Flush With Cash, Ohio Looks at Ways to Spend Federal Pandemic Funds

Of the $5.4 billion Ohio received from through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), more than $2 billion remains unspent. This is in addition to $2.5 billion in surplus tax collections this fiscal year — and Ohio’s maxed-out, $2.7 billion rainy day fund.

Cleveland.com (subscription) reports that ideas for spending the surplus range from new tax relief, to replenishing the state’s unemployment insurance fund to its pre-pandemic levels, to enhancing infrastructure and broadband. The story also lists how Ohio’s ARPA dollars have been spent, including $1.4 billion to repay a federal loan that funded the state’s unemployment system during the worst of the pandemic. The OMA supported the repayment. 6/21/2022