States Divvy Up Federal Covid Billions With More Equity In Mind

With roughly two years still left on the clock, states have allocated almost two-thirds of the $199.8 billion in federal pandemic relief aid from the Biden administration’s landmark stimulus package to fund a wide variety of their own priorities—from building homes and expanding broadband access to providing bonuses to public school staff.

Data compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures through early September shows that states have parceled out roughly $148 billion in federal money aimed at helping states counteract the health, fiscal, and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Facing such a large influx of one-time money from ...