$1.7B COVID-19 spending bill heads to North Carolina Senate after House passage
(The Center Square) – The North Carolina House unanimously approved a $1.7 billion COVID-19 relief spending package Wednesday.
The funding for House Bill 196 is provided through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was passed by Congress and signed by former President Donald Trump in December. The measure provides about $1 billion to support the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as the state fights to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
North Carolina received a total of $4 billion in direct aid from the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill in February that spent $2.2 billion of the federal aid for reopening schools, COVID-19 vaccine distribution and rental assistance.
HB 196 would allocate $600 million for COVID-19 testing, tracing and other COVID-19 prevention. The measure also would issue more than $300 million in child care and development grants to be used for cleaning and sanitation, copayment assistance and other initiatives. It would set aside $47 million for mental health grants and $11 million for substance abuse prevention.
The bill also includes $94 million for vaccine distribution and nearly $550 million for rental assistance. It allocates funding to support schools, colleges, farms, fisheries, small businesses, bolster mental health and substance abuse services and expand internet access.
Some lawmakers argued Wednesday that HB 196 falls short of helping frontline workers and unemployed North Carolinians.
Rep. Joe John, D-Wake, rallied for teacher bonuses and hazard pay for frontline workers, filing an amendment to allocate a total of more than $440 million for the incentives. The amendment was struck down, along with an amendment by Rep. Wesley Harris, D-Mecklenburg, to raise and extend unemployment benefits.
Rep. Donny Lambeth, R- Forsyth, senior chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said there would be more opportunities to provide more aid.
“So just because we’re here today, dealing with this COVID allocation doesn’t mean that’s the end of a lengthy discussion that we’ll continue to have this session on funding for a variety of needs from the federal folks who are helping us get through this pandemic,” Lambeth said.
The House proposal also provides $290 million for colleges and universities for emergency relief. Lawmakers plan to allocate more than $100 million to K-12 public schools and another $40 million to support summer learning programs.
HB 196 allows local tourism authorities to apply for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans. Any part of the loan that is not forgiven would be repaid with occupancy tax collected by the authority.
The measure also maintains relaxed regulatory requirements for notaries and courts and allows COVID-19 vaccinations to be administered in pharmacies. It also extends other COVID-19 exemptions on charter school enrollment, interest deferment for past due University of North Carolina System tuition and allows system employees to continue to use vacation and bonus leave time for COVID-19 related absences.
HB 196 extends the 5% Medicaid fee-for-service rate increases for providers from March 31 to June 30 or until the public health emergency ends.
“The General Assembly is committed to delivering additional funding relief and regulatory flexibility to help North Carolinians still suffering in this crisis as soon as possible,” House appropriations leaders said Wednesday in a joint statement. “This relief measure builds on our successful approach to addressing the top priorities of North Carolinians early in this legislative session.”
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
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