Gov. Beshear: Kentucky meets stimulus deadlines

Federal Assistance Helping State Maintain Priorities

October 12, 2009 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear said today that the federal stimulus program is doing exactly what it is intended to do—pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into Kentucky’s economy and delivering on its promise of maintaining jobs and programs in education and health care.

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The Governor released details today of how stimulus dollars, part of the American Recovery and Re-Investment Act of 2009, have been utilized and also announced that his administration had met the first round of federal reporting requirements. The requirements are part of a series of deadlines established by the Obama administration and Congress for states to specifically detail the use of stimulus dollars.

The Beshear administration’s first reporting deadline was midnight Oct. 10. The next reporting deadline is in January 2010 and subsequent ones will follow each quarter. Between now and the end of this month, the federal government will verify the report Kentucky has made regarding stimulus dollars and expenditures.

At the end of October, the federal government is expected to release its findings on its Web site for the stimulus bill, www.recovery.gov, which will be replicated by the state on its Web site, www.recovery.ky.gov. That site also now has additional tools to provide information to Kentuckians about the stimulus and how those dollars are being used in the state.

“The bottom line: Hundreds of millions of stimulus dollars are being utilized to preserve our commitments to Kentuckians,” Gov. Beshear said, “through Medicaid, education, public safety programs and mitigating the impact of what could have been crippling budget cuts. Thousands of jobs across this state that would have been threatened in classrooms and other places have been preserved.”

Kentucky is expected to receive nearly $3 billion in formula stimulus funding between 2009 and 2011. The largest funding pools include:

* $651 million goes toward a state stabilization fund, designed to help states preserve funding in education, both K-12 and higher education, and mitigate deep budget cuts in other areas of government.
* $543 million will go toward infrastructure funding; the largest chunk of that – some $421 million – is going toward road projects throughout the state that the Governor and legislature have designated, with the balance primarily supporting water and wastewater projects throughout the state.
* $994 million is flowing toward Medicaid funding, which has helped Kentucky erase a deficit and manage rapidly growing numbers of enrollees in the health program, as well mitigate deep cuts throughout state government.
* $389 million is going to fund operating needs in education.
* More than $170 million will go toward areas such as employment assistance, public safety and energy and environmental initiatives.

Of that, Kentucky currently has expended more than $530 million, primarily in the Medicaid program. The balance of the funds will be drawn down as needed over the next year or so.

Stringent federal requirements determine how quickly dollars flow into the state, Gov. Beshear said, meaning that the bulk of funding that will actually create new jobs will be realized later rather than sooner.

In fact, the Governor said stimulus dollars are just now starting to flow toward areas that will create new jobs and grow the economy through more than $400 million in road projects that are being developed and built across the state.

“We are creating more energy efficient homes and state office buildings and embarking on a host of other initiatives that will save money and, we believe, help create jobs.”

In addition to the reporting requirements, the Beshear administration also unveiled new aspects of its stimulus Web site – www.recovery.ky.gov – that provides information to people regarding how federal assistance is working throughout Kentucky.

One of the features of the retooled Web site allows Kentuckians to find out specifically the amount of dollars that will flow to individual counties throughout the Commonwealth through an interactive map.

“This is a great tool that provides a sense of transparency and accountability to Kentuckians about how their tax dollars are being used on their behalf,” the Governor said.

Gov. Beshear said additional reporting tools and information will be added as more stimulus dollars flow into the state.

Source: Kentucky Governor