12/01/2020
State
Auditor Nicole Galloway today released her sixth report detailing state
government's use of federal stimulus dollars intended for the COVID-19
response. In March, Auditor Galloway announced that her office would examine
the state's distribution and spending of funding received under the CARES Act
and other federal assistance programs recently passed by Congress.
The
most recent report shows Missouri's spending of federal assistance for the
month of October, as well as the cumulative expenditures since the state began
receiving funding in April. Through Oct. 31, Missouri has received $3.01
billion and spent $1.51 billion of this assistance. In October, the state spent
$188.5 million.
The majority of the
expenditures to date were for services through the state's Medicaid program, MO
HealthNet and other programs receiving federal matching funds ($340 million),
and funding passed through to counties and the City of St. Louis ($521
million). Other funding has been provided to schools, institutions of higher
education, child care providers and nursing facilities; and used for food and
nutrition programs, mental health services, purchase of personal protective
equipment and other disaster relief purposes. The state also is currently using
$250 million of COVID-19 relief funding for cash management needs in the
General Revenue Fund. The General Assembly has authorized up to $750 million
for that purpose; those funds must be repaid to the State Emergency Management
Federal Stimulus Fund prior to June 30, 2021.
In
addition to the monthly report examining the state's spending, the Auditor's
Office also has an online tool to give Missourians a detailed look at
expenditures. The COVID-19 Response
page tracks not only how much is received and
expended in relief funds, but also lists which state and local government
departments, vendors and expense categories are receiving the most funding. The
information on the website provides data on expenditures and is updated daily.
Auditor
Galloway's efforts are similar to work performed by
the previous State Auditor's administration,
which reviewed the state's use of funds received through the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Under Article
IV, Section 13 of the Missouri Constitution, the State
Auditor has a duty to ensure the accuracy of the state's accounting of its
spending.
A
copy of the report on Missouri spending of federal assistance can be found here.