These workbooks track spending of the $350 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) awarded to state, local, territorial, and tribal governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. The U.S. Treasury has mandated that these funds must be obligated by December 31, 2024. The aim of this analysis is to inform stakeholders about the allocation of these funds in their communities, so that this one-time injection of dollars can be used to promote the general welfare. This analysis spans January 1st, 2023 – December 31st, 2023 and will be updated as new data become available. Questions or suggestions? Email [email protected].
Last updated July 2024
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), was signed into law on November 15, 2021. This federal legislation will bring $1.2 trillion to states and cities over the next 5 years to repair and build roads and bridges, public transportation, the broadband network, and water infrastructure, among many other critical infrastructure projects. Each state will receive billions of dollars in funding over the next 5 years through mandatory and competitive grants, loans, and bonds.
Local and targeted hiring refers to policies attached to major economic development and construction projects that seek to ensure that a certain percentage of the jobs on the contract be set aside for local residents or for job seekers that share a particular set of demographic characteristics, such as being from communities historically underrepresented in an industry or experiencing barriers to employment. A range of community and labor advocates worked together with federal policymakers to include a provision in the BIL that allows policymakers to enact preferences for local and economically-targeted hiring on highway and transit construction projects receiving financial support from the US Department of Transportation (USDOT). This is the first time local and economically-targeted hire on federally-funded projects is allowed after years of community advocacy.
This guide provides an overview of local and targeted hiring policies, answers key questions for states and cities looking to implement these policies, and offers success stories from around the country. The BIL represents an important organizing opportunity for community groups and unions to meet with state officials on incorporating local and economically-targeted hiring provisions in the highway and transit construction contracts that local agencies will be issuing over each of the next 5 years. Our hope is that this guide will be helpful not just for BIL implementation, but for other local initiatives and future legislation as well.
EARN Worker Power Project Bulletin
State and local policy updates and resources for advancing racial, gender, and economic justice
We know EARN groups around the country are already contributing ideas, research, analysis, strong testimony, coalition building, and more to act in solidarity with workers who are organizing to build power in a wide array of state and local contexts.
Continue reading “Building local solidarity with organizing workers: April EARN Worker Power Bulletin” →