After a cyberattack that paralyzed state systems, Nevada will spend more than $300,000 on two projects to boost the state's cybersecurity.

Now, as Republican Gov.-elect Joe Lombardo prepares to take office next month, he and state lawmakers will have about $38 million (1.4 percent of the total amount) in flexible ARP funds to allocate by the end of 2024.

In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion ARP federal stimulus package into law, delivering nearly $7 billion to Nevada, including $2.7 billion in flexible aid for the state government. Of that flexible aid, just 3.5 percent ($97 million) remains unobligated.

Now, ten months later, state officials have obligated more than half of those funds for dozens of different purposes, including allocations of $250 million for affordable housing projects and $204 million for broadband internet.

Wednesday's meeting marked the first opportunity for legislators to approve awards for nonprofits from a $30 million ARP community grant program announced by the governor's office in December. 

The governor's office announced on Thursday the launch of a $30 million community grant program using American Rescue Plan funds that will deliver money directly to Nevada nonprofits to be used for relief services as early as February.

Lawmakers on Thursday approved the DMV's plan to pay back millions of collected $1 fees that were declared unconstitutional by the Nevada Supreme Court earlier this year.

Lawmakers began appropriating the state's share of $2.7 billion in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) general aid on Wednesday, approving disbursements totaling more than $600 million.

Nevada housing advocates claimed a victory this week after the Biden administration declared a 30-day extension of a nationwide eviction moratorium, but also warned that at-risk tenants will continue to fall through the cracks if they are unaware of their rights or the legal protocols they need to follow to get assistance.

State lawmakers are moving quickly to process a bill that would provide an additional $50 million for a pandemic-related grant program aimed at small businesses and nonprofits, holding a hearing and unanimously voting the measure out of the Assembly on Wednesday.

With thousands of Nevadans facing the possibility of foreclosure at the beginning of March, the state has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds to bolster its resources for homeowners.

More than 140,000 people registered as new voters through Nevada's automatic voter registration (AVR) system since it took effect in January last year, according to a new report.