What is the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)?
The federal government signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into law on March 11, 2021. This law provides $1.9 trillion for continued COVID-19 response and recovery across the United States, including $350 billion for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
Massachusetts received approximately $8.7 billion from ARPA:
- $5.3 billion for the state government to spend.
- $3.4 billion for city and town governments to spend.
- $25 million for tribal governments to spend.
What is the Federal Funds Equity and Accountability Review Panel?
Massachusetts approved a bill to spend $2.55 billion of the state’s $5.3 billion in ARPA funds (Chapter 102 of the Acts of 2021). The state reserved the rest of those funds for future use.
This bill also created a 25-member Equity & Accountability Panel to evaluate how ARPA funds are spent in communities disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Panel members include representatives from a diverse group of organizations from across the state.
Federal Funds Equity and Accountability Review Panel Members
(organized by Name, Org/Title, Appointing authority)