RALEIGH, N.C. — Republican leaders in the North Carolina House of Representatives on Wednesday proposed spending an additional $450 million on Hurricane Helene aid — a proposal that underscores broad disagreement with the Senate and the state’s governor over exactly how much more to spend on recovery and rebuilding efforts, and how to divvy up that money.
The sum proposed by the House would come in addition to $1.6 billion the state government has already spent on efforts in Western North Carolina, which was ravaged by the September storm. But only about half of the $891 million extra that Democratic Gov. Josh Stein says is needed and significantly lower than the $700 million plan put forward by the state Senate last month.
Negotiations will soon get underway on how much extra to spend, and whether to roll it into the annual state budget or keep it as a separate bill, to help separate it from the political infighting that often slows down budget talks.
