October 01, 201810/01/2018

NC General Assembly to convene Tue Oct 2 to consider Florence relief package

In a moment of bipartisanship among North Carolina leaders, Gov. Roy Cooper and legislative Republicans quickly moved to address storm damage from the recent Hurricane Florence. In what they refer to as the "quickest storm response in recent memory," legislators plan to vote on an aid package that already has support from both parties. 

Gov. Cooper says he agrees with virtually every point of the plan put forward by the General Assembly, which aims to:

- Provide certainty and funding for teachers and other school personnel who were concerned they would not be fully compensated for forced time off during school closures;

- Waive make-up requirements for missed school days in districts impacted by Hurricane Florence;

- Implement the budget mechanisms needed to appropriate federal aid dollars;

- Waive DMV fees for customers seeking duplicate documents;

- Allocate state matching funds in anticipation of federal aid;

- Extend the deadline for voter registration in counties with federal disaster declarations;

- Provide flexibility to elections boards to replace storm-damaged polling places and registration sites;

- Authorize funding for voter education campaigns on elections changes in impacted districts;

- Help control the mosquito population.

GOP leaders of the House and Senate released a joint statement saying, “Many of our neighbors in eastern North Carolina face struggles more severe than any other time in their lives. Thankfully, we have the means to help them, and that’s what we’re going to do.”