Democratic state Sen. Val Applewhite of Fayetteville this spring has filed bills to send more than $72 million to Cumberland County for clean water, for public safety, and to address infrastructure needs in Hope Mills.

Meanwhile, several of Cumberland County’s other five lawmakers have submitted legislation on various topics.

If Applewhite can persuade her Republican colleagues — who have majority control of the legislature — to support her requests, they could appear in the 2024-25 edition of the state budget. But if she can’t, then the money won’t come through.

The General Assembly is in what political insiders call the short session of lawmaking. The lawmakers convened in April and hope to adjourn by June 30. This compares to the long session, which convenes in January and often runs until late summer or early fall.

The primary purpose of the short session is to make adjustments to the second year of the two-year, biennial budget that the legislature enacted in 2023. That budget called for $30.9 billion in spending in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Here is a rundown of bills that the Fayetteville area’s lawmakers have filed in the 2024 short session. This list only includes bills for which the legislators are a primary sponsor.

Sen. Val Applewhite: Clean water, Hope Mills, firefighters

Applewhite (Dist. 19) has filed four bills:

  • Senate Bill 780, to give $57.53 million to the Fayetteville Public Works Commission for clean water. Of this, $50 million would help the PWC pay for equipment to filter PFAS “forever chemicals” from drinking water. In January, the PWC estimated the equipment would cost $92 million. The remaining $7.53 million is to improve the sewer system to address population growth along the Interstate 295 corridor.
  • Senate Bill 781, allocates $240,345 for public safety in Fayetteville. The Fire Department would get $180,345 for a modular vehicle barrier system — barricades to protect pedestrians from getting hit by vehicles at community gatherings. There also is $60,000 to provide counseling and mental health services for public safety personnel.
  • Senate Bill 783, includes $14.6 million for Hope Mills. The money would be used to purchase asphalt equipment, replace a road, and replace several stormwater systems.
  • Senate Bill 839, paid leave for pregnancy loss. If this bill becomes law, state employees could get a minimum of seven days of paid time off following a miscarriage, an unsuccessful attempt to become pregnant with assisted reproductive technology, a failed adoption arrangement, a failed surrogacy arrangement, or a diagnosis or event that impacts pregnancy or fertility.

Rep. Diane Wheatley: Health workers, Alpha Academy health insurance

Republican state Rep. Diane Wheatley (Dist. 43) of Cumberland County has filed two bills:

  • House Bill 924, charter school health insurance. This bill would allow three charter schools, including Alpha Academy in Fayetteville, to enroll their staff in the state health insurance plan. These schools previously chose not to participate, and now they need an exception to the law to join the plan. Charter schools are taxpayer-funded public schools that operate independently of traditional public schools.
  • House Bill 1026, allocates $1 million for the North Carolina Community Health Worker Association, a nonprofit corporation. The money would be used for mobilization, training and certification of community health workers, the bill says, for the North Carolina workforce.

Rep. Charles Smith: $1 million study on homelessness

Democratic Rep. Charles Smith (Dist. 44) of Fayetteville has a bill allocating $1 million to the Department of Health and Human Services to study homelessness and ways to alleviate it. It is to report its findings to the General Assembly, including suggested legislation.

In particular, the study would consider:

  • Current regulations, practices and programs related to homelessness, and any gaps in the programs.
  • The availability of housing.
  • The challenges that lead to people becoming homeless, including people who age out of child welfare services, and those who have been displaced by natural disasters.
  • The barriers that homeless people face when trying to obtain housing.
  • What other states have done that have succeeded in addressing homelessness.

Sen. Tom McInnis, money for community college car repairs

Republican Sen. Tom McInnis (Dist. 21) of Moore County serves a large portion of Cumberland County. He has filed two bills this year:

  • Senate Bill 798, would have surplus state-owned motor vehicles be repaired in the automotive programs of the state community colleges. When the vehicles are sold, the proceeds would be split between the community colleges and the agencies that had the surplus vehicles.
  • Senate Bill 766, would allow the town of Southern Pines to enact an ordinance with a simple majority of the board members present and voting. Existing law says no ordinance may pass without the approval of at least three of the five board members.

Last year: Cumberland Democrats voted against money for county

The state budget enacted in 2023 had $127 million in funding for Cumberland County projects. Most Democrats in the legislature voted against that spending plan. These included Applewhite and Smith, plus state Rep. Marvin Lucas of Spring Lake and state Rep. Frances Jackson of Hope Mills.

It’s not unusual for politicians to support individual items in the state budget, yet vote against the whole budget, because they or their political party disagrees with the overall spending plan. They may also vote against a budget because the budget bill includes law changes or new laws — laws that have nothing to do with taxing or spending — that they say are wrong.

Examples of non-budget policies in the budget bill passed in 2023:

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501c3 charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.

 

Paul Woolverton is CityView's senior reporter, covering courts, local politics, and Cumberland County affairs. He joined CityView from The Fayetteville Observer, where he worked for more than 30 years.