Press Release:

Notable Activity

        The General Assembly returned to Raleigh this week after a week-long respite of conducting public business, though public activity was minimal with just a handful of committees conducting work on just a handful of bills. The House continues its budget deliberations but is not expected to release its version of the 2021-2022 spending plan until early-mid August.

    Although the General Assembly conducted limited business this week, legislation impacting counties that saw action this week can be seen below.

Bills of Note

    Senate Bill 300 Criminal Justice Reform     This bill is a broad piece of legislation focusing on many different criminal justice reform issues. Section 13 of the bill prohibits criminal enforcement of certain regulatory ordinances. The bill prohibits creating a criminal penalty for any new ordinance in the first meeting it is introduced and creates a compliance defense for any alleged ordinance violations. This is an improvement on the bill as originally filed as that version of the bill prohibited criminal enforcement of any and all local ordinances (currently a class 3 misdemeanor with a fine of not more than $500) and changed a violation of ordinances to an infraction punishable by no more than a $50 fine.

    The House considered a new version of the bill which also includes language previously approved by the House. That language convenes a working group of legislators charged with gathering information from stakeholders, including NCACC, to make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding a streamlined, comprehensive, orderly, and principled criminal code for common law, statutory, regulatory, and ordinance crimes.

    The bill was approved by the House Judiciary 2 committee this week and could be on the House floor next week for consideration.



    According to the NC Department of Health and Human Services, 56% of adults are fully vaccinated. 46% of the state's population is fully vaccinated.



    Fiscal Recovery Funds and American Rescue Plan Updates     The Office of Recovery Programs in the US Department of the Treasury released updated Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund FAQs this week. New FAQs in this release include additional guidance on calculating revenue loss, pooling Fiscal Recovery Funds for regional projects, eligible stormwater projects, and other clarifications.

    Counties can visit the Treasury Department's Submission Portal to apply for their Fiscal Recovery Fund allocation.

    A recording of the recent ARP Information Session for Local Governments is available HERE and the slides are posted HERE. For more information and resources, visit:

• Updated Treasury FAQs for Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (July 14, 2021)
• Updated Emergency Rental Assistance FAQs (June 24, 2021)
• Treasury FRF Compliance and Reporting Guidance (June 17, 2021)
• NCACC Local Fiscal Recovery Funds FAQs
• Interim Final Rule
• County Allocations

    How is your county making plans for FRF?     NCACC is tracking county activities and investments on its American Rescue Plan page to share information about how counties are planning and preparing to invest Fiscal Recovery Funds. Please email policy_team@ncacc.org with examples of how your county is making plans for FRF.