Future of federal ARPA funding remains ‘clear as mud,' say Nevada lawmakers
Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro watches as Governor Governor Lombardo addresses the Nevada State Legislation at his state of the state address on January 15, 2025. (Photo: Richard Bednarski/Nevada Current)
The State of Nevada should consider the possibility of the Trump administration attempting to clawback millions of dollars in unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds, Democratic leaders warned Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager made the comments during a meeting of the Interim Finance Committee after Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus suggested there was no reason to be concerned about Nevada's ARPA dollars.
Nevada received $2.7 billion from ARPA. Approximately $1.3 billion — 48% — has been obligated but not yet spent. States have until Dec. 31. 2026 to spend the money.
Trump on Monday night issued an executive order to immediately freeze federal grants and loans programs, causing widespread confusion and frustration among states and nonprofit organizations that heavily rely on such funding. A federal judge blocked implementation of the freeze and a second judge on Wednesday appeared ready to issue a similar order.
'There's a lot of worry and a lot of panic out there,' said Titus, a Republican from Wellington. 'I'm not sure anyone really knows for sure. But we do know that we have these (ARPA) funds in bank accounts, earning interest for the State of Nevada, and they're there.'
Cannizzaro, a Democrat from Las Vegas, pushed back on the assumption of that money being untouchable.
'I don't think we have that much clarity,' she said, adding that she'd spent the previous day speaking to state agencies about possible funding freeze. 'Everybody was about as clear as mud as to what it was would be covered or not covered by the actions in Washington.'
Yeager, a Democrat from Las Vegas, echoed those concerns and referenced another Trump executive order instructing agencies to 'immediately pause the disbursement of funds' appropriated by Congress through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. A memo later limited the scope of the executive order.
'My advice to state agencies and folks would be 'spend as quickly as you can' because the federal government can reach in and do whatever they want with this money,' Yeager said.
According to a report presented to IFC, the remaining funds are obligated to a variety of projects, including:
$384 million to the Housing Division to fund the Home Means Nevada program;
$196 million to support broadband projects;
$56 million to support public health infrastructure, including projects at the UNLV and UNR;
$40 million to the Department of Education and the State Public Charter School Authority to address learning loss at public K-12 schools; and
$10 million to support expansion of childcare providers.
Several Trump executive orders, including the one interpreted as a blanket pause on all federal funding, have been widely criticized by legal experts as being illegal and an overstep of presidential power.
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