Today's NC Political News briefs
State government activity this week includes the General Assembly’s return to Raleigh, a House Finance Committee agenda with several statewide tax and workforce bills, a State Health Plan board nomination, new housing recovery funding tied to Hurricane Helene and an environmental permitting hearing involving data center and energy infrastructure.
General Assembly convenes Monday
The North Carolina House was scheduled to convene at 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 29, and the Senate was scheduled to convene at 3 p.m., according to the General Assembly legislative calendar. The calendar also lists a House Finance Committee meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 30. Source: NC General Assembly Legislative Calendar.
House Finance agenda includes statewide tax and workforce bills
The House Finance agenda for Tuesday includes several statewide bills, including Senate Bill 1041, the “Public Workforce Modernization Act”; House Bill 1200, the “Tax-Free Family Essentials Act”; House Bill 1213, “Protect Taxpayers and Consumers”; House Bill 1083, the “Voluntary Portable Benefits Plan Act”; and Senate Bill 992, “Truth in Taxation.” Source: NC General Assembly Legislative Calendar and bill pages.
Treasurer nominates new State Health Plan board member
State Treasurer Brad Briner nominated Dr. Daniel Moore to join the State Health Plan Board of Trustees. The Treasurer’s Office said Moore would fill the seat held by Judge Wilton “Rusty” Duke Jr., whose term expires June 30. The release said the board oversees a plan serving 750,000 members. Source: NC Department of State Treasurer, June 25.
Renew NC opens $70 million multifamily housing program
Gov. Josh Stein’s office announced a first-round notice of funding opportunity for $70 million in federal funding through the Renew NC Multi-Family Construction and Repair Program. The program is intended for multifamily rental properties with five or more units in Hurricane Helene-impacted areas and is funded through North Carolina’s $1.4 billion CDBG-DR grant from HUD. Applications opened June 25 and close Nov. 2. Source: Governor’s Office, June 25.
DEQ schedules hearing on Amazon data center and Duke Energy air permits
The Department of Environmental Quality announced a joint public hearing on two draft air quality permits in Richmond County tied to a proposed Amazon data center and related Duke Energy power facilities. This is regulatory and statewide-interest-adjacent because it involves state air permitting and major data center energy infrastructure, but it remains primarily a permitting item and should stay in briefs unless the policy debate expands. Source: NCDEQ, June 26.
NCDHHS, NCDIT rural health technology programs previously covered by NCPN
NCDHHS and NCDIT announced three rural health technology programs on June 24, including a Rural Health Innovation Fund, expanded NC HealthConnex support and digital health literacy services through 211 beginning July 1. NCPN’s homepage shows this item was already published as “NCDHHS, NCDIT launch rural health technology programs,” so it should not be republished as a full article unless updated. Source: NCDHHS and NCPN homepage.
