The most recent expenditure data posted on this site is from the reporting period ending March 30th, 2011. Due to changes in administrative procedures, data from later reporting periods will no longer be posted. Please visit www.recovery.gov to access data from more recent reporting periods.
President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law on February 17, 2009. The ARRA provides $ 787 billion of federal tax reductions and federal spending increases to accelerate the national economic recovery.
Governor Tim Pawlenty named Tom Hanson, Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget, as the state’s stimulus coordinator. In this role, he and his staff laid the groundwork to ensure that federal money is received quickly, spent effectively, and that spending is clearly understood by the public. In November of 2010, newly elected Governor Dayton appointed Jim Showalter to be Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget.
The commissioner is supported in this effort by many other state officials and public employees. Much of the new federal funding is directed to state agencies who manage these existing programs. They quickly assess changes in federal law, providing interpretations on local issues, and respond to the new funding availability. In some cases, new teams have been formed to best access federal competitive grant funding.
In general, funding decisions will be based on federal progeram requirements, recommendations by the Governor and the review and approval of the Legislature.
In March 2009, the Governor and his agencies identified expected federal funds available and requested authority to receive and spend these funds from the Legislature. The Legislature provided approval during the 2009 session and will again be asked to approve any new funding in 2010.
Once authority to spend is granted, agencies will review applications for funding and make final decisions. Much of the stimulus funding is received through existing programs, with clear guidelines about eligible expenditures.
The timing will differ based on the program and how quickly activity can be approved and implemented. The earliest impacts are likely to be on transportation projects, while other programs may not start until much later.
The federal stimulus package is intended to provide an immediate boost to the economy.
It is important to get the money out as quickly as possible to create jobs and help families that have been hit hard by the current recession. To make sure that this happens, Congress has set clear time limits for some pots of money with requirements to obligate and spend money quickly.
Federal law appropriates total amounts available for spending. The enacted stimulus package provides new funding for more than 100 programs. Most of these are existing programs that the state is already familiar with administering.
Within each of these programs, Minnesota will receive a portion of the total amount based on federal formulas or other considerations in law. The state’s funding estimates (shown in a separate document) reflect initial estimates of Minnesota’s share but final amounts will only be known once federal agencies make their allocations.
In general, the federal government is not sending cash to the state, but instead, it is reimbursing the state when spending has been completed.
About $ 2.6 billion in federal stimulus funding was available to offset a portion of the state deficit. These were funds received as a result of an increased match in Medical Assistance as well as State Fiscal Stabilization dollars.
The federal government has created www.recovery.gov to provide information on the stimulus bill. This includes a brief timeline of activities and summary information on elements of the Act.
If you want additional information on tax provisions in the bill, it is best to start with this site or the Internal Revenue Service. Tax incentives in the bill are tied to the federal tax code. The state’s Department of Revenue can also assist with state implications of these tax changes.
The Data Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13) presumes that all government data are public unless a state or federal law says the data are not public. Government data is a term that means all recorded information a government entity has, including paper, email, CD-ROMs, photographs, etc. More information describing how to make a data request from a government entity is included below.
below
