Another $500 million would be spent toward Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in western North Carolina in legislation the state House unanimously approved Tuesday.
It lacked provisions from Stein's spending package to recompense local governments in the mountains for lost or spent revenues and to create a program where a state agency would make payments directly to small businesses harmed by Helene.
Stein's administration projects that disaster relief approved by Congress in December and other federal funding sources may ultimately provide over $15 billion in Helene recovery funds to North Carolina.
A separate House measure scheduled for committee debate Wednesday currently would take an additional $475 million from existing state reserves to create a statewide crop loss program for 2024 disasters.
The measure, if enacted, would add to the funds the Republican-controlled General Assembly already approved in late 2024 to spend on disaster recovery activities following the historic flooding in the mountains in September.
