Who’ll get the money? Stimulus funds in Georgia

The $787 billion economic stimulus plan passed by Congress last week — with the final Senate vote coming late Friday night — represents one of the largest appropriations by Congress in the nation’s history.

After the president signs the bill — House Resolution 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — the federal government will shower billions of dollars of aid onto Georgia, in the form of grants for new roads and bridges, mass transit, local schools and more.

Staff writer Aaron Gould Sheinin scoured the legislation to find its impacts on Georgia. The results of his reporting appear below. The “nationwide” listings are largely drawn from the hundreds of pages of H.R. 1 posted on the House Rules Committee’s Web site.

ROADS, BRIDGES, TRANSIT

Nationwide: $27.5 billion to build or modernize roads and bridges, creating 835,000 jobs. States must obligate at least half of this funding within 120 days; $8.4 billion for transit and $8 billion for high-speed rail.

For Georgia: More than $1.01 billion for highways and bridges; $168 million for transit capital grants; MARTA could benefit, as could local commuter bus systems. Possibility exists that light-rail could see a boost as well. Planned projects still to be determined.

Stakeholder: Frank B. Mitchell Jr. owns a Marietta-based construction consulting firm and warns people shouldn’t expect it to be an economic fix-all.

“It will be good for the economy, but it will take time for it to work its way through the economy,” the owner of Time & Cost Managers said.

Less than a year ago he had six people on the payroll. Now it’s just one other person and himself.

Since a sizable portion of the stimulus package would go toward rebuilding infrastructure, he said he could see new staff again on an as-needed, per-project basis.

ENERGY

Nationwide: An array of loan guarantees, tax incentives and other measures to promote energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy:

• $11 billion toward a so-called “smart electricity grid” to reduce waste;

• $6 billion to subsidize loans for renewable energy projects;

• $6.3 billion in state energy efficiency and clean energy grants;

• $4.5 billion to make federal buildings more energy-efficient;

• $2 billion in grants for advanced batteries for electric vehicles

• $5 billion to weatherize modest-income homes

• Three-year extension of the production tax credit for electricity derived from wind (through 2012) and for electricity derived from biomass, geothermal, hydropower, landfill gas, waste-to-energy, and marine facilities (through 2013).

• Grants of up to 30 percent of the cost of building a new solar energy facility or other renewable energy plant.

• Tax credit of up to $7,500 for families that buy hybrid plug-in cars.

For Georgia: Will be determined by legislative action and efforts by private companies and homeowners to apply for credits and grants, but $97.8 million is included for weatherization.

Stakeholder: Michelle Conlon is business performance manager for OneWorld Sustainable, a Georgia firm providing technology and infrastructure for sustainable energy. OneWorld installs solar-energy systems in businesses and homes. Georgia, she said, has fallen behind other states in making sustainable energy affordable. She hopes the federal stimulus changes that.

“Most of our work has been outside the state of Georgia, but having the policy at the federal level will help us address this to benefit people directly. Georgia will finally be able to get on the train.”

EDUCATION

Nationwide: $44.5 billion to prevent cutbacks or layoffs, school modernization, or other purposes; $15.6 billion to increase Pell Grants by $500; additional $200 million for work-study programs; $1.1 billion for Early Head Start and $1 billion for Head Start; $13 billion for Title I; $12 billion for special education grants.

For Georgia: $420 million for Title I schools; $333 million for special education; some of the $1.28 billion the state will receive in fiscal stabilization funds will also go to education, specifically for modernization and renovation.

Stakeholder: Mark Schnetzka, sales manager, Georgia Trane, which builds and installs HVAC systems. Much of their business is in schools and hospitals. “Any construction money being funded for our schools is going to benefit us,” Schnetzka said. “We have two manufacturing plants in the state and as the construction market grows, obviously then production needs to grow, and we likely would hire to meet that need.”

Stakeholder: Roger Gillis of Waycross lost his job at America Online two years ago. Now 40, he works at a local prison making less than half what he earned at AOL. He decided to go to college to earn his four-year degree in law enforcement, but he still must work full-time. His daughter, Christina, meanwhile, is also in school and participates in a work-study program at college and waits tables.

“It’s at the point where every little bit helps,” Gillis said. “My family and I used to eat out all the time. We went shopping. We had money. Now, everything is so difficult.”

TAX CUTS

Income: Refundable tax credit of up to $400 per worker ($800 per couple filing jointly) with income limits of $100,000 single, $200,000 married filing jointly. The tax credit would come to taxpayers in the form of lower withholding and would amount to an average of $13 extra a week.

Expands child-tax credit; Exempts 26 million families from alternative minimum tax. Increases higher education tax credit to $2,500.

Housing: First-time home buyers qualify for tax credit of up to $8,000.

Autos: Tax deduction for state and local sales taxes on new vehicles.

Stakeholder: Diana Sauvigne, Realtor with Prudential Georgia Realty in Atlanta, believes the first-time-buyer credit will free the local market.

“It really seems like our delegation really understands that without a housing recovery, an overall economic recovery is really impossible because it affects everybody’s life,” Sauvigne said.

Stakeholder: Allyson Conrad, a Realtor with Re/Max Greater Atlanta, sees it much differently. When the Senate adopted U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s amendment offering a $15,000 tax credit for all home buyers, she said the optimism was real.

“That got a lot of excitement in the office,” Conrad said. “But just for first-time home buyers? That’s pretty much worthless.”

THE UNEMPLOYED

AND THE POOR

Nationwide: $40 billion to extend unemployment benefits by up to 33 weeks and to increase payments by $25 per week; $19.9 billion for food stamps, increasing food stamp benefits by more than 13 percent; $100 million to help local community organizations provide food and shelter;

$3.95 billion for job training

For Georgia: Estimated $220 million in additional unemployment insurance trust fund dollars.

HEALTH CARE

Nationwide: $86.6 billion to help states with Medicaid;

$19 billion to modernize health information technology systems; $10 billion for health research and construction of National Institutes of Health facilities; $1 billion for prevention and wellness programs.

For Georgia: $1.73 billion for increased Medicaid payments. State must use same eligibility standards and procedures that were in place on July 1.