Nearly 42 percent of federal ARPA money has been allocated, analysis finds

New Hampshire has approved the expenditure of nearly $415 million out of the $995 million total it received in American Rescue Plan Act money, according to an analysis by the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.

As of late January, around 42 percent of the funds had been earmarked for different uses in the state to help aid with economic recovery from the pandemic, up from 36.6 percent at the end of October.   

Water infrastructure remains the category that’s received the most funding, with almost $150 million going to projects to improve existing water systems, replace lead lines, install new systems, or remove contaminants from drinking water.

And $38.4 million has been approved in spending on building upgrades, the second largest spending category, the institute found. That was followed by health care spending, which has received $37.5 million and upgrades to information technology, which received $37.3 million.

Clean energy has received the least funding of any of the categories, at about $300,000 or just .1 percent of approved funding. The state has until December 2024 to decide how to spend the remaining $579.7 million of its ARPA funds, and the money must be spent by the end of 2026. Any money that’s left on the table will go back to the federal government.