NC Senate OKs COVID-19 recovery bill to allocate federal funds, goes to House for vote
The North Carolina Senate has passed its version of the COVID-19 Recovery Act, a package that will offer relief for various sectors of the state struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
The package includes funding for everything from medical supplies and Personal Protective Equipment to food banks, public schools and universities and small business loans.
State lawmakers have been back in Raleigh to work on the coronavirus relief package, deciding how to spend the $3.5 billion the federal government sent to North Carolina. The work comes roughly a month after Congress passed its federal relief package.
None of the state’s top politicians favor spending all of it at once, although there is some disagreement on exactly how much to spend now.
The Senate passed its comprehensive bill, SB 704, Wednesday night with a few amendments.
Leaders could reach an agreement by the end of this week. With the initial proposals from the state House and Senate off by about half a billion dollars, it could also be next week, or later.
The Senate’s first version of the bill spent $1.2 billion, which leaves a big gap between that and the House’s spending plan.
The House has multiple bills that House Speaker Tim Moore said add up to roughly $1.7 billion.
However in a Senate session Wednesday night, senators unanimously passed an amendment that would provide another $22 million to the Department of Public Instruction and $106 million to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, a Wake County Democrat, said the bill “truly does have all the aspects of a consensus bill that you’re going to see.”
The bill now goes to the House for a vote on Thursday.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper laid out his own plan last week to spend $1.4 billion of the federal money.
House, Senate compromises
Both legislative chambers are led by Republicans, but the spending plans have buy-in from many Democrats, too.
“We could’ve come up with a bill that would get every single Republican vote and not a single Democratic vote,” Republican Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters Tuesday. “But I don’t think it would be what the people of the state expect us to do, given the circumstances.”
Moore told reporters Wednesday the two chambers will work out a compromise, hopefully by Friday.
“If you look at what the Senate recommended, they really took a lot of the House ideas,” with different dollar amounts, Moore said. The House will take the Senate’s recommendations seriously when it starts negotiating, he said.
“This is such a monumental issue facing our state right now. It’s something that none of us have dealt with in our lifetimes,” Moore said.
Moore is ready for Cooper to begin lifting restrictions for the state soon.
“I think that what the governor did early on based on the data was prudent and smart, and I support it,” Moore said.
Cooper extended his stay-at-home order, originally set to expire April 29, until at least May 8. Then, the state will be part of the first phase of reopening for a few more weeks of what Cooper described as a “modified” stay-at-home order. Each phase of the plan calls for monitoring trends in testing and cases, among other benchmarks.
The latest data “is showing we can start reopening the state,” Moore said. “Not fully, but start reopening in a phased way and we can do so safely.”
Both Berger and Moore, however, have said they they think Cooper’s three-phase approach should move faster than what he has proposed. Under the governor’s plan, the state wouldn’t be into the final phase until late June or early July, even in the best-case scenario.
As for the relief spending, whatever plan the legislature eventually agrees on, it will be up to Cooper to either sign or veto.
And this is expected to be just the first of several spending bills. Future bills will continue divvying up the federal funding, as well as allocate state funding. But some state leaders are concerned about dipping into the “rainy day fund” too much.
Not only are state revenues expected to drop significantly due to people and businesses paying less sales and income taxes, but hurricane season is also about to start, adding an extra layer of financial uncertainty.
Berger and Blue issued a joint statement after the Wednesday night vote:
“Today’s consensus vote is the product of weeks of good-faith negotiations. It is the first step in what will be a lengthy road to recovery, and we appreciate the positive, collaborative spirit in which all sides approached this. We’ve come together to fund immediate needs, support research, and lift up those hit hardest by the virus’s economic impact,” they wrote.
The public first saw the Senate bill on Tuesday, the first day of session, while the House COVID-19 subcommittees worked through their bill drafts in public meetings over the past month.
No money yet for election aid
Democrats in both the House and Senate also are looking ahead to elections. They said Wednesday the legislature should give state election officials the money they’re asking for. Republicans have said they’ll discuss that, but at a later date.
Coronavirus concerns already forced a runoff election — for a Republican primary in the 11th Congressional District in western North Carolina — to be postponed from May until June. Election officials are seeking money to buy cleaning, health care and voting-related supplies for that election, as well as for the statewide general election this November.
The N.C. State Board of Elections said it will be able to receive $11 million from the federal government, but only if the state agrees to pitch in $2 million in matching funds.
Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat, hopes to see the elections funding in a future bill.
“This is a very significant need,” she said.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 3:51 PM.
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