobile taxes from the general fund to a fund dedicated to road and bridge construction.
Members also voted to ask the southeast Louisiana parishes that benefit most directly from a billion-dollar hurricane and flood protection system to help the state pay its share of the cost.
House Bill 511 by Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, calls for initially dedicating 10% of the proceeds from state sales taxes on vehicles to the construction subfund of the Transportation Trust Fund then increasing that proportion by 10% each year until all of the money is going to road and bridge construction.