FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – Some Arkansas agencies are returning their CARES Act funding so it can be used elsewhere in the state but the state only has about three weeks left to spend it.

Thanks to some returned funds the committee now has about $27 million left to allocate.

Members agreed to put that money into the Unemployment Insurance trust fund.

The UI fund was originally allocated $50 million until the governor requested that money be given to hospitals instead.

Today’s decision will help off-set some of that loss and the state thinks more money could still be returned.

“We would try to find other expenses that we could cover that had actually occurred in state government over the last nine or 10 months,” said Larry Walther, Arkansas DFA chief fiscal officer.

Other proposals could still be considered if Congress approves a deadline extension or another round of COVID-19 relief.