The North Carolina General Assembly revealed its Hurricane Helene Relief Package on Wednesday morning as legislators returned to Raleigh for a one-day session. The initial proposal aims to direct $273 million in appropriations for disaster relief efforts in Western North Carolina.
The bulk of the money will provide cash flow flexibility for state agencies to perform tasks that will assist communities destroyed by the tropical storm. About $250 million will go to state agencies and local governments for disaster assistance programs.
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) requested $16 million last week for lost compensation for school nutrition programs, which the proposed bill will provide. According to a spokesperson at DPI, school nutrition staff are paid out of an enterprise fund that isn’t made-up of state or federal appropriations. Instead, they are paid out of USDA reimbursements; so if food isn’t served, reimbursements can’t take place, impacting staff compensation. Additionally, public school employees are guaranteed compensation for lost workdays.
Both chambers intend to pass the bill on Wednesday afternoon, and leaders say it should be a bipartisan passage. Senate Pro Temper Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and Speaker of the House Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, met with Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday and also discussed voting changes with the State Board of Elections.
The adjournment resolution will be modified so legislators can return for an additional day of work on October 24 for further actions.
Additional measures will address wastewater and drinking water infrastructure repairs, waive DMV fees, change voting procedures in 25 counties – up from 13 counties that the NCSBE authorized on Monday – and waive environmental requirements for easier construction operations.
“We’ve also waived some certain environmental requirements that we need to get waived, like burning restrictions, wastewater treatment restrictions, and road construction to get this process moving,” said Speaker Moore. “We don’t need these efforts tied up in bureaucracy and delayed, so trying to do that to streamline it.”
Legislators described the plan during a press conference, calling it the first step in healing from the disaster. The General Assembly will reconvene for additional days in November when they plan to address families impacted by the natural disaster.
As the Carolina Journal previously reported, two different reserve funds—the “State Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund” and the “Savings Reserve” —can be tapped to fund relief efforts for Helene. According to the latest Cash Watch report, the Disaster Relief Fund currently sits at $733 million, and the savings reserve sits at $4.75 billion.
SEE ALSO: NC boasts brimming reserve funds for disaster relief
Full of emotion, legislators warned that this is not a short-term fix, as some areas will take many years to fully recover. Elected officials representing Western North Carolina described the status of their hometowns, some of which don’t have a single grocery store anymore, and some have no water system left.
“Mitchell County Water Treatment System for the entire county, both towns, is gone,” said Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Ashe. “It does not exist and it’s unsalvageable. That’s a four-year process for water treatment plant [to get] back in. We don’t have a temporary solution to these things right now. There’s a lot of distrust in the areas I have, but I hope we can begin to show that North Carolina is stepping up to this responsibility and we are here for the people.”
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