In a visit to Western North Carolina Thursday, Governor Josh Stein said he was pleased the state Senate unanimously approved the latest round of Helene recovery funding 鈥� but more was needed to help the area fully recover.
鈥溾�奍t's enough to get us started, but really that's all it is,鈥� he said during a tour of Yancey County. 鈥� 鈥淚'm grateful that the House and Senate have moved. They're getting the ball rolling. They're starting our work, but we are not done. This package is not the final package. It cannot be.鈥�
To try and recover from the storm 鈥� which the state estimated caused $60 billion in damages 鈥� Stein asked . He also asked the .
Stein鈥檚 original request to the General Assembly for hurricane relief programs included a home repair program, small business grants and repairing private roads and bridges.
The House met Stein halfway, unanimously passing a measure for $500 million. Omitted from the bill was funding for small business grants and a summer school program Stein requested. The bill passed unanimously.
The Senate then added funding for summer classes in school districts where students missed an extended period 鈥� like Yancey County. Students in the rural district missed about seven weeks of school after the storm.
鈥溾�奧e need to make sure that all those kids have an opportunity for more instructional time this summer,鈥� Stein said Thursday. His tour included Micaville Elementary School, which has been closed since the storm.
If it passes, the bill would fund several of Stein鈥檚 requests including home and road repairs, debris removal and making up for crop losses. Senators are expected to vote on the bill next week.
Here's where the Helene funding in the Senate bill would go, according to 瓜神app:
- $140 million for housing reconstruction, with a goal of setting up a program in the N.C. Department of Commerce that could be reimbursed by federal money later.
- $193 million for crop loss programs and agricultural debris removal, more than the House bill
- $100 million to repair and rebuild private roads and bridges 鈥� something that鈥檚 become a major public safety concern as emergency responders can鈥檛 quickly reach homes that have been cut off by washed-out roads and bridges.
- $55 million for small business infrastructure grants, which would repair things like sidewalks and parking spaces in business districts
- $20 million for debris removal to state agencies and local governments
- $10 million for fire department grants
- $3 million for tourism marketing
- $4.5 million for a school learning loss program
State legislators initially approved Helene recovery funding in October, but the measure did not provide immediate funding for the region.
Correction: An earlier version of this article reported that the House passed a $500,000 bill, that number has been corrected to $500 million.
