(The Center Square) – The General Assembly’s unanimous passage of $644 million in disaster recovery for the North Carolina mountain communities rocked by Hurricane Helene was signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday morning.
“Western North Carolina needs significant investments to recover fully from the worst storm our state has ever seen,” Cooper said in a statement. “Legislators have taken a small step here and should follow it with a more comprehensive package to help families, businesses and communities build back stronger.”
Lawmakers on Oct. 9 approved $273 million and said then and Thursday the fiscal packages were ongoing installments. Cooper proposed a $3.9 billion package laid out over 99 pages in presentation.
Like the Democratic second-term governor, Republicans have also played political football with arguably the state’s worst natural disaster.
“The lack of preparation from the state’s executive branch leading up to Hurricane Helene and absence of immediate action thereafter has left western North Carolina in a more difficult position than it needed to be,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, on Thursday. “This will be a long recovery, and the Legislature will not lose sight of rebuilding the region and fixing the damage. Our second relief package puts the General Assembly’s total commitment so far at almost $900 million, and that will only grow as we continue to evaluate and repair the damage.”
The money come from what is known as the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
The package of relief sends $100 million to local governments in the federal disaster declaration. Those 25 counties are Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey.
There is also $100 million for water and wastewater infrastructure; $30 million for mental health services; and $10 million for childcare facilities.
