New Hampshire’s State government has received a total of $994.6 million in flexible Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, with additional amounts appropriated to counties and municipalities. The federal government requires these funds be used for four broad purposes: to respond to the negative health and economic impacts of the pandemic, to provide premium pay for essential workers, to offset losses in public revenue, or to invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. The U.S. Treasury Department encouraged states and local governments to use these funds to benefit long-term health and economic outcomes and support people disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

State policymakers have identified uses for most of these funds, appropriating about $923.6 million (93 percent) through February 22, 2023. Some of these funds have not been used and will likely be reallocated to other purposes in the future when the programs they were originally designated for formally end, with many scheduled to end with the State Budget biennium on June 30, 2023. Policymakers have until December 31, 2024 to appropriate these funds for specific purposes, and they must be spent by the end of 2026 or be returned to the federal government.