Ohio has started to deploy its state share of the American Rescue Plan Act dollars.  Ohio is scheduled to receive a total of $5.68 billion, half of which has recently come into the state. (The other half will be released to Ohio in 2022).

The state legislature and Governor’s office have begun to allocate 2021’s $2.84 billion through House Bill 168. As expected, Ohio will use $1.5 billion of this year’s ARPA funds to repay the federal advancement Ohio used to maintain our state unemployment insurance program in 2020.  This will protect employers from seeing massively increased rates in the future.

Ohio policymakers also allocated $422 million which will go to Ohio’s townships and non-entitlement cities.  Townships across the country did not receive a earmarked allocation from ARPA, these state funds will rectify that oversight. The Office of Budget and Management will soon open an portal for local governments to apply for their allocation.

Entitlement communities (typically those with more than 50,000 population) are receiving their funds directly from the federal government. Non-entitlement communities (typically those with less than 50,000 population, including townships) will need to apply for their funds through the Ohio Office of Budget Management, which is distributing funds on behalf of the federal government. Non-entitlement communities must request their funds by September 4, 2021 or their allocations will be reallocated within the state. Additionally, if a community does not draw down its first tranche of funds (e.g. request by Sept. 4, 2021) it will not be eligible to apply for the second tranche of funds, that will release in May 2022.

More information for non-entitlement communities can be found here.

House Bill 168 also included $250 million to establish a Water and Sewer Quality Program to provide grants to local governments to address aging water infrastructure.  Additionally, HB 168 allocates $84 million to support infrastructure improvements at Ohio’s pediatric behavioral health care facilities to allow for safe placement of youth in crisis.

Roughly another $600 million of state APRA funds are available this year. The state legislature has signaled its interest in funding “one time” projects and programs, including brownfields but has not yet made commitments with those funds.

We will continue to monitor allocations and ensure communities know about upcoming opportunities.

To learn more about ARPA and what resources are available, be sure to visit our resources page. Read our “11 Principles for Maximizing American Rescue Plan’s Funding Opportunities” blogpost or go straight to some of the best sources we’ve found for strategically deploying federal funds.