Money for renters, town business districts added to NC lawmakers’ Helene bill

North Carolina House members revised their version of the state’s fourth Helene relief bill Tuesday, proposing a framework for grants to help small business districts — but stopping short of direct aid to businesses — and setting aside $10 million for rental assistance.

The House introduced the initial version of the bill last week, appropriating $500 million for Western North Carolina’s recovery. And on Tuesday, lawmakers approved several changes during a House committee on Helene recovery.

One notable change to the bill they approved would redirect $5 million for tourism marketing in Western North Carolina and $55 million to a newly created “Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program.”

Administered by the state’s Department of Commerce, the program would provide grants to local governments to help repair infrastructure in business districts.

Eligible projects would include water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, high-speed broadband, electrical utilities, and sidewalk and curb improvements. It would not cover infrastructure owned or maintained by small businesses themselves. The maximum grant per project would be $1 million.

For months, small businesses have urged lawmakers to provide grants instead of loans for small businesses, but the bill stops short of that.

“We have to do something to help get (businesses) up and running,” said Republican Rep. Ray Pickett, who introduced the amendment and represents Alleghany, Ashe, Watauga counties, which were impacted by Helene last fall.

“We worked through many things over the last week, trying to figure out exactly what we could and couldn’t do. We came up with this as a first step. But all folks in Western North Carolina know that this is just the first step,” he said.

Republican Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, who represents Henderson County, also hit by Helene, told reporters after the committee that the amendment offered “an opportunity to set up a new program” to respond to disasters.

Another amendment would move money to allocate $10 million to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, which would distribute the funds through county social services departments for rental assistance to those affected by Helene. This adds to $1 million already appropriated for rental assistance under a prior hurricane recovery bill passed by lawmakers.

Rep. Mark Pless, who represents Haywood and Madison counties, also affected by Helene, brought forward that amendment. He said FEMA assistance will eventually run out, “and folks are going to need housing” while long-term rebuilding efforts continue.

Lawmakers also approved an amendment that would allow the use of inmates for debris cleanup.

After the bill passed a committee vote, Rep. John Bell, who is one of the chairs of the Helene committee, said it would be heard Wednesday in the House Appropriations Committee but wouldn’t reach the House floor for a vote until next week.

From there, if approved, it would move to the Senate. Bell said discussions with Senate leaders are already underway. Asked whether the House could negotiate the bill in advance with the Senate, he said that was the “hope” but acknowledged that with legislation of this size, “you’re going to have hiccups or mistakes along the way.”

The Senate has filed a disaster relief bill as well — Senate Bill 56 — but it remains a shell with no appropriations or policy language yet.

Bell noted that the House bill would include $500 million, but that “I do think you’re going to see expansion as we move forward. It could be a different bill with the Senate.”

This story was originally published February 11, 2025 at 5:51 PM.

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi

The News & Observer

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi is a politics reporter for the News & Observer. She reports on health care, including mental health and Medicaid expansion, hurricane recovery efforts and lobbying. Luciana previously worked as a Roy W. Howard Fellow at Searchlight New Mexico, an investigative news organization.