North Carolina lawmakers approve $600 million more for Helene recovery, order more voting sites

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina state lawmakers approved a measure Thursday to provide more than $600 million more for Hurricane Helena recovery and relief and also ordered some counties affected by the storm to open more voting sites to address crowds and congestion during the early voting period.

In a one-day session, the Republican-controlled legislature unveiled and approved two measures related to the catastrophic flooding and damage, which state officials say led to 97 deaths. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration said Wednesday that Helene likely caused at least one record $53 billion in damage and recovery needs in western North Carolina.

Two weeks ago, the General Assembly approved what was described as a preliminary aid package of 273 million dollarsand legislative leaders promised many more would follow in the coming months. The initial relief money was largely designed to cover the state’s matching share of meeting federal requirements for disaster assistance programs.

Cooper on Wednesday offered his own $3.9 billion storm relief and mitigation request, with more than $1 billion in grants alone for businesses, farmers and utility repairs. Thursday’s relief bill does not address most of its recommendations. Republican leaders said they just received the governor’s proposal earlier in the week and would consider it more carefully in the coming weeks. The legislature returns for more work on November 19.

“The assessment of what needs to be done is still underway,” Senate Leader Phil Berger told reporters. “What we’ve done is deployed an appropriate amount of resources right now to deal with some of the more immediate things that have some time sensitivity.”

The unanimously approved spending measure takes $604 million more from the state’s nearly $4.5 billion “rainy day” savings reserve and moves it to the Helene relief fund. Lawmakers also located $77 million in other funds and reserves for other items.

The relief bill now headed to Cooper’s desk includes $50 million in loans for small businesses in affected areas, $100 million in loans to local governments for emergency water and wastewater system repairs, and $5 million more to address the mental health needs of public school students and their families. in the region.

The state also located other funds to provide tuition grants for college students affected by the storm, including assistance for students enrolled for the spring semester at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Some Mountain Democrats said the relief measure is not enough and called for more aid more quickly. Businesses already burdened by loans need grants now to survive, said Democratic Sen. Julie Mayfield of Buncombe County. Mayfield said an eviction moratorium or massive rental assistance is also needed to prevent workers from losing their homes, which would cause them to leave the area.

“Speed ​​matters,” Mayfield said, his voice cracking with emotion. “The people and the economy of our region are at stake right now, this moment, not in November, not in December, not next year, but now.”

But Republican Sen. Ralph Hise of Mitchell County (like Buncombe, one of the hardest-hit areas) said the legislature is getting more money to respond to the hurricane than lawmakers have for previous storms. Hise said the damage is so widespread that it will take more than just the state government to complete the rebuild. The federal government, nonprofits and churches will be key players, he said.

“There’s a lot of fear about what’s going to happen in the future and how we can stop it now,” Hise said. “But first we have to take care of our immediate needs.”

The ballot measure passed by wide margins directs election boards in 13 mountain counties to ensure that, as soon as possible, there is at least one in-person early voting site for every 30,000 registered voters in each county.

According to lawmakers and the State Board of Elections, the directive is expected to only affect Henderson and McDowell counties. Early voting began Oct. 17 when Henderson and McDowell, both leaning Republican, opened just one voting site each.

Another site in McDowell County did not open due to hurricane damage. Henderson County officials had announced before the legislation that a second site would open for a couple of days next week.

With passage of the bill, which becomes law without Cooper because it affects a small number of counties, Henderson County would have four sites, said Sen. Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson County. After all, McDowell County would be expected to have a second site.

The opening day of early voting in Henderson County, officials closed lanes on a major highway to help move traffic, and golf carts transported voters from an auto parts store to the single voting site. But some House Democrats questioned whether it was appropriate to add early voting sites in Henderson when the county elections board had previously decided, before Helene, to have only one this fall.

Nearly 1.89 million people statewide had cast ballots in person as of Wednesday, according to the State Board of Elections, or 126,000 more than at a similar time in 2020. Early in-person voting continues through Nov. 2 . Republicans have emphasized early voting this fall compared to previous election cycles.

All content © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved