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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Governor Asa Hutchinson announced Friday that he would not accept the full amount of the second payment for rental assistance for Arkansas.
During a “pad and pen” session at the state capitol, Hutchinson told reporters that he signed a letter to the U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stating his intent.
The governor said Arkansas still has $6.7 million remaining from the first round of money the state received and that it has been offered $146 million of additional funding.
Hutchison said Arkansas doesn’t need all of that money, though, and that he is proposing using a portion for housing stability efforts, with the groups Our House and Restore Hope helping with this effort.
The governor also announced that Arkansas will have a record-breaking $1 billion surplus by June, saying there are several options to use the money, including funding for broadband development, tax relief for Arkansans and school facilities in the state.
The last estimate before Friday’s reveal was $600 million.
Over 210,000 households in the state lack broadband. Hutchinson says half of those are covered by federal funding and it would cost the state $500 million to cover the remaining households.
In whichever direction the funds go, it would still have to be approved by the legislature.
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