RICHMOND, Va. -- Officials from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's office say they are reading the fine print of the $1.9 trillion federal COVID-19 relief bill.
They plan to meet next week with legislative leaders to start talks about how the state's portion of the aid would be best spent.
Secretary of Finance Aubrey Lane said Thursday that Virginia is expecting about $6.8 billion in state and local allocations on top of other grant funding in the bill.
Since lawmakers have adjourned, Layne said the governor will likely have to call them back to Richmond for a special session to allocate the new money.
President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill into law Thursday, a day before he was originally set to.
Before he signed the American Rescue Plan in the Oval Office, Biden touted the legislation's bipartisan support in the country and said his administration would be traveling to different parts of the nation to explain how the bill will help Americans.
“In the weeks that this bill has been discussed and debated, it’s clear that an overwhelming percentage of the American people – Democrats, independents, our Republican friends – have made it clear, the people out there, made it clear they strongly support the American Rescue Plan,” said Biden.
