Here is an update on Stimulus Funding in Maine, and the status of several areas of funding, from Finance Commissioner Ryan Low. Commissioner Low’s report is below and more materials can be found on the state website: www.maine.gov/recovery : 

 

GENERAL

 

• On June 22^nd the White House Office of Management and Budget released additional implementation guidance for Recovery Act funds, with particular focus on the reporting and transparency requirements.  OMB will host web cast and training sessions throughout the month of July which DAFS and OIT personnel will participate in. 

 

• As of July 8^th, more than $242 million in Recovery Act funding has been distributed through state government.  The majority of this funding was in Medicaid payments, enhanced unemployment and additional federal compensation, and highway/bridge funding.

 

EDUCATION

 

• During the weeks of June 22^nd and 29^th, the Maine Department of Education issued almost $24 million of federal Recovery Act funds to school systems – representing the first of three waves of State Fiscal Stabilization Funds included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will be sent to school districts.  The funds replenish the curtailment in State funds that went into effect in January as a result of the global recession and a significant drop in State revenues.   Stabilization funds are the most flexible of the Recovery Act funds for education and can be used for a broad array of educational purposes, including adult and family literacy, vocational education and modernization. Federal guidance urges that funds be used for one-time purposes such as energy or security improvements, as well as to purchase laptops for high school students and one-time professional development or educational planning grants. Districts will receive another $43 million in federal Stabilization funds for 2009-2010, and $59 million for the 2010-2011 school year. The funds were intended to fill gaps created by loss of state revenue.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

• Maine DOT was recognized as the first state in the nation to meet the Recovery Act “use it or lose it” requirement of having 50% of a state’s allocation obligated within 120 days of passage of the Act.  6 days ahead of the deadline, MDOT had 100% of their funds obligated.

 

• Maine DOT advertised 75 projects to be funded through ARRA resources – all have been advertised with only 18 awaiting award.  34 projects are currently underway, 2 are completed, and 21 are awarded but have yet to begin.  In total, as of July 9^th Maine DOT had spent $20.4 million.

 

• Maine DOT continues to explore discretionary grant opportunities – of most note are two pots of funding:

 

• $8 billion in High-speed Rail Corridors and Intercity Passenger Rail funding administered by USDOT and Federal Rail Administration.
• $1.5 billion TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Grants Administered by the Secretary of Transportation

           

A memo detailing these and other opportunities and the departments approach is attached. 

 

ENERGY/WEATHERIZATION

 

• The Public Utilities Commission has submitted applications for both the State Energy Program (SEP) funds and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) to the United States Department of Energy.  The SEP funds include $9.2 million in residential weatherization funding, $1.8 million in workforce development for the green/energy economy, and $10.9 million in large consumer/commercial all fuels programs.  There has been significant interest in these programs and we are waiting on US DOE approval of the application.  The EECBG application was due at the end of June and will be reviewed by US DOE over the summer.

 

• Maine Housing applied for nearly $42 million in low-income weatherization funding under the Recovery Act.  The application has been submitted and is pending US DOE approval.

 

 

• The Department of Energy recently released a number of grant opportunities that may provide direct assistance to the states in the areas of smart grid analysis, planning as it relates to stimulus-funded energy programs, and transmission planning.  The three opportunities include:

-       Enhancing State Government Energy Assurance Capabilities and Planning for Smart Grid Resiliency

-       Resource Assessment and Interconnection-Level Transmission Analysis and Planning

-       State Electricity Regulators Assistance

 

The PUC and Office of Energy Independence and Security are reviewing these opportunities and will prepare applications if appropriate. 

 

 

CONSERVATION/MARINE RESOURCES

 

• In late June, Conservation was notified by the USDA Forest Service that it will receive $11.4 million in Recovery Funding to convert public building to wood heat.  Conservation is awaiting more guidance, though it is anticipated that the funding will be made available for grants to Maine towns & communities for the conversion / supplementation of heating systems from oil to wood.   This program would be modeled after DOC’s Urban & Community Forestry Program.  DOC will work to form partnerships with communities in the eligible counties to promote wood to energy conversions and supplementation.  All public building conversion projects will be eligible, including schools, hospitals, municipal buildings, and state facilities within the eligible counties.

 

• The Department of Marine Resources will receive 2 grants totaling $7.7 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Recovery Act funding.  Maine will receive $6.1 million for the demolition of Great Works Dam on the Penobscot River and $1.6 million to replace problematic culverts, particularly Downeast, as part of Project SHARE, a collaboration between industry, the State and federal government on Atlantic salmon restoration. Maine received roughly 20 percent of the funds it requested from NOAA as part of the Recovery Act, which is the highest funding ratio of any state in the country. According to NOAA, Congress approved $167 million for habitat restoration, which will fund 50 projects nationally. The habitat restoration funding in Maine is expected to create at least 60 jobs over two years.

 

LABOR

 

• As of July 3^rd, MDOL has paid out $24,133,628 in Recovery Act Unemployment Compensation Benefits.

 

• MDOL is reviewing several competitive discretionary opportunities recently released by USDOL.  Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced five grant competitions, totaling $500 million, to fund projects that prepare workers for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.  Four of the competitions announced are designed to serve workers in need of training through various national, state and community outlets: Energy Training Partnership Grants; Pathways Out of Poverty Grants; State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants; and Green Capacity Building Grants. The fifth competition, for State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants, will fund state workforce agencies that will collect, analyze and disseminate labor market information and develop labor exchange infrastructure to direct individuals to careers in green industries.  Maine’s Workforce Cabinet chaired by Commissioner Fortman has been planning for these announcements and is developing a plan to coordinate our grant application efforts across the state.

 

OTHER

 

• The Maine Arts Commission has allocated $255,100 of Recovery Act funding to be redistributed through the Maine Arts Recovery Grant Program.  Applications were due on May 29^th.   On June 26^th, members of the Maine Arts Commission’s Executive Committee, and one public member who had been involved with the National Endowment for the Arts review of applications, adjudicated 31 Maine Arts Recovery applications received from Maine nonprofit arts organizations statewide.  Fourteen awards were recommended that totaled $135,000.  A second round of applications will be accepted. 

 

• On July 1^st, both Notice of Funding Availabilities National Telecommunications and Information/Rural Utilities Service (NTIA/RUS) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and the NTIA Mapping) were issued July 1^st.  Connect ME Authority staff is currently reviewing the opportunities and will be meeting with the Broadband Strategy Council on July 24^th.

 

• The comment period closed on the Community Development Block Grant-Recovery (CDBG-R) Substantial Amendment and was delivered to the HUD Regional Office in Manchester, NH on June 29^th  meeting the CDBG mandatory due date.  The Department of Economic and Community Development will now wait for HUD approval, beginning the projects once received.