State officials are figuring out how they’ll spend Indiana’s share of the latest federal COVID-19 relief package. During Wednesday’s press conference, Governor Holcomb noted that it’ll include about $3 billion for the state and another $3 billion for local governments.
He said he’s discussing options with state legislators as part of the budget process. “We have the ability to emerge and accelerate away from this pandemic because of the strong position we went in and this assistance that’s coming our way, but it’ll be a team effort,” Holcomb said.
Office of Management and Budget Director Chris Johnston said a big difference from the original CARES Act is the availability of budget relief, in addition to funding directly tied to the pandemic response. “This does add a new wrinkle and should bring in broader perspectives for discussing how that should be used,” Johnston said. “We are in the middle of that budget session, and I’m sure that’ll be discussed over the coming weeks as we finalize and the General Assembly finalizes its budget.”
Governor Holcomb said they’re also waiting for more guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury as to which uses are eligible.
