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N.C. Legislature Passes First Round of Helene Relief Funding

Writer's picture: Representative Destin HallRepresentative Destin Hall

Creates Hurricane Helene fund, allocates $273 million

Extends the State of Emergency through March 1, 2025

Makes several changes to election administration for western counties


Passes First Round of Helene Relief Funding

The North Carolina Legislature passed the initial round of hurricane relief for Western North Carolina. The bill, among other things, creates a Helene Fund that will include $273 million from the state’s Savings Reserve, also known as the Rainy Day Fund. It also creates the Potential Tropical Cyclone #8 (PTC8) Fund for Brunswick and New Hanover Counties, and includes intent language to fund the PTC8 Fund and the relief needs for the Nash County tornado. The relief package extends the State of Emergency through March 1, 2025.

The first round of relief includes substantial funding and several policies to assist with the immediate impacts from Hurricane Helene. The funding and policies include:


Funding

  • $250 million for the state and local match for federal disaster assistance programs.

  • $16 million to the Department of Public Instruction for school nutrition employee compensation.

  • $2 million to the Office of State Budget and Management for grants to the N.C. Association of Regional Councils of Government, the N.C. League of Municipalities, and the N.C. Association of County Commissioners to provide technical assistance to affected counties.

  • $5 million to the State Board of Elections for election administration changes.


Education

  • Grants school calendar flexibility and additional remote instruction days for impacted school districts.

  • Allows teachers and school employees to be paid for scheduled instructional days missed due to Hurricane Helene.

  • Extends the deadline for bonuses to paid out to qualifying principals in affected counties.


Agriculture and Environmental Quality

  • Allows DEQ to move funds between the Clean Water Reserve and the Drinking Water Reserve within the Water Infrastructure fund to provide emergency loans to local governments.

  • Allows local government units within the major disaster declaration area to use already appropriated water infrastructure funds for mitigation or remediation of disaster-related damage, and/or temporary measures to allow the preservation or reservation of drinking water and wastewater services.

  • Allows wastewater treatment plants to be required to accept domestic septage even if from beyond the county of municipal boundaries during a state of emergency.

  • Allows the Commissioner of Agriculture to waive permitting requirements for certain burning activities because of a disaster/in a disaster area.

  • Allows Golden LEAF to extend the terms of loans by 12 additional months to 180 months for businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene.


Transportation

  • Allows the governor to waive certain DMV fees in the counties impacted by Hurricane Helene through December 31, 2024.

  • Authorizes the governor to waive some environmental permitting requirements for road repairs needed due to storm damage during a state of emergency.

  • Authorizes the DOT to utilize certain alternative design delivery methods to contract for the repair and replacement of transportation infrastructure damaged or destroyed as a result of the impact of Hurricane Helene.


Retirement

  • Temporarily allows state employee retirees to return to work before the six-month separation is over if they are returning to assist with Hurricane Helene emergency or recovery efforts.


Tax

  • Corporate Income, Personal Income and Franchise Tax

  • Waives interest on underpayments of franchise, corporate income, and individual income taxes for taxpayers in the affected counties from September 25, 2024, through May 1, 2025.

  • Sales Taxes

  • Waives interest on underpayments of State, local, or transit sales and use taxes for businesses in affected counties.

  • Provides delayed deadlines for quarterly and monthly returns for September and October 2024.

  • Withholding Taxes

  • Waives interest on underpayments of withheld taxes for employers in affected counties.

  • Provides delayed deadlines for quarterly and monthly returns for September and October 2024.

  • Extension for Taxed Partnership and S Corporation Election:

  • Allows partnerships and S Corporations to make a timely election to be taxed as pass through entities for tax year 2023 on returns due between September 25, 2024, and May 1, 2025, if filed by May 1, 2025


Health and Human Services

  • Allows the DHHS to temporarily waive or modify certain standards for licensed child care facilities in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene.

  • Provides a temporary authorization for the DHHS to increase or relocate home hemodialysis and in-center dialysis stations in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene.

  • Provides a temporary authorization for the DHHS to extend provisional licenses for adult care homes and family care homes located in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene.


The bill also makes several election-related changes:

  • Applies emergency rules to the 25 counties in North Carolina most acutely impacted by the hurricane and covered by the initial FEMA emergency declaration.

  • Allows for more flexibility to appoint election judges and poll workers, including from outside the county.

  • Permits state employees to serve as election judges and poll workers without taking leave from their jobs.

  • Allows for modified training programs for election officials to account for the need to bring in new recruits in the affected counties.

  • Enables county boards of elections by a bipartisan, majority vote to modify early voting plans, including changing sites as well as days and hours of operation.

  • Allows for changes to Election Day polling places, including transferring precincts, combining precincts or relocation polling locations.

  • Extends absentee ballot return options, allowing voters registered in the affected counties to return ballots to any county board of elections, early voting site, or the State Board of Elections up until 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

  • Permits in-person absentee ballot requests until 5:00 p.m. on November 4.

  • Establishes procedures for spoiling and reissuing absentee ballots and for curing deficiencies to accommodate voters who have been displaced by the hurricane.

  • Allows poll observers to serve in the affected counties from any other North Carolina county.

  • Requires the State Board of Elections to establish processes for transmitting out-of-county absentee ballots to the appropriate county, including documentation of the chain of custody of absentee ballots that are transferred from one county to another.

  • Mandates voter education efforts, including establishing a voter information resource for those impacted by the disaster.


Thank you to the Office of Senator Phil Berger for this article.

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©2022 by the Legislative Office of Representative Destin Hall. 

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