How should local leaders use their American Rescue Plan funding?

Among the $1.9 trillion worth of federal COVID-19 relief in the newly signed American Rescue Plan Act is $350 billion for “Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.” At roughly one-fifth of the bill’s total cost, these funds will be deployed to state and local governments in two tranches (the first within 60 days and the second a year after that initial allotment) to mitigate the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.