Fayetteville Today

As North Carolina begins the process of economic recovery, there will be a spotlight on the state legislature as it works to help facilitate the process.

With state residents sitting at home and businesses shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sales tax has dropped significantly placing less funding at the state’s disposal. The state is able to draw upon the experience of past economic downfalls and the Rainy Day Fund is much fuller than the last time the state needed additional funding to steady the ship.

“We’ll be looking for nickels in fountains soon,” John Szoka, House Finance Committee Senior Chairman, told The Fayetteville Observer.

During the great recession, the state drew federal funding, cut spending, raised taxes, postponed purchases and construction projects and even furloughed employees. The state is eager to avoid several of those remedies, The Fayetteville Observer said.

One thing it has working on its behalf is the funding in the Rainy Day Fund which stands at $1.79 billion compared to $727 million in 2007. Another factor the state has in its favor is an injection of $2 billion of federal CARES Act funding.

The 76-members of the state House bipartisan committee on COVID-19 has been processing all the information at its disposal and preparing laws for the legislature’s consideration.

The committee is comprised of four subcommittees, education, health care, state operations and economic support. To date, some proposals gaining consideration include a $75 million allocation to help small businesses, waiving late payment penalties for income taxes. Expiration dates would be extended for expiring licenses and tags. Waving standardized tests and requirements for public schools is also included, The Fayetteville Observer reported.

A law that will need to be adjusted will be wearing masks in public, which is illegal. While the state makes its adjustments, residents will not be able to wear a face covering during a traffic stop or an interaction with an officer.

The subcommittee on health care drew significant consideration with propositions to award $110 million to state schools for the coronavirus research. An additional $25 million for testing would go to the state. Hospitals would receive $100 million in underserved areas and larger facilities would split $25 million. Other impacted areas for funding consideration include Medicare, protective services, food charities and foster care.

Szoka told The Fayetteville Observer the legislature is attempting to figure out how to keep the government running, absorb added costs of the pandemic and help people and businesses that have lost their livelihood due to the coronavirus recession.