COVID-19 relief, state budget among priorities for North Carolina legislative session
(The Center Square) – COVID-19 relief will be a top priority for lawmakers when returning to the state capital next week, House Speaker Tim Moore said.
Deciding how North Carolina will spend federal aid and state funding for the next two fiscal years will be the top two priorities for House Republicans, Moore told Spectrum News.
“We’re gonna probably deal with whatever the federal government eventually passes on the COVID relief because that’s going to require the General Assembly to appropriate those funds,” Moore, R-Cleveland, said. “So that would be really the first order of business. The next thing we’ll do is, of course, is get into the state budget itself.”
Lawmakers returned to the General Assembly’s chambers last week but recessed until Jan. 27. Moore said he plans to push a bond package to finance projects for K-12 schools, community colleges, universities and roads. Despite COVID-19 shutdowns, Moore said the state’s coffers are in good shape. Fiscal analysts plan to release an official economic forecast by Feb. 10.
Because of federal aid, the state has left its $1.2 billion rainy day fund untouched and has an additional $1.5 billion in its unreserved fund, according to a November financial report.
Moore said he wants to support small businesses that were impacted negatively by the shutdowns. He also wants the Legislature to devise a plan that would allow K-12 students to return to brick-and-mortar schools.
The most-recent federal relief package passed by Congress and signed by former President Donald Trump in December included $82 billion for schools to prepare to reopen safely. It also has more than $280 billion in forgivable loans for small businesses.
Missing from the federal bill was direct aid for states. North Carolina received more than $4.4 billion in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed in March that was supposed to be spent by the end of 2020 before the federal government approved an extension. President Joe Biden has said an additional stimulus package will be one of his first orders of business after he took office.
Medicaid expansion, a subject of contention between North Carolina lawmakers, will not be on Moore’s to-do list this year. Republicans, who hold the majority in the House and Senate, have pushed back on the proposal, which has stalled the budget process for two years.
House Minority Leader Robert Reives said House Democrats had not drafted any legislation, but Medicaid expansion is still a mark. Moore said, however, Republicans are willing to look at expanding access to the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Reives told Spectrum News his top priority also is helping North Carolinians get through the pandemic. Both House leaders said they look forward to working in a bipartisan manner.
“We’re gonna have to work together to get things done to get us out of this rut that’s happened because of the pandemic,” Reives, D-Durham, said. “Because you’ve got health issues. You’ve got economic issues. You’ve got businesses that have closed.”
Reives said lawmakers need to find a way to save the businesses that can be saved and rescue those who need help, especially in rural areas of the state.
During his remarks last week after being reelected as Senate leader, Phil Berger said he planned to maintain partisan unity and find common ground with Democrats on spending. Berger also said COVID-19 relief would be on the forefront, but one of the senator’s biggest priorities is education.
Berger, R-Rockingham, plans to introduce a reading literacy bill similar to the Excellent Public School Act of 2019, which was vetoed by Cooper. Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue’s office said Senate Democrats still were working on their list of priorities, but they plan to make an announcement next week.
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