Legislative Update from Rep. Iler — October 29, 2024
Last week the North Carolina General Assembly met in a one-day session to expand the relief from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, as well as other parts of the state impacted by recent storms. We also enabled western counties the flexibility to expand their early voting locations.
Senate Bill 743 – The Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 – Part II allocates funds from the “Rainy Day Funds” to various departments to provide grants and loans to the impacted counties, totaling $604 million. It includes $100 million for the Local Government Commission to assist with local cashflow needs. The Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) gets over $120 million for water and sewer infrastructure bridge loans, as well as testing of underground storage tanks. Golden leaf Foundation gets $50 million for small business loans. Also included are $9 million for utility assistance to individuals, $10 million to Smart Start, $3 million to support children in foster care, $5 million to Emergency Management to adjust floodplain mapping, and other needs for impacted counties, towns, and individuals in the impacted areas.
Student loss is addressed by scholarships for impacted community colleges, UNC-Asheville, and private universities for the spring semester. $500,000 is included for anticipated additional Line of Duty death claims
We also addressed the voting issues for impacted counties in Senate Bill 132 – Early Voting Sites/Helene Counties. It requires early voting sites for every 30,000 registered voters. It covers 13 counties, but mainly impacts Henderson and McDowell counties. SB 743 passed 108-0 in the House and 46-0 in the Senate. SB 132 passed 106-2 and 46-0, respectively.
Combined with the $273 million included earlier in October in House Bill 149, this brings the total to over $877 million so far allocated to the counties impacted by Hurricane Helene. Funds are also being made available to counties impacted by Potential Tropical Cyclone #8 storm (PTC8), and Hurricane Debby. (Brunswick, New Hanover, Onslow, and Carteret Counties).
We plan to be back on November 19th for further action on this historic disaster and further appropriations as needs are identified. While we are acting swiftly to support our western neighbors and others, we are directing our citizens’ tax money carefully based on identified needs, and not just dumping the entire “Rainy Day Fund” into the issue at one time.