After enduring more than two months of the coronavirus pandemic, and with state revenues continuing to tank, Pennsylvania has yet to spend a dime of $3.9 billion in discretionary federal stimulus dollars intended to aid in the relief effort.
The pot of money is by far the largest available to the state, and the most valuable. And while it currently cannot be used to make up for lost revenues — projected to be as much as $5 billion by next June — there is hope in some corners the rules could change.
The second unknown is whether Congress and President Donald Trump will agree on another stimulus package that would provide direct cash assistance to state budgets, which might change how Pennsylvania chooses to spend the current round of cash.
These unknowns could make it advantageous for state officials to take their time allocating the money, but some Democratic lawmakers are agitating to move faster.