NC Senate passes COVID-19 relief bill with $335 checks for parents
UPDATE: The NC House passed the bill Thursday and sent it to the governor.
The North Carolina Senate passed a nearly $1 billion spending bill on Wednesday that would use the rest of the state’s share of federal COVID-19 relief money. The House was expected to vote on it Thursday.
The current version of the Coronavirus Relief Act 3.0 would give all North Carolina households with parents of children 17 and younger a $335 stimulus check to help offset costs associated with remote learning at schools. The proposal would spend about $440 million of the $903 million of federal CARES Act money that must be spent by Dec. 30.
The Senate passed the bill 44-5, with five Democrats voting against it.
Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, said parents are at “their wit’s end.” The checks, which are being called “extra credit grants,” would be given to parents who filed taxes. For those who didn’t file, they would be able to apply for the grant, which is a flat amount regardless of how many children are in the household.
Checks would be issued by Dec. 15.
“Every parent in the state of North Carolina is a teacher,” Berger told reporters at a news conference Wednesday where he and House Speaker Tim Moore laid out their plans for the session. They want to pass the COVID-19 bill as one package. Final votes were expected on Thursday to send the bill to the governor before lawmakers adjourn what could be just a two-day session.
Berger said he knows the $335 amount isn’t enough to pay off a mortgage but could pay for a babysitter and a dinner out for parents along with other costs.
“All I know is they need it; they deserve it,” he said.
Vouchers at issue
Part of the proposed bill also includes raising income-eligibility caps for opportunity scholarships, which are vouchers for private school. Republican leaders have said private schools opening for all-in-person learning this school year are an important school choice for parents. The state reopened in Plan B, which allows local school systems to decide how to operate with remote or a mix of remote and in-person learning with restrictions.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s proposed budget calls for eliminating the remaining general budget funds for opportunity scholarships.
Mike Long, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in NC, said in a statement after Cooper’s proposal last week that the governor would “strip low-income, tax-paying families in our state of equal educational access for their children.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Forest presided over the Senate on Wednesday and recognized opportunity scholarship families in the Senate gallery above as the afternoon session started.
At about the same time, the North Carolina Association of Educators and others were outside the Legislative Building in support of priorities including student food and housing programs, holding public school funding harmless for COVID-19-related enrollment declines and funding personal protective equipment for students and educators.
“The General Assembly likes to talk about saving for a rainy day, and we need to make it clear that for public school educators and parents, it’s been raining for months,” Tamika Walker Kelly, president of the NCAE, said in an emailed statement.
“We need legislators to seriously address these pressing issues now to allow local school districts to plan for the rest of the school year. Our students cannot afford any more delays,” Walker Kelly said.
The proposed COVID-19 spending includes $72 million funding for PPE, $10 million for internet connectivity and $6 million for food banks.
Republican lawmakers spent the weekend negotiating the amount of the checks for parents. In a statement Tuesday, Sen. Joyce Krawiec of Forsyth County said parental expenses like child care and supplemental learning materials and their lost wages are adding up as school buildings have been closed.
“Parents are facing an unexpected financial burden from school closures,” Krawiec said.
On the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Deanna Ballard, a Blowing Rock Republican, said this and other Republican proposals are about enabling and empowering parents.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 5:00 PM with the headline "NC Senate passes COVID-19 relief bill with $335 checks for parents."
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