|
10.25.2024
On Thursday, October 24, 2024, SB 743, The Disaster Recovery Act 0f 2024 - Part II, passed in the NC House with a vote of 108-0 and passed in the NC Senate with a vote of 46-0. The governor signed the bill into law today, Friday, October 25, 2024. It became Session Law 2024-53.
SB 743 allocates an additional $604 million for disaster recovery efforts in Western North Carolina. The first Hurricane Helene recovery relief bill was HB 149, Disaster Recovery Act of 2024, which passed on Wednesday, October 9th, and appropriated $273 million for hurricane recovery.
Major components of SB 743 include:
Local government support
· $50 million for state agencies and units of local governments to assist unmet needs not covered by insurance or available federal aid
· $5.5 million to the NC League of Municipalities, NC Association of County Commissioners, and NC Association of Regional Councils of Governments to provide technical assistance to local governments
· $12 million for local health departments to assist in restoring essential functions
· $100 million for emergency loans to local governments for water and wastewater infrastructure repair and an additional $7 million for technical assistance for infrastructure assessment and design repair efforts
· $100 million to the Local Government Commission for a cash flow loan program for local governments
Education
· $55 million for public schools for unmet capital needs and technology not covered by insurance or available federal aid
· Funding for grants and scholarships for eligible community college, state university, and private college and university students
Households
· $1 million for rental assistance to households facing crisis such as imminent risk of eviction
· $9 million for household energy assistance
· $10 million for weatherization projects
Business
· $10 million to Smart Start Local Partnerships to assist child care centers in reopening and maintaining operations, including cleaning and repairs needs
· $50 million to Golden LEAF for small business loans
· $6 million for EDPNC for tourism promotion and business loss assessments
· A measure directing state agencies to "acquire goods and services" from historically underutilized business vendors during rebuilding and relief efforts
Other
· $40 million for continuing recovery efforts from past natural disasters
· Support for mental health needs and for human service needs of vulnerable populations
· Further policies and regulations creating administrative leniency during recovery efforts
| 
