More Helene relief expected to pass this month. How to tell NC lawmakers what you need
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Hurricane Helene Aftermath
Hurricane Helene swept across the Southeast, causing major flooding and destruction throughout North Carolina. Here is ongoing coverage from The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer about Hurricane Helene and the aftermath, particularly in Western North Carolina.
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The first wave of Hurricane Helene relief funding for Western North Carolina is now law. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper quickly signed a $273 million disaster relief bill on Thursday, the day after the Republican-controlled General Assembly sent him the legislation. The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously.
Lawmakers are already planning for the next round of relief. Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore announced Wednesday that the legislature would be back again soon — Oct. 24 — to pass another bill.
What will that look like?
They are still figuring it out. Here’s what we know about where things stand and how you can contact the General Assembly about needs for Helene-devastated areas.
Apply to the NC General Assembly for relief
People in Western North Carolina can share their needs directly with the General Assembly. The legislative website has a form you can fill out at ncleg.gov/form/helenerelief that asks for what kinds of needs are being requested, what county you live in and which lawmaker represents you.
Billions in the state’s rainy day fund
The rainy day fund, or Savings Reserve Fund, had $4.75 billion in it before the Disaster Recovery Act became law on Thursday.
Republican Sen. Kevin Corbin of Macon County thanked God for the rainy day fund on Wednesday as the Senate was debating the relief bill.
“We have over $4 billion in the rainy day fund, because in Western North Carolina, we had a rainy day. That’s what it’s for,” Corbin said.
The Office of the State Controller releases a weekly Cash Watch that shows the state’s money, including the balance of the Savings Reserve.
Moore told reporters after the House passed the first bill that the second bill is likely to be funded from the Savings Reserve, too. He noted that the state also has about $700 million in a disaster response fund.
He said that in determining how much to fund, they want to make sure the state can get a match from FEMA so the state pays 10% to the federal government’s 90% in relief.
What they’re waiting for
Leaders didn’t want to wait until an already scheduled November session to pass more relief.
“Whatever information we have, we have, and we’ll act on it,” Moore said.
“It’s a new territory here,” he said.
Berger said that between now and the Oct. 24 session, “we’re going to be collecting suggestions from folks. There are some things that are out there that will not be reimbursed by FEMA. I think we’re going to start getting some information about those sorts of things, and what we will need to do in terms of the state funding and state response.”
Berger said after 2018’s Hurricane Florence, lawmakers came in and quickly appropriated money, then came back a month later with the “main appropriation.” He said he didn’t think the legislature would be ready for that in October.
Berger said lawmakers will need more advance notice, so it would be more likely for a larger bill to pass during the session that beings Nov. 19.
“I’ve encouraged the members (of the Senate), and I would encourage — we’re reaching out to the executive branch as well — to get us your list, so that we have time to scrub the list, to make sure that it’s something that we can build support for,” Berger said.
This story was originally published October 11, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "More Helene relief expected to pass this month. How to tell NC lawmakers what you need."
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