With a handful of dissenting lawmakers, the Arkansas Legislative Council on Friday authorized spending up to $92.7 million more in federal funds for the fledgling Arkansas Ready for Business grant program after the program received more than 12,000 applications seeking a total of $147.7 million.
This spending authority for the program is in addition to the $55 million authorized by legislative leaders on Sunday.
The program is designed to provide grants up to $100,000 each to companies for expenses associated with ensuring the health and safety of employees and patrols in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson originally intended for the program to have $15 million in federal funds, but the initial demand for the program on April 29 spurred discussions of increasing the federal funds allocated to the program.
Hutchinson has acknowledged that the program was prematurely rolled out on April 29 without legislative approval of spending authority for the program, and then asked for $100 million in total spending authority for the program in a move he said was in response to requests for more funding for the program.
Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.