North Carolina lawmakers are sending half a billion dollars to the western mountains for hurricane relief, reaching a long-sought compromise between the House and Senate just hours before they left Raleigh for weeks.
Both chambers unanimously approved House Bill 1012 on Thursday. Gov. Josh Stein is expected to swiftly sign it into law.
The final agreement puts $700 million total into the state’s Helene relief fund. And it appropriates $500 million of that money, leaving the other $200 million for future relief.
“It addresses immediate needs,” said Rep. Karl Gillespie (R- Cherokee). “It does not address all needs. There will be more to work on later.”
Private road and bridge repairs, which are ongoing, will receive $75 million as part of the bill. Another $70 million will serve to match federal funding for ongoing projects.
State Treasurer Brad Briner’s office will get $51.5 million to send out interest-free loans to local governments. And a separate $70 million grant program will help fund infrastructure in municipalities.
Farmers will also continue to see aid. A $25 million program will help reimburse damaged or lost farm infrastructure.
A host of natural resource and environmental programs will receive money: $15 million for wildfire prevention, $15 million for streamflows, $10 million for dam repairs and more.
School districts will also be eligible for $8 million in grants included in the bill to repair infrastructure or buildings damaged by the storm.
Absent from the final agreement is a grant program for small businesses. The longtime request from business owners and western lawmakers was part of the House’s proposal, but struck by the Senate.
“We have not done small business grants for the east,” Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) told reporters. “We just didn’t feel like it was something that we needed to do at this point.”
Democrats from Asheville and the surrounding county said the lack of grants would hurt the “economic engine” of the area.
“When we talk about ‘there’s more to come’ … for most of the small businesses impacted by the storm, it will come too late,” said Rep. Brian Turner (D-Buncombe). “And the ripple effects will be felt all across the region.”
Other large bundles of money will be directed toward relief under the bill. Almost $300 million for the Department of Transportation will be used for Helene repairs. And the package green-lights the use of $685 million in federal dollars for water and sewer infrastructure.
The House passed their version of the bill in May, sending a $464 million package to the Senate. It went untouched there for a month, until senators made major changes to the bill and pushed it through.
Senators’ prior plan was more expansive than their counterparts’. But it lacked key line-items like the business grant program, and redirected hundreds of millions in transportation money for relief efforts. Both changes prompted concerns from the House.
The Republican-led General Assembly has over the past year been reticent to send out money at the clip that Stein, a Democrat, has asked for.
But GOP lawmakers have touted their approach, which has now resulted in four substantive aid bills, as the proper line between fiscal responsibility and meeting needs in the west.
Still, that approach has encountered roadblocks and frustrated Democrats.
Slow-arriving federal money has made state efforts more urgent, as western North Carolina struggles to rebuild. And Democrats have frequently called for more robust investment to save the tourism-dependent mountain economy and ramp up recovery efforts.
Some remained exasperated Thursday with the final state of the aid bill.
“We need relief money in western North Carolina, so I’m going to vote for this bill,” said Rep. Lindsey Prather (D-Buncombe). “I’m really not happy with the way it ended up.”
The new aid deal means lawmakers have now spent $1.9 billion in state money on Helene recovery. Just over $1 billion of that has come through the two aid packages passed this session.
Ahead of the Senate’s vote Thursday, a local lawmaker urged those traveling in the coming summer months to consider western North Carolina.
“Please come. Spend your money,” said Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe). “Because we need it.”
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