Legislature’s hurricane recovery funding comes up short

The Bottom Line from NC Newsline

An aerial view of destroyed and damaged homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene flooding on Oct. 8, 2024 in Bat Cave, North Carolina. Bat Cave was particularly hard hit by flooding. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

When it comes to spending tax dollars, it’s commendable when lawmakers are good and frugal stewards of the public purse.

That said, there are times when urgent needs demand big and swift action and Hurricane Helene has produced one such moment.

A report released last week estimates the total damage at a staggering 53 billion dollars.

And given this hard reality, the General Assembly’s latest relief bill – a measure written behind closed doors that spends around 600 million dollars (only about 15 percent of what Gov. Roy Cooper asked for) – is woefully inadequate.

The bill, for instance, only allots one-million dollars for rental assistance at a time when thousands of struggling households have been displaced.

As several mountain lawmakers testified at the legislature last week, the crisis in the west – with respect to business, housing, and basic infrastructure — is urgent, even dire.

The bottom line: The relief bill is a start, but when lawmakers return to Raleigh next month, they need to dramatically increase their hurricane recovery spending.