(Center Square) – $ 8.8 billion is expected to flow into South Carolina from the US Rescue Planning Act (ARPA), but most of the money goes to local governments, county governments, or directly to individual state agencies. Can be done. As a result, the state has left about $ 2.5 billion to manage under strict
(Center Square) – $ 8.8 billion is expected to flow into South Carolina from the US Rescue Planning Act (ARPA), but most of the money goes to local governments, county governments, or directly to individual state agencies. Can be done.
As a result, the state has left about $ 2.5 billion to manage under strict limits. Therefore, the Accelerate SC Committee discussed projects on broadband expansion, business grants, state infrastructure, and revenue exchange.
“We need to be smart about what we do with this money,” South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said at a meeting last week. “We owe our citizens … to invest in the smartest things that make a profit.”
Most of AccelerateSC’s discussions focused on over $ 600 million in projects to install fiber lines to provide broadband access to all South Carolina residents.
AccelerateSC is a group of business, tourism and agricultural leaders gathered by McMaster to advise on the economic issues of COVID-19.
Jim Stritzinger, Broadband Coordinator for the South Carolina Regulatory Staff Office, fits the ARPA timeline of investing by 31 December 2024 and 31 December 2026. I presented a plan to do. A place where more than $ 200 million is invested in the private sector while spending over $ 400 million in state ARPA funding.
“I really think we’re building for the next 100 years,” Stritzinger said. “We are not building due to a temporary gap of three years.”
The temporary gap mentioned by Stritzinger was raised by a member of the committee and Bob Hughes, chairman of the Hughes Development Corporation. He suggested that the state investigate Elon Musk’s Starlink and get everyone with access to the state’s satellite Internet at a low cost of an estimated $ 60 million.
“It’s three years faster and will be $ 400 million cheaper,” Hughes said. “It’s not the largest internet in the world, but it will pass the standards we’re talking about.”
However, there were two Stritzinger claims to the operation. First, Stritzinger talked to Musk’s company, but they don’t have the satellite bandwidth to enable a large project. He also explained that fiber is also of great value outside of broadband Internet in that it is also the backbone of wireless telephone provider networks.
ARPA funds cannot be used for infrastructure projects, but can be used in lieu of government revenues that were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. The revenue alternative can then be used for the project.
The Commission said on I-26 between the intersection with I-95 and South Carolina Highway 27 near Ridgeville, as the state is trying to cover the loss of nearly $ 170 million in revenue from the South Carolina Department of Transportation. I heard a presentation about accelerating the project.
Another focus of the Commission is to support many state-wide companies paying the state’s unemployment trust fund, which was previously funded by the CARES Act of $ 835 million. It was that.
ARPA funds cannot be used to cover corporate unemployment costs as they cannot be used to replace or reduce taxes. Therefore, the Commission has asked Employment Director and Labor Force Director Daniel Ellzey to propose the following business grant programs: For companies that pay for unemployment insurance, not including nonprofits and government agencies.
Source link South Carolina is considering ARPA spending for broadband expansion | News
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *