NC lawmakers will vote on Helene relief. Here’s how they’ve spent on aid for past disasters

Funding for Hurricane Helene relief will be on the agenda as State lawmakers return to Raleigh on Wednesday. (Photo: Melissa Sue Gerrits/)

In 2018, weeks after Hurricane Florence devastated coastal North Carolina, state lawmakers returned to Raleigh to approve almost $800 million total in emergency relief.

Now, faced with unprecedented flooding and damage to the west from Hurricane Helene, the legislature appears set to do something very similar.

The storm has resulted in more than 100 confirmed deaths in North Carolina, while destroying infrastructure and flooding cities and rural communities alike across the mountains. House and Senate leaders confirmed that when they meet Wednesday, they will vote on an "initial disaster relief package."

"We are still working to determine what needs to be included in that legislation," Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) said in a statement Friday. "Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims of this storm and those who have lost loved ones, as well as the aid workers, volunteers, and rescue teams supporting the region."

The scale and details of the Helene relief remains to be seen. But lawmakers could follow a blueprint laid out after Florence, which involved a trio of emergency spending bills passed over the course of almost two months.

Priorities for immediate Helene relief: Federal aid and regulatory tweaks

The first round of relief passed in 2018 paid teachers and staff whose schools were closed as a result of Florence; it also included money to qualify for federal aid. That $56.6 million package also made several regulation changes, including altering school calendars and waiving fees for new documents at the DMV.

It also set up a dedicated recovery fund — which allows the state to more effectively allocate and track money going to relief.

"What they are likely to do is put a framework in place," said former Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake), who served as appropriations chair when lawmakers passed the 2018 aid. "If we've got federal money coming in for a purpose, those are obviously the funds we want to use first."

President Joe Biden and the federal government have pledged 100% reimbursement by FEMA for six months, emphasizing the need for lawmakers to approve matching dollars.

A "Hurricane Helene Recovery Fund" could see an initial infusion of money to address pressing needs. But more money will almost certainly be allocated later, as officials learn more about the damage and how to best address it.

That resulted in two additional spending packages back in 2018: one to allocate a total of almost $800 million (about half of which was held in reserve), and another to spend much of the remaining money, mostly on agricultural aid.

In total, it dedicated $130 million to matching federal aid; $60 million for public schools' recovery; $50 million for agricultural aid; $30 million for the UNC System's campus needs; and another $30 million for housing recovery.

"You're in that search and rescue phase, you're in that immediate shelter phase," said Dollar. "You're in those initial phases of the disaster. And then you move into the assessments — what it's going to cost to rebuild, get a better handle on the damages that are out there, and that way the General Assembly will be better informed."

In just under a month after Florence, Gov. Roy Cooper's office had issued a 70-page report with recommendations for recovery. Lawmakers began moving their first round of relief days later.

Any state dollars laid out for Helene aid are likely to come from the state's "rainy day" fund, with billions set aside for economic downturns or, in this case, natural disasters.

Early funding requests trickle in as officials reckon with scale of hurricane's damage

The most significant spending requests, six years later, indicate similar — if more expansive — needs.

The Department of Public Instruction is asking for an initial $166 million to pay for repairs , equipment and supplies, as well as to pay school nutrition staff. And although the NC State Board of Elections has yet to put together a formal request, they could ask for money to help local offices print ballots , as well as regulatory changes to allow for voting flexibility in western counties.

But where Helene wreaked havoc could complicate the relief effort, with its damage in the mountains being a different beast than the coastal flooding of Florence and Matthew before it. Along with extensive fiber optic cable damage and limited drinking water access, the mountainous region will likely make cleanup a long-term, arduous project.

"Just with the geography out here, water gets trapped," Rep. Lindsey Prather (D-Buncombe) told NC Newsline earlier this week. "It also makes it more difficult for recovery and restoration efforts because it's difficult for vehicles to get to the places where lines are down, where pipes are broken or roads washed out."

Clayton Henkel contributed reporting.