Williamson Daily News – Legislation that would give $500 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding to the West Virginia Economic Development Authority met with protest Thursday during a public hearing to discuss the proposal.
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The state has $677 million in unallocated federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. House Bill 2883 would designate $500 million of that total to the state Economic Development Authority, while $177 million would go to infrastructure repair.
During a 2 p.m. hearing in the House of Delegates chambers, opponents of the bill said it does not follow federal guidelines on how the money should be spent. The U.S. Department of Treasury emphasized that the money should be spent in communities hit hardest by the pandemic, particularly those with longstanding economic and health disparities.
